Customer Reviews

Vulcan 607: The Epic Story of the Most Remarkable British Air Attack since WWII

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Like the author, I was ten years old at the time of the Falklands Conflict and I can remember it well. I can also remember the incredible noise when a Vulcan bomber made a low-level pass at a local airshow. These two memories made the subject matter immediately applealling.

Rowland White has accomplished a considerable feat in researching the conflict and the historical records concerning the Vulcan and its crews. It is questionable whether Britian made a significant impact (militarily) by bombing the Argentine forces at Stanley, but the raid undoubtably sent the message that Britain was taking the invading forces seriously. National pride and righteous indignation was the order of the day and the armed forces had the immediate support of the British public.

Not only has the author given a historically accurate account of the Falklands War but has also provided several accounts of Soviet activities during the Cold War - the incursions into British airspace and the monitering of British activities off the coast of Acsension Island were two ancedotes that the British public had very little idea of during that time. 10 out of 10 for a well researched book and deserving of a 5 star rating.

I was stationed on Ascension Island as the US Base Commander at the time of the Falkland war and played a part in the drama told in this book. The author, Rowland White has gone to great effort to gather the facts of this story and then weave them into a most interesting book. Military buffs and fliers everywhere should enjoy the planning and execution of this most daring raid. Well written and well told.

Bill Bryden

This book is amazing.

I'm not normally into factual books, but this one took my fancy while back home in England and I had recently discovered the efforts to get Vulcan 558 restored and flying again - I saw one at an air show as a kid and it was awe inspiring, both the sight and the noise. It also didn't hurt that Clive Cussler, my favorite author, had a quote about the book on the back cover.

The book had me hooked immediately and I made time to read it instead of reading it when I had time. The story itself provoked a number of emotions being a Brit, firstly embarrassment and anger reading about the state of the RAF's fleet, but then an immense sense of British pride when the massive obstacles had been eliminated and the attack was on. I was 12 when the actual event took place, so didn't think it was a big deal. This book highlighted what an immense achievement it really was.

There is naturally a lot of acronyms involved throughout the story relating to Rank, job title or equipment etc. and they can get a bit confusing, but they are integral to the story and didn't break up the flow.

I really didn't want this book to end and I'm now looking for other books either Falklands war related or other British war related as I loved the way you could see the events unfold and how it all came together.

I'd recommend this to anyone who remembers the Falklands as a kid as it's a real eye opener. If you get the chance to see XH558 fly for the Falklands 25th commemoration you will see what all the fuss was about.

BTW - thanks Bill for your involvement on Ascension Island.

A fascinating story of an almost impossible achievement and well worth a read. But the really incredible part is the account of the air to air refuellings, especially one in a terrible electrical storm, hundreds of miles from the nearest land and both planes [the bomber and the tanker] running low on fuel! Really hair raising.

The Brits call it "muddling through." It's a intersection of the themes of "best laid plans" theme, the "Peter Principle" and "Who dares Wins." It's a sort of a national persona for them.

In 1982, Argentina occupied the Falkland Islands and South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic, some 8,000 miles from the Britsh Isles. The true ownership of the islands is complex, with successive influxes of explorers from France, Spain, Argentina and the UK arriving and claiming the islands. From that neutral statement, it is, however, a case of squatters' rights that the Brits had a solid claim.

Cut to Argentina, where the current junta is trying to shore up its claim to govern with bread and circuses. The decision is reached that occupying Las Malvinas - as the Falklands are known to them - will stir up enough nationalistic pride to somewhat offset the arrest by night of dissidents and double-digit inflation. The junta counted on two things. First, the Brits weren't serious about defending the islands. Second, there was nothing they could do to defend them.

The bulk of this extremely well-wriiten and researched story is how the British military proved both conclusions incorrect. The Royal Navy dispatched on - literally - a moment's notice a rag-tag collection of submarines, destroyers and frigates, small jump-jet/helicopter carriers, amphibious assault vessels and ocean liners to take the islands back. At the same time, there were major concerns that Argentine air units stationed at the airfield outside Port Stanley could attack the fleet with long-range Exocet anti-shipping missiles.

