Thanks Vic,

I knew of this raid, it is well documented in the history of the Falklands War, but I had no idea of the complexity or difficulty of the raid.

I always thought of the Vulcan as high tech, with a long range. O how wrong we can be.

My pc has reached it's download limit Plendo, so is on go slow until tomorrow, I haven't been able to view the video but will tomorrow.

Yes they certainly look liked a mean machine, good for their time I suppose.

Well woth watching Vic.

Yes they were good for their time, the trouble was the relationship between their time and this particular excercise.

One fact not generally known was the debacle of retro fitting the in flight air to air refuelling on the Hercules transport planes that did the troop and logistical work. Flying men and supplies from the UK to the Falklands.

It was such a rush job the contractors quality control systems were pathetic and whilst refuelling the flight decks were awash with aviation fuel.

Not a nice way to have to fly an aircraft. Peoples lives were on the line so the pilots and flight crews just did what they do. They carried on regardless and flew with fuel having to be mopped up and the aircraft a flying incendiary device.

I saw the results after the war ended and they used water to show the brass how much fuel was going into the flight decks. I reckon I use less when having a shower.

Some very brave aircrew.

What an amazing story, amazing RAF hero's and amazing if not antiquated aircraft and support aircraft, long download but well worth it.

Apart from the skills and courage required, certainly done on a "wing and a prayer" with the tools they had, thank goodness luck was on their side.

Ontos45 wrote:

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Watched 1/2 of it today, will watch rest later (d/l limited) but sounds very informative and in away, exciting.

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The Chiefs of Air Staff had only given the mission a 40% chance of being successful but it was as we know, remarkable men and flying machines, the set up with the Victor Refuelling aircraft was amazing too. 

Just watched it. Amazing story. The old Vulcan must have been a thirsty old beast !! Typical for early jets.  Maybe it had short range fuel tanks..

spida wrote:

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I flew from NZ to Argentine in 1987. On the way back we landed to refuel right down south and either side of the runway there were bomb craters. We were met with armed soldiers, not allowed to take any photos and were marched into the terminal until the plane was ready to leave - about 1.5 hours.

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 I've been on that flight as a passenger in an Aerolineas Argentinas 747 from Buenos Aires to Auckland. The stop was at a military base in the south of the country, not the Falklands, to refuel. The early 747s which we called the Classic, didn't have the range also the westerly winds in that part of the world can have a great affect on fuel burnoff. I was quite surprised when we landed there. I had a window seat and noticed the black top sealed runway was only just wide enough to accommodate the aircraft. Mishandling of a  slight cross wind could have bogged us down on the grass. It made me wary of the airline, allowing it's aircraft to land on an unsuitable runway. Certainly didn't meet the requirements for the Company I worked for... My flight was around 1985 and I don't recall any bomb craters or armed military. Maybe I was too busy checking my underwear after the hairy landing ! 

Thanks for posting such an informative and interesting piece of history, Vic.

Really enjoyed it.

Ken

Thanks for that Vic, appreciated.

I'm just glad the Brits are on our side, the rest of the campaign was brilliant also, albeit at a cost.

Some Aussie Navy personnel were on the Brit ships as well on exchange.

Pleased that I could do so Landy, Johnq and Landfall.  

It was sent to me on an email from a friend, I was glad they sent it to me and I was able to share it, I was unaware of that part of the Falklands ops, must have been a real morale booster to the trapped British citizens there, and a morale wrecker for the Argentinian forces stationed on the island.