By A J Summersgill Writer Blogs | Published: November 13, 2008 at 7:50 pm
I work in an office overlooking Farnborough airfield, and for the past two weeks I’ve been able to look out of the window and see the last flying Vulcan – XH558 – sitting on the tarmac awaiting some repairs so she could go home after she flew in for an event.
The Vulcan took off yesterday – on what may be her last flight ever, unless they can secure more funding. Luckily I was outside with my camera at the time. I thought something was up as I ventured onto the roof of my building twenty minutes before to take some snaps and I could see and hear that they were running the engines, albeit the cockpit cover was still on.
However they’ve run the engines on it before, presumably as part of a maintenance routine, so I had no reason to suspect it would be leaving, but as I was sitting outside in my car at lunchtime I heard the most thunderous roar and up she went.
I was acting Adj. to the Wing Commander of a Vulcan bomber Station when the first one was sent across the Pond. Unfortunately, it dissapeared over Canada. And for that year, nothing was found.
As the Will’s were filed in my office, I had to supervise the movement of the familes out of th e Marriage patch, as soon as possible..for morral reasons. I think there were 9 crew..but at 75 my memory only remembers the shock of our first attempt to fly one to the USA. 1959.
I wrote to Imperial War Museum and Bomber Command ( of which Society I am a life member), but received no replies.
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I was acting Adj. to the Wing Commander of a Vulcan bomber Station when the first one was sent across the Pond. Unfortunately, it dissapeared over Canada. And for that year, nothing was found.
As the Will’s were filed in my office, I had to supervise the movement of the familes out of th e Marriage patch, as soon as possible..for morral reasons. I think there were 9 crew..but at 75 my memory only remembers the shock of our first attempt to fly one to the USA. 1959.
I wrote to Imperial War Museum and Bomber Command ( of which Society I am a life member), but received no replies.