The awesome Avro Vulcan is an enduring image of the Cold War era when the world stood on the brink of nuclear annihilation. For many years the RAF’s delta-wing jet bomber was the cornerstone of Britain’s nuclear deterrent. Read about the Vulcan’s operational history and take a close-up look at its construction. Discover what it takes to own and fly the mighty V-bomber, and find out how engineers keep it airworthy. Centrepiece of the manual is Vulcan XH558 – the world’s only flying example of an Avro Vulcan.

The awesome Avro Vulcan is an enduring image of the Cold War era when the world stood on the brink of nuclear annihilation. For many years the RAF's delta-wing jet bomber was the cornerstone of Britain's nuclear deterrent. Read about the Vulcan's operational history and take a close-up look at its construction. Discover what it takes to own and fly the mighty V-bomber, and find out how engineers keep it airworthy. Centrepiece of the manual is Vulcan XH558 - the world's only flying example of an Avro Vulcan.

Designed by a team led by Roy Chadwick, the man responsible for the legendary Lancaster, the Vulcan was created to carry Britain's nuclear deterrent in the 1950s and 1960s. Avro's delta-winged colossus became the backbone of the V-Force until the very end of the 1960s when the deterrent role passed to the Navy's Polaris submarine fleet. The Vulcan remained in RAF service as a tactical low-level bomber armed with conventional and nuclear weapons, and was only retired following the introduction of the Panavia Tornado. This is both a comprehensive work of reference and an authoritative history. It covers the origins of the Vulcan and delta-winged flight, details of every major production variant, reproduces extracts from the Vulcan's original Aircrew Manual and has appendices on both squadron disposal and the fate of every Vulcan built. Also included is a wealth of information and anecdotes from former Vulcan air and ground crews, describing from first-hand experience what it was like to live with the mighty Vulcan. The narrative is complimented with many photographs, scale drawings and color profiles making this book the definitive history of this superb aircraft and an essential addition to the libraries of aviation historians and modellers. Additional photographs have been added to this new edition.

The RAF's V-Force remained Britain's nuclear deterrent up to 1969 when the strategic role was assumed by the Royal Navy with its Polaris nuclear submarines.

The delta-wing design of the subsonic bomber Avro Vulcan was years ahead of its time in terms of design when the Ministry accepted the proposal in 1947. Based on top secret Luftwaffe material after the end of the Second World War, the first prototype flew on 18 May 1951 and it went on to serve in the RAF from 1952 to 1984. During this time it carried Britain s first nuclear weapon, the gravity bomb, and played an important part in the deterrence policy of the Cold War. The Avro Vulcan: A History provides a complete history of the design and development of Britain s iconic and much loved bomber, covering the period from 1947 to 1984, when it was finally withdrawn due to mounting costs. The history takes in trials and development, taking flight, and the Vulcan B.2 and Black Buck attacks in the Falklands War, and provides details of all 136 airframes including completion dates, operational services in unit order, worldwide goodwill and flag-waving missions, making it a valuable record of this graceful and famous bomber aircraft.