ENGINEERINGat its best

The Avro Vulcan is an example of British aerospace engineering at its world-beating best.
By The Newsroom
Published 13th Oct 2010, 16:35 BST
Updated 13th Oct 2010, 20:34 BST

The design brief was issued by the MoD in 1947 and the plane flew for the first time in 1952, just 11 years after the first flight of its predecessor, the Avro Lancaster.

Its impressive list of technical achievements includes being the first successful large delta wing aircraft (leading directly to Concorde).

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Innovations included anti-lock brakes, and an agility that was so close to a jet fighter’s that it was given a fighter-style control column.

Success as a Cold War peacekeeper meant that the Vulcan might have flown its entire service life without ever entering combat if it had not been for the Falklands Conflict in 1982.