VICKERS VC10 100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
PATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERS RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION 73Type: Four-crew medium-range jet transport
First fl ight: June 29, 1962; entered RAF service December 1966
Powerplant: Four 21,800lb st (96.7kW) Rolls-Royce Conway turbofans
Dimensions: Span 146ft 2in (44.55m), length 158ft 8in (48.36m)
Weights: Empty 146,980lb (66,670kg), all-up 323,000lb (146,513kg)
Max speed: 568mph (914km/h) at 25,000ft (7,620m)
Range: 6,012 miles (9,765km)
Capacity: 150 passengers or 76 stretchers, or a mixture of freight/passengers
Replaced: de Havilland Comet
Taken on charge: 28 (14 C Mk.1, fi ve K.2, four K.3, fi ve K.4)
Replaced by: Airbus VoyagerVICKERS VC10 C MK.I
TANKING
In 1978 the RAF announced its
intention to form a squadron of
nine VC10 air-to-air refuelling
(AAR) tankers. The contract was
awarded to BAe Filton for the
conversion of five ex-Gulf Air
Standard VC10s to K.2 standard,
and four ex-East African Airways
Super VC10s to K.3 status.
The first K.2 flew on June 22,
1982 and was soon delivered to
101 Squadron at Brize Norton. The
VC10 was a very capable refuelling
platform as its high-mounted
tailplane reduced the risk of a
receiving aircraft colliding with
the tanker.
A decade later the final Victor
K.2s needed replacing, and the
decision was made to convert five
more VC10s for 101 Squadron.
The airframes chosen were former
British Airways Super VC10s (which
became K.4s) and the 13 surviving
C Mk.1s were also converted to C
Mk.1K standard. The work entailed
adding two wing-mounted refuelling
pods and a CCTV camera under
the fuselage. The new K.2s had extra
fuel tanks fitted within the fuselage,
but the C Mk.1K retained its full
passenger and freight capabilities,
using just its own fuel for tanking.ACTIVE SERVICE
In 1982, VC10 C Mk.1s formed a
vital part of the ‘Airbridge’ between
RAF Brize Norton and Wideawake
Airfield on Ascension Island, during
the Falklands conflict.
Nearly a decade later, nine VC10
K.2s and K.3s were deployed in the
AAR role to bases in Bahrain, Saudi
Arabia and Oman in 1991 for the
First Gulf War. The type remained
in the region throughout the 1990s,
supporting allied aircraft enforcing
no-fly zones.During the 1999 war in the
former-Yugoslavia, VC10 tankers
in Southern Italy refuelled NATO
aircraft as part of Operation Allied
Force. The VC10s also allowed
Tornados stationed in Germany to
conduct long-range strike missions
on targets in Serbia.
In 2001, Oman-based VC10s
were used in some of the
first missions of the war over
Afghanistan and provided
transport back-up for British and
allied forces. Two years later the
VC10 fleet was back in the Gulf
supporting the US-led invasion of
Iraq as part of Operation Telic.RETIREMENT
In the early part of the new
millennium the RAF began retiring
and scrapping the K.2 fleet.
Surviving K.3s served as tanker/
transports with 101 Squadron
at Brize Norton and the single
remaining K.4 was based in
the Falklands.
During the 2011 Operation
Ellamy over Libya, a small number
of VC10s were dispatched to the
Mediterranean to refuel NATO
strike aircraft, but by now the clock
was ticking for the ageing tanker and
its final flight was on September 24,
2013, ending nearly five decades
of service.Above left
VC10 C Mk.1K XV103
fl ew with 10 Sqn
throughout its
entire career. It was
withdrawn from
service in January
2001 and was
scrapped at RAF St
Athan in November- ANDY HAY/WWW.
FLYINGART.CO.UK
Left
VC10 C Mk.1 XR808
fl ew with 10 Squadron
and it eventually
joined 101 Squadron
as a tanker following
conversion to C
Mk.1K standard. It
was fi nally retired
in July 2013 and
fl own to Kemble for
disassembly, before
being transported
by road to the RAF
Museum Cosford.
RAF MUSEUMVICKERS VC10VICKERS VC10VICKERS VC10VICKERS VC10VICKERS VC10VICKERS VC10VICKERS VC10VICKERS VC10