Fly Past

NUCLEAR TESTING 100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE

April 2018 FLYPAST 57

Far left

One of the Attune crews

on May 8, 1971 in Lima.

From left to right, Peter

Gallagher (Nav Radar),

Tim Holland-Smith

(Nav Plotter), Tom

Barnard (Pilot) , Mike

Beer (AEO) and Julian

Collis (Co-pilot). Note

the dosimeters on the

collars of the aircrew.

These measured the

radioactivity absorbed

during the mission.

VIA MIKE BEER.

Left

The Operation ‘Attune’

headquarters in Lima,

consisting of two

infl atable tents.

VIA J J KEW

Below left

Victor SR.2 XL230

took part in ‘Attune’

and in the Shemya

detachment. MIKE BEER

Left centre

An aerial view of Lima

International Airport

with the ‘Attune’

Victors visible among

a host of civilian

types including

Douglas DC-6s. VIA

J J KEW

Left

Famous Vulcan XH558

in B.2(MRR) guise

with 27 Squadron at

McClellan Air Force

Base, California, in

July 1981. The podded

sample collector on

the former Skybolt

hardpoint is evident.

CARL E PORTER

told not to wipe the aircraft’s skin.
The Victors were flown through
rain showers as often as possible
to try and clean off the radioactive
deposits.
In the cockpit a selectable vacuum
pump had been fitted to the air
conditioning system. Once the
atomic cloud was detected, it was
switched on to provide further
filtering of the air used for cabin
pressurisation and conditioning.
The level of exposure to
radioactivity experienced by the
Victors was measured continually
during these detachments to
establish a background reading.

Speaking to FlyPast, Mike Beer

confirmed that: “It was not safe to

fly for long periods”.

DELTA SNIFFER

When 543 Squadron’s Victors

ended their sampling duties the

role was passed onto a handful

of Avro Vulcans belonging to 27

Squadron at Waddington, Lincs.

France ended atmospheric tests in

1974 and any sampling operations

performed after that date involved

the Chinese.

The Vulcans, designated

B.2(MRR), carried sampling pods

adapted from underwing drop tanks

used by de Havilland Sea Vixen

naval fighters. The pods were fitted

to hardpoints originally intended to

take the cancelled Douglas Skybolt

nuclear missile.

The last Vulcans of 27 Squadron

were retired when the unit

disbanded in March 1982. One of

27 Squadron’s sniffer Vulcans later

gained considerable fame, becoming

the Vulcan to the Sky Trust’s

XH558.

The author wishes to thank Jeff Jefford

and Mike Beer’s http://www.victorxm715.

co.uk website for assistance in writing

this feature.

“In the cockpit a selectable vacuum pump had been fi tted to the air

conditioning system. Once the atomic cloud was detected, it was

switched on to provide further fi ltering of the air used for cabin

pressurisation and conditioning”