72 RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION PATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERS

VC10

VICKERS

1965 TO 2013

VC10

2010. It was then fl own
      to Bruntingthorpe on
      July 27 that year to
      be scrapped.

Right

VC10 C Mk.1 XV106 is

loaded for its next

sortie. This aircraft

survived until 2012

when it was scrapped at

Bruntingthorpe airfi eld,

Leicestershire. ALL KEY

UNLESS STATED

V

ickers’ VC10 narrow-bodied

jetliner was designed to operate

on long-distance routes from

relatively short runways. Created

to excel in ‘hot and high’ climates,

its performance also meant it could

cross the Atlantic in just over five

hours (only Concorde was faster).

These abilities appealed to the

RAF, which issued Specification

239 in 1960 for a strategic jet-

powered transport. In September

1961 the VC10 was deemed the

most suitable aircraft and an order

for five airframes was placed by the

Air Ministry. Following the type’s

maiden flight on June 29, 1962 the

order was augmented with another

six airframes in August that year,

and a further three (that had been

cancelled by BOAC) were added in

July 1964.

MILITARY MODIFICATIONS

The RAF version of the VC10 (the

Type 1106) was a hybrid, consisting

of the ‘Standard Combi’ airframe

combined with the more powerful

engines and fin fuel tank of the

‘Super VC10.’ The aircraft also

had a detachable inflight refuelling

probe on the nose and an integrated

auxiliary power unit in the

tailcone, which permitted

operations from remote airfields

without ground equipment.

Unlike airliner variants, all

passenger seats in the military VC10s

faced rearwards for safety reasons.

The first RAF aircraft – dubbed

VC10 C Mk.1 – was delivered for

flight testing on November 26,

1965, and those destined for 10

Squadron started to arrive at RAF

Brize Norton in December the

following year. The final example

had been delivered by August 1968.

Initially the unit’s jets flew two

regular routes: one to the Far East,

Singapore and Hong Kong and

the other to New York. By 1970,

around 10,000 military passengers

and 730,000lb (331,128kg) of

freight were being carried monthly

by RAF VC10s. The squadron was

averaging more than 1,000 flying

hours per month, conducting

27 flights to the Persian Gulf

alone, but scheduled flights were

eventually deleted with the British

military’s withdrawal from the

Far East.

Supporting pre-planned exercises

and deployments accounted for

almost 75% of 10 Squadron’s flying

time, and the VC10 also routinely

served in the aeromedical evacuation

and VIP roles, being used by

members of the British royal family

and by several prime ministers.

1918 2018