Photograph
by
Andy Leitch
Avro
Vulcan B2 XL386 of No 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron on Alpha Dispersal at RAF
Waddington in 1978. An interesting feature of this aircraft is the X-band
jammer fitted on the ECM bay doors (above the port main undercarriage
door in this photograph). Introduced to counteract X-band AI radars, most
late-production aircraft were fitted with the jammer around 1968. Initially
the jammer had a single rearward facing aerial but these were subsequently
replaced with two-headed jammers, one head pointing rearwards and another
forwards. 386 was fitted with the earlier single-headed unit, possibly
for training purposes (it served for a period on 230 OCU at Scampton),
and retained it. With its toned-down paint scheme, 301 engines and single-headed
X-band jammer, this aircraft would be identified as 386, even if its serial
number were obscured. The aircraft on the left is XL388 and the aircraft
on the right is XM652.
Identifications courtesy Craig Bulman, author of The
Vulcan B.Mk2 from a Different Angle >>