Photograph
by
Andy Leitch
Avro
Vulcan XM573 of No 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron on the ORP in the gathering
gloom at RAF Wyton in 1978. Originally a B2 Blue Steel, 573 was the last
Vulcan to be built with 200-series engines and was delivered to 83 Squadron
in 1963 and pooled into the Scampton Wing. Surplus to requirements in
1966, 573 was returned to Woodford where it was retrofitted to the free-fall
role and subsequently delivered to the Waddington Wing in 1967. 573 was
transferred to No 230 OCU, then at RAF Finningley, in 1968 and transferred
to the Akrotiri Wing in 1970. Still a standard B2, 573 was allocated to
27 Squadron at Scampton in 1974 and then 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron at Waddington
in 1977. In December 1978, returned to 230 OCU, now at Scampton, and transferred
back to Waddington, this time with IX Squadron in 1981. In 1982, 573 was
flown to Offutt AFB in Nebraska and donated to the Strategic Aerospace
Museum that occupied part of Offutt's disused runway. The Museum and 573
have subsequently relocated to Ashland, Nebraska (SAC Museum).