The 'Black Buck' Operations Trivia Quiz

Answer: Vulcan

The Vulcan entered service in the 1950s as part of the RAF's strategic bomber force. Its distinctive delta wing shape and powerful Rolls-Royce Olympic 301 engines gave it an almost fighter-like manoeuverability. In 1982 it was due to be retired from front-line service but the Argentine invasion of the Falkand Islands put its retirement plans on hold.

Answer: Phantom

Thirteen Handley Page Victors performed the in-flight refuelling role on the first operation as part of a complex fuel plan to ensure that a single heavy bomber got to its target and back - a distance of 6,800 miles. Although eleven were originally planned, two more Victors had to be dispatched as a contingency to re-fuel the aircraft on the final leg of their return. 1.5 million pounds (around 750,000kg) of aviation fuel was used.

A Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft was employed in the Mid-Atlantic to guide the returning bomber to its final re-fuelling rendezvous.

Sea Harriers flew a CAP (Combat Air Patrol) to protect the bomber against the possibility of interception by the Argentine Air Force on its approach to target.

Answer: Port Stanley Airfield

Vulcan XM 607's payload of twenty-one 1,000lb (450kg) bombs was dropped on Port Stanley Airfield (or BAM Malvinas as the Argentinians had re-named it). The principal objective of disabling the runway was achieved, with the southern third of the 130ft strip destroyed. A crater 115ft wide and 84ft deep had been created. Due to the first operation's success, the Argentinians were unable to operate fast fighter jets (in the form of its supersonic Mirage and Dagger fighters) from Port Stanley.

A further consequence of the raid was its damaging effect on Argentinian morale. Admiral Lombardo, the Chief of Combined Operations, mistakenly believed that the raid was a prelude to an immediate full-scale invasion. His decision to initiate a pre-emptive offensive against the British task force led to the sinking of the General Belgrano and the retreat of the Argentine fleet to home waters - where it stayed for the duration of the conflict.

Answer: Five

During the first half of May 1982, four more missions were carried out by RAF Vulcans on Argentinian radar installations and defences. Like the first one, they relied on support from Victor K2 tanker aircraft, Nimrod patrol aircraft and naval Sea Harriers flying CAP.

The subsequent raids were subject to a completely revised re-fuelling plan; the first raid was a 'close run thing' because of miscalculations about how much fuel a fully laden Vulcan flying in close formation over 3,400 miles would burn up. Some thirty thousand pounds of additional fuel were carried on the subsequent missions.

Answer: Ascension Island

34 square miles in area, Ascension is in the Mid-Atlantic, some 1,200 miles from the nearest mainland. Although a British territory, the USAF leased an auxiliary base on Ascension called Wideawake Airfield. In addition to its use as an airfield, it was also a radar base and a relay station for NASA.

The terms of the lease meant that the British could use the airfield and expect 'logistical support' when required. During April and May of 1982, Wideawake Airfield - commanded by Lt.Col. Bill Bryden of the USAF - was the busiest airport in the world.

Although it was the closest facility with appropriate resources to support the missions, it was still over 3,400 miles away from the Falklands Islands.

Answer: True

Although one Vulcan would carry out the raid on the target, a second, fully armed bomber would accompany the mission for its first leg as a reserve aircraft.

On the first 'Black Buck' mission, it was the reserve aircraft (XM 607 commanded by Flight Lieutenant Martin Withers) that flew on to the target and carried out the raid. This was because the primary aircraft, XM 598 commanded by Squadron Leader John Reeve, had a leaking seal around its small direct-vision window in the cockpit. Unable to pressurize the cabin, the crew of XM 598 had to abort and return to base.

Answer: Radar jamming defences

The Westinghouse AN/ALQ-101D, or Dash 10, was an Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) system normally carried by the Buccaneer in support of tactical strike operations. It was the latest defence designed to jam hostile radar installations, including radar-operated anti-aircraft cannons and radar-guided anti-aircraft missile systems. Buccaneers carried them on underwing pylons originally designed for strike weapons, something that the Vulcan did not have. Vulcans normally carried the older and less effective 'Red Shrimp' ECM system that was mounted inside the aircraft.

Utilising hardpoints on the Vulcan that had been originally put in place for mounting Skybolt nuclear missiles back in the 1960s (a project later abandoned), L-shaped mild-steel girders were welded together and bolted on to the wing as mounts for the pods.

They proved essential in the final run to target.

Answer: There was an electrical storm

At about 40 degrees south, with two tankers left, the re-fuelling operation was beset by a severe electrical storm. Due to violent air turbulence, the fuel hoses connecting the 'long-shot' tanker (ie. the aircraft that would re-fuel the bomber for the final leg to target) with its own tanker were caused to whiplash and its re-fuelling probe snapped off.

This meant that the other tanker (piloted by Sqdn Ldr Bob Tuxford), with less fuel on board, had to take over as the long-shot, leaving the bomber short of fuel to get back to the planned re-fuelling point on the return journey.

Answer: RAF Waddington

RAF Waddington, near Lincoln, was a long-established bomber base that was very active during the Second World War. In 1982, it operated the RAF's last heavy bombers, the Avro Vulcans of Nos. 9, 44, 50 and 101 squadrons. The Vulcan squadrons were all due to be disbanded and the aircraft retired for scrap. Waddington itself was initially earmarked to be wound down as a maintenance base but it was designated as the base for AEW aircraft, initially the Nimrod and latterly the Boeing Sentry. Today it functions as the Air Warfare Centre for NATO.

Answer: Rio de Janiero, Brazil

Vulcan XM 597, captained by Sqdn Ldr Neil McDougall, was returning from the final successful attack on Argentinian radar sites. During re-fuelling, the probe broke off and the crew knew that they would not have enough fuel to get back to Ascension. Aware that they would have to attempt an emergency landing at a neutral airfield, they jettisoned all secret documents and tried to ditch the remaining AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missiles, but one stuck fast.

Initially, the Brazilian authorities refused them permission to land unless they confirmed who they were and what they were doing in Brazilian airspace. The crew were deliberately vague, explaining that it was a 'British four jet from Huddersfield' (the home town of one of the crew!) and that they were in serious difficulties. After landing, the crew were kept under open arrest before being repatriated six days later. The Vulcan was released on 10th June but the Brazilians confiscated the Shrike missile as a souvenir.