Warbird Information Exchange

The weight of snow on a museum's prized Cold War bomber has left it seemingly frozen at take-off.

The Avro Vulcan B2 was found tipped backwards at the North East Air Museum in Sunderland.

Staff have stacked railway sleepers under the 97ft (30m) aircraft's front wheel, so it does not come crashing down when the snow melts.

Museum owner and manager Keith Davison will now have to hire in a crane to set the Vulcan right.


I thought blimey, that's different

Keith Davison, museum owner
He said: "I opened the museum on Saturday morning and it was the first thing that I saw. I thought blimey, that's different.

"The sheer weight of the snow on the wings had tipped the plane backwards, lifting the front landing wheel about 8ft from the ground.

"Now its rear fuselage and the trailing edge of the wings are on the ground.

"It's the first time it has been in that position since it was flown here from RAF Waddington on January 23 in 1983."

The Vulcan served with squadrons 617 (The Dambusters), 44 and 83 which were based at either Waddington or Scampton.

It was the second B2 delivered to 617 squadron on 20 October 1961, and is one of 20 existing, still-complete Vulcans.

The plane was part of the UK's nuclear deterrent against the Soviet Union, and was also used in a conventional bombing role during the Falklands conflict.

There is just one Vulcan bomber left flying in the world today. The rest are in museums.

I'll grab my snow shovel and be right there.

Crane rights snow-damaged bomber
A museum's Cold War bomber, which was tipped backwards by heavy snow, has been righted by engineers.

The Avro Vulcan B2 was found damaged by staff at the North East Air Museum in Sunderland earlier this month.

Railway sleepers were put under the 97ft (30m) aircraft's front wheel to prevent further damage as snow melted.

A crane and specialist lifting gear was brought in on Tuesday so the plane could be gently returned to its normal display position.

The weight of days worth of snowfall on the Vulcan's huge wings tipped it backwards, lifting the front landing wheel about 8ft (2.4m) from the ground.

Museum owner and manager Keith Davison said he was "over the moon" that the plane was now back in its correct position.


He said: "I am just so pleased we have managed to get it back down onto its wheels.

"There has been some damage to the rear of the aircraft, but it doesn't appear to be as bad as we expected.

"Two access doors at the back have been flattened but we hope to get replacements."

The Vulcan served with squadrons 617 (The Dambusters), 44 and 83 which were based at either Waddington or Scampton.

It was the second B2 delivered to 617 squadron on 20 October 1961, and is one of 20 existing, still-complete Vulcans.

The plane was part of the UK's nuclear deterrent against the Soviet Union, and was also used in a conventional bombing role during the Falklands conflict.

There is just one Vulcan bomber left flying in the world today. The rest are in museums.