As the B-52 is the most recognizable bomber to most Americans, so it was with the Vulcan and the British. This huge delta-wing aircraft was part of a triumvirate of bombers that included the rather short lived Valiant and the slightly longer lived Victor. The Valiant was removed from service quite early due to problems with fatigue cracks. The Victor out lived the Vulcan by nearly 10 years in the tanker role, until it was deemed uneconomical to maintain and it was also removed from service.

This book is not only a history of the Vulcan, but is also one of the efforts to keep one of these magnificent aircraft in the skies. For those of you who are not aware, one Vulcan, XH558, was kept airworthy by the RAF as the Vulcan Display Flight after the type was removed from service in 1984. For many years it was a highlight of air shows as it thrilled spectators with its flying displays. However, the Vulcan is not an inexpensive aircraft to maintain and the aging airframe was grounded in 1992 and sold in 1993 along with all the available spares. While no longer airworthy, like some other Vulcans, it was kept in operational condition and performed high speed taxi runs until 1999 when it was decided to return the plane to flying condition. Thanks to literally millions of pounds sterling, this is soon to be or has been done under the auspices of the Vulcan to the Sky project.

The author has divided the book into five main sections. Those are:

Creating the Need
Design and Development
The Vulcan in Service
Black Buck
Vulcan to the Sky.

This is followed by appendices which have photos of UK preserved aircraft, a production list, technical specifications and some close-up photos.

The book itself is published in landscape format. This is to allow the proper presentation of the many large, full color photographs that accompany each section. The choice of photos is well done, and for the large part, superbly printed. I say that as there are a few images that are either very contrasty or show a decided color shift. These are only a handful, but I felt it needed to be mentioned.

In all it is a superb book on the Vulcan and one that you really should consider for your next purchase.

October 2007

Review book courtesy of Specialty Press , where you can order your copy of this and many other superb aviation and modeling books. Visit their website at the link above or call them at 1-800-895-4585

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