Military Model Scene

Title: Vulcan Boys
Author: Tony Blackman
Publisher: Tempest Books
ISBN: 978-1-911073-27-3

'True Tales of the Iconic Delta V-Bomber' from Tempest Books. A 139-page soft-cover book, or what is sometimes termed a 'bookazine'.
Spread across 15 chapters this does a fine job of setting out the long career of the famous Vulcan while in service with the RAF. From the early days of an all-white high altitude delivery system for nuclear weapons in the early stages of the Cold War, one of the 3 well known V-Bombers , alongside the Valiant and Victor. It went on through some minor changes, such as the forward wing shape, to be a camouflaged low-level conventional bomber, and eventually a tanker! Each of the chapters are contributions from ex-Vulan crew members, some the pilots and some not. Some of their stories are amusing, while others indicate just how close they could come to disaster but managed to avoid it. Across the various chapters, dealing with the Cold War Nuclear deterrent role, training in the USA, touching on air shows, the road to going out of service, as squadrons were retired and excess spares etc being auctioned off, then the rush to find airframes that had enough life left in them, along with the efforts to find parts for them, in support of Operation Corporate, and the famous Black Buck missions to the Falkland Islands in 1982. With the stories told by veterans, we not only see the operational story of the Vulcan, but what it felt like to work with them, not just what they did. To accompany all this there are also a great selection of good quality photos used to provide illustrations throughout the book.
The personal stories made this for me, not just a dry development story. I am sure Cold War historians will enjoy this one, along with those of us who lived through the period, those who never tired of seeing the beautiful delta shape in the air and hearing the roar as they would fly in level and quiet, then go into a climb and the ground would shake. A sight now so sadly missed from our skies by so many of us. Modellers and Vulcan fans will enjoy this one, at great value for money in my opinion.
Thanks to Tempest Books for the review copy.

Robin