Eliminating this threat required the airfield be disabled by cutting the runway with bombs. But, the nearest base that could be used to stage such a mission was Ascension Island, at 4,000 miles away, roughly midway between the UK and the Falklands. This was well beyond the range of the soon-to-be-retired V-Force of long range jet bombers and tankers. But, that force did have a notional capability to fly such a mission if a lot of things played out the right way

Vulcan 607 tells the story of how the mission was conceived, assets allocated and then executed. In essence, the plan involved staging a collection of bombers and tankers on Ascension Island, then launching just one bomber and a group of tankers at the Falklands. The mission profile entailed tankers refilling other tankers that refueled yet other tankers; all for the purpose of keeping that one bomber - Vulcan MH607 -in the air.

And, it worked. The single bomber reached the Port Stanley airfield and cut the runway with a string of bombs. It then refueled on the way back to Ascension Island - itself a nerve-wracking event as bomber and tanker sought out each other before one or the other ran out of fuel.

That's the bare bones of the story. The detail is much more tense and dramatic, with planes turning back with equipment failures, failed refueling and excessive fuel consumption.

White relates the story in a solid conversational style, encorporating good mix of official documents and personal recollections from participants. If there is a flaw in the book, it is that the post-mission events are treated in a cursory manner. But then again, the book is about the mission not the war itself.

I ordered this book before Xmas and it got lost in the mail. Jwbasilbooks were great when I contacted them and they offered to immediately send another copy. I was in no rush so I was glad I waited because it eventually did show up. The postmark date showed the correct shipping date so it was definitely a post office problem. 10 stars for jwbasilbooks service!

Anyway the book is a great read about an unbelievable story! It covers from just before the Falklands war to just after Vulcan 607s mission. As well as the main story there are interesting highlights on where and how they scavenged parts for this ancient aircraft which was only months away from being retired. The refueling plan alone was amazing! This book has whetted my appetite for more stories on the Falklands War -the logistics involved for fighting such a long distance from England!

Together with his latest book, Phantom Squadron, Rowland White has recorded the
the story of airmen "muddling through" in the finest British tradition to fly long
range sorties against all odds.

Masterfully crafted, fast-flowing, endlessly engaging. An exquisitely detailed
account of what it took to deliver ordnance on target in an all but impossible
mission. The hard work, selfless dedication, bold initiative, stellar airmanship,
and superb technical skill of all those involved added yet another chapter to the
illustrious history of the Royal Air Force.

I can't wait to read his next book - whatever it may be!

The story starts of fairly slowly with the preparations and painting the background to the event, but once the throttles get pushed forwards on the vulcans, I was not not able to put the book down. It had me reading until 6am until the bombs landed on Stanley airfield.

I would think that many other nations would have turned back, as the mission itself pushed the aircraft to the absolute limit, and if they hadn't have had the luck they did, then some of them may not have made it back. Clever Brits though, they didn't give up, and in completing the mission possibly gave themselves the psychological edge they needed to take on the rest of the battle.

I can imagine the Argentinians thinking to themselves "where the hell they *they* come from..."

Very very good book.

When you get this book, your initial impression will probably be that it is a little over-hyped. Covered with comments from newspapers & noteworthy people, you get the impression it might be a bit of a let-down.

In some aspects this is true, but only in the sense that the Blackbuck missions were surprisingly small scale (at least when compared to the Dambuster's raid mentioned on the back) & some have argued that the missions achieved very little towards the war effort.

Once you get past that though, this is a surprisingly rivetting read. Written like a historical novel but with a great deal more accuracy, it is surprising how compelling the story of the Vulcan bomber's most famous raid can be.

Best of all the enthusiasm of the author for his subject comes over strongly in the detail transforming the narrative from one of geeky detail to a passionate homage to V-bombers & the achievement of an 8000 mile air raid.

Overall then, although this book may seem over-hyped & slickly marketed, it does deliver the goods & presents a unique war story that holds & keeps your attention to the very end. A word of warning though if you are thinking of reading it - don't skim through the pictures first as it might spoil the plot...

Military history that reads like a techno-thriller. The Black Buck missions were astounding achievements in airmanship, determination and courage. A must read for any aviation buff.