Designed as a high-altitude nuclear bomber at the beginning of the Cold War, the Avro Vulcan became one of the most distinctive aircraft ever operated by the RAF. Its enormous delta wing, four Olympus engines and unmistakable silhouette made it an icon of British aviation.

When Argentine forces invaded the Falkland Islands in April 1982, the Vulcan was approaching retirement. An aircraft conceived to carry Britain’s nuclear deterrent suddenly faced an entirely different challenge: delivering conventional weapons against targets almost 4,000 miles from the nearest suitable British airfield.

The RAF devised an extraordinarily complex plan. Vulcans would fly from Wideawake Airfield on Ascension Island to the Falklands, attack Argentine positions around Port Stanley and return. Reaching the target required a carefully choreographed relay of Victor tankers refuelling both the bomber and each other.

Two Vulcans departed Ascension for Black Buck One on the night of 30 April 1982. XM607 was initially the reserve aircraft, but when the primary Vulcan was forced to turn back, Squadron Leader Martin Withers and his crew inherited the mission and continued south towards the Falklands.

XM607 crossed thousands of miles of empty South Atlantic, receiving fuel seven times during the mission. Navigation, fuel calculations and the Victor tanker operation had to work together with extraordinary precision. Failure at a critical point could leave the Vulcan without enough fuel to return.