page_title: Avro Vulcan
section_title: Further developments
hierarchical_section_title: Avro Vulcan / Development / Vulcan B.1 and B.2 / Further developments
caption_attribution_description: English: The first Avro Vulcan B.2, XH533 at the 1958 SBAC Show, Farnborough
context_page_description: The Avro Vulcan is a jet-powered tailless delta wing high-altitude strategic bomber, which was operated by the Royal Air Force from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A.V. Roe and Company designed the Vulcan in response to Specification B.35/46. Of the three V bombers produced, the Vulcan was considered the most technically advanced and hence the riskiest option. Several reduced-scale aircraft, designated Avro 707, were produced to test and refine the delta wing design principles.
  The Vulcan B.1 was first delivered to the RAF in 1956; deliveries of the improved Vulcan B.2 started in 1960. The B.2 featured more powerful engines, a larger wing, an improved electrical system and electronic countermeasures; many were modified to accept the Blue Steel missile. As a part of the V-force, the Vulcan was the backbone of the United Kingdom's airborne nuclear deterrent during much of the Cold War. Although the Vulcan was typically armed with nuclear weapons, it was capable of conventional bombing missions, a capability which was used in Operation Black Buck during the Falklands War between the United Kingdom and Argentina in 1982.
context_section_description: The first 15 B.1s were powered by the Olympus 101 with 11,000 lbf (49 kN) thrust. Many of these early examples in a metallic finish remained the property of the Ministry of Supply being retained for trials and development purposes. Those entering RAF service were delivered to No 230 Operational Conversion Unit (OCU), the first in July 1956. Later aircraft, painted in anti-flash white and powered by the Olympus 102 with 12,000 lbf (53 kN) thrust, began to enter squadron service in July 1957. The Olympus 102s were quickly modified to the Olympus 104 standard, ultimately rated at 13,500 lbf (60 kN) thrust. As far back as 1952, Bristol Aero Engines had begun development of the BOl.6 (Olympus 6) rated at 16,000 lbf (71 kN) thrust but if fitted to the B.1, this would have re-introduced the buffet requiring further redesign of the wing.
  The decision to proceed with the B.2 versions of the Vulcan was made in May 1956, being developed by Avro's chief designer Roy Ewans. It was anticipated that the first B.2 would be around the 45th aircraft of the 99 then on order. As well as being able to achieve greater heights over targets, it was believed that operational flexibility could be extended by the provision of in-flight refuelling equipment and tanker aircraft. The increasing sophistication of Soviet air defences required the fitting of electronic countermeasure (ECM) equipment and vulnerability could be reduced by the introduction of the Avro Blue Steel stand-off missile, then in development. In order to develop these proposals, the second Vulcan prototype VX777 was rebuilt with the larger and thinner phase 2C wing, improved flying control surfaces and Olympus 102 engines, first flying in this configuration in August 1957. Plans were in hand to equip all Vulcans from the 16th aircraft onwards with in-flight refuelling receiving equipment. A B.1, XA903, was allocated for Blue Steel development work. Other B.1s were used for the development of the BOl.6 (later Olympus 200), XA891; a new AC electrical system, XA893; and ECM including jammers within a bulged tail-cone and a tail warning radar, XA895.
  The 46th production aircraft and first B.2, XH533, first flew in September 1958 fitted with Olympus 200 engines with 16,000 lbf (71 kN) thrust, six months before the last B.1 XH532 was delivered in March 1959. Rebuilding B.1s as B.2s was considered but rejected over cost. Nevertheless, to extend the B.1's service life, 28 were upgraded by Armstrong Whitworth between 1959 and 1963 to the B.1A standard, including features of the B.2 such as ECM equipment, in-flight refuelling receiving equipment, and UHF radio. The second B.2, XH534, flew in January 1959. Powered by production Olympus 201 with 17,000 lbf (76 kN) thrust, it was more representative of a production aircraft, being fitted with an in-flight refuelling probe and a bulged ECM tail cone. Some subsequent B.2s were initially lacking probes and ECM tail cones, but these were fitted retrospectively. The first 10 B.2s outwardly showed their B.1 ancestry, retaining narrow engine air intakes. Anticipating even more powerful engines, the air intakes were deepened on the 11th (XH557) and subsequent aircraft. Many of the early aircraft were retained for trials and it was the 12th B.2, XH558, that was the first to be delivered to the RAF in July 1960. Coincidentally, XH558 would also be the last Vulcan in service with the RAF, before being retired in 1992.
  The 26th B.2, XL317, the first of a production batch ordered in February 1956, was the first Vulcan, apart from development aircraft, capable of carrying the Blue Steel missile; 33 aircraft were delivered to the RAF with these modifications. When the Mk.2 version of Blue Steel was cancelled in favour of the Douglas GAM-87 Skybolt air-launched ballistic missile in December 1959, fittings were changed in anticipation of the new missile, one under each wing. Though Skybolt was cancelled in November 1962, many aircraft were delivered or retrofitted with "Skybolt" blisters. Later aircraft (XL391 and XM574 onwards) were delivered with Olympus 301
caption: Avro Vulcan B.2 XH533, the first B.2 Vulcan, flying at Farnborough in 1958
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