Rowland White's "VULCAN 607"

Book review by Dennis D. McDonald

I found it impossible to read this incredibly detailed book without repeatedly shaking my head in disbelief. It tell the story of the British air force’s long range attack on the airfield of the Falkland Islands during the brief war with Argentina in the early 1980’s. The giant British Vulcan jet bombers, months away from being retired, were retrofited with refueling equipment and the crews trained to make the long trek to deliver 1,000 pound bombs.

The author recounts in detail what was involved in planning and carrying out the mission and the events that happened along the way that were planned as well as unplanned. A major topic is the need to refuel in the air many times going and coming. One sequence, refueling while in a thunderstorm, is particularly hair raising.

Another key topic is how old technology was coaxed to perform for a mission type that had never been envisioned for bombers originally designed to deliver nuclear weapons. Both radar and navigation were dodgy throughout the mission which was conducted before military satellite based navigation was routine.

As a “nuts and bolts” military mission retelling this book is exceptional. That the entire Falklands War was nuts does not take away from the fact that the mission was a major military accomplishment. There is just enough information to put the mission into the context of the times and the author resists the temptation to get into too much detail regarding politics, diplomacy, and other military actions in a brief war that still ended up being deadly in terms of human lives.

Review copyright (c) 2020 by Dennis D. McDonald

Below images are of the Vulcan on display at the Castle Air Museum in California USA.