Picture of the day

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USS Coral Sea

This reminds me of the movie 'Away All Boats' ... https://youtu.be/I_JU_nfHdVk check out 28:45 on
 
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It’s been a while so I thought I’d make up for it with this immense photo!

I can just feel the howl…imagine actually hearing it?!

The Vulcan made a few appearances in Canada in the past. I recall seeing it quite often at the Abbotsford air show in the early 80s. It was quite a thing to see it fly over Langley and Surrey casting a very large shadow on the ground. It was an ominous sight and certainly garnered much attention!
 
The Vulcan made a few appearances in Canada in the past. I recall seeing it quite often at the Abbotsford air show in the early 80s. It was quite a thing to see it fly over Langley and Surrey casting a very large shadow on the ground. It was an ominous sight and certainly garnered much attention!

Sadly unlikely to be repeated.
 
The Vulcan made a few appearances in Canada in the past. I recall seeing it quite often at the Abbotsford air show in the early 80s. It was quite a thing to see it fly over Langley and Surrey casting a very large shadow on the ground. It was an ominous sight and certainly garnered much attention!

Yes .. and the shadow seemed to linger an awful long time ... they struck me as relatively slow lumbering objects ... what was their operational performance? (speed altitude ..?)
 
General characteristics

Crew: 5 (pilot, co-pilot, AEO, Navigator Radar, Navigator Plotter)[nb 1]
Length: 97 ft 1 in (29.59 m)
Wingspan: 99 ft 5 in (30.3 m)
Height: 26 ft 6 in (8.0 m)
Wing area: 3,554 ft² (330.2 m²)
Empty weight: 83,573 lb (including crew) (37,144 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 170,000 lb (77,111 kg)
Powerplant: 4 × Bristol Olympus 101, or 102 or 104 turbojet, 11,000 lbf (49 kN) each
Performance

Maximum speed: Mach 0.96 (645 mph ( 1038.03km/h)) at altitude – Mach 1+ in a shallow dive[238]
Cruise speed: Mach 0.86 (567 miles per hour (912 km/h)) at 45,000 feet (14,000 m)
Range: 2,607 mi (4,171 km)
Service ceiling: 55,000 ft (17,000 m)
Thrust/weight: 0.31
Armament

21 × 1,000 pounds (454 kg) of conventional bombs
1 x Blue Danube nuclear gravity bomb
1 x Violet Club 400 kt nuclear gravity bomb
1 x U.S. Mark 5 nuclear gravity bomb supplied under Project E
1 x Yellow Sun Mk.1 400 kt nuclear gravity bomb
1 x Yellow Sun Mk 2 1.1 Mt thermonuclear gravity bomb
1 x Red Beard nuclear gravity bomb
1 x WE.177B parachute-retarded nuclear gravity bomb[148]

And in comparison with the spec for the B2 Spirit stealth bomber:
Specifications (B-2A Block 30)[edit]
Orthographically projected diagram of the B-2 Spirit.

General characteristics

Crew: 2: pilot (left seat) and mission commander (right seat)
Length: 69 ft (21.0 m)
Wingspan: 172 ft (52.4 m)
Height: 17 ft (5.18 m)
Wing area: 5,140 ft² (478 m²)
Empty weight: 158,000 lb (71,700 kg)
Loaded weight: 336,500 lb (152,200 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 376,000 lb (170,600 kg)
Fuel Capacity: 167,000 pounds (75,750 kg)
Powerplant: 4 × General Electric F118-GE-100 non-afterburning turbofans, 17,300 lbf (77 kN) each
Performance

Maximum speed: Mach 0.95 (550 knots, 630 mph, 1,010 km/h) at 40,000 ft altitude / Mach 0.95 at sea level[146]
Cruise speed: Mach 0.85[63] (487 knots, 560 mph, 900 km/h) at 40,000 ft altitude
Range: 6,000 nmi (11,100 km (6,900 mi))
Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,200 m)
Wing loading: 67.3 lb/ft² (329 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.205
Armament

2 internal bays for ordnance and payload with an official limit of 40,000 lb (18,000 kg); maximum estimated limit is 50,000 lb (23,000 kg).[63]
80× 500 lb class bombs (Mk-82, GBU-38) mounted on Bomb Rack Assembly (BRA)
36× 750 lb CBU class bombs on BRA
16× 2,000 lb class bombs (Mk-84, GBU-31) mounted on Rotary Launcher Assembly (RLA)
16× B61 or B83 nuclear bombs on RLA (strategic mission)
Standoff weapon: AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) and AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM).[147][148]
 
Yes .. and the shadow seemed to linger an awful long time ... they struck me as relatively slow lumbering objects ... what was their operational performance? (speed altitude ..?)

The Vulcan B.2A had an effective (unrefuelled) combat radius of about 1,800 nm while carrying four WE.177B nuclear gravity bombs. Maximum speed was around 550 knots. Best advice for a Vulcan crew that managed to survive a nuclear attack mission (and realizing there was probably little to which to return) went as follows: "Your best bet, old boy, is to keep flying east and settle down with a nice, warm Mongolian woman."
 
The Vulcan B.2A had an effective (unrefuelled) combat radius of about 1,800 nm while carrying four WE.177B nuclear gravity bombs. Maximum speed was around 550 knots. Best advice for a Vulcan crew that managed to survive a nuclear attack mission (and realizing there was probably little to which to return) went as follows: "Your best bet, old boy, is to keep flying east and settle down with a nice, warm Mongolian woman."

You will want to check out this youtube about the Vulcan,
 
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USAF Canberra's would occasionally drop into RCAF Station Chatham in New Brunswick when I was stationed there.

If I remember right, the pilots referred to them as a Polish Spitfire. Don't know why...
 
Best colour scheme for a Canberra is the RAF camo.

One year on the anniversary of the Dam Busters raid, one made the run over the Mohne Dam and then the usual victory roll over 4 CMBG HQ near Soest. Somehow we were never able to ID the nationality or markings of the aircraft, year after year ......
 
Best colour scheme for a Canberra is the RAF camo.

One year on the anniversary of the Dam Busters raid, one made the run over the Mohne Dam and then the usual victory roll over 4 CMBG HQ near Soest. Somehow we were never able to ID the nationality or markings of the aircraft, year after year ......

Ask and ye shall receive...:)

full


They are a lovely thing. Good lines, great proportions. The RAAF did them up nice too:

Canberra.jpg


And of course, the Clan MacLeod Special:

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Well, that and the women and children. And maybe babies in their cribs. And maybe old people in rocking chairs. Or even the kindergarten teacher that gets blown to bits by a stray bomb while doing art classes with 4 year olds. But yah, the animals to.
 
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Ask and ye shall receive...:)

full


They are a lovely thing. Good lines, great proportions. The RAAF did them up nice too:

Canberra.jpg


And of course, the Clan MacLeod Special:

canberra-pr9-retirement-31.jpg

In NZ, I saw them several times. Loved them.
my brother saw the ones the USAF had in Vietnam a lot as well. Apparently the piolets loved them!
 
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