The Last Flight of XM594 - A P&S Spin-off.

[JN1]

Well here is my attempt at a spin-off from Jack's Protect and Survive time line.

*

I

"At its operational height the Vulcan can outfly and outmanoeuvre any fighter in squadron service today." - Air Ministry Press Release (1958).

Extract of memorandum sent from H.Q 1 Group, RAF to Vulcan Squadron Commanding Officers, late 1982.

‘Due to the deteriorating international situation it has been decided to postpone the draw-down of the remaining Vulcan squadrons assigned to this group. 9 Squadron will still stand up as a Tornado GR.1 squadron as planned, as will 617, however current Vulcan crews assigned to 9 Squadron will be retained in their current role and will renumber as No.83 Squadron. No.35 Squadron will also reform using Vulcan B.2 and B.2 (MRR) currently held in storage, with the latter being restored to bomber configuration.
‘Command has also decided that it is prudent to disperse the Vulcan fleet to more than one main base in peacetime. Therefore No.44 and No.50 Squadrons will relocate from RAF Waddington to RAF Scampton.

‘When the current reshuffle is complete the Vulcan force will comprise the following:

RAF Waddington.
35 Squadron
83 Squadron
101 Squadron

RAF Scampton.
44 Squadron
50 Squadron.

‘The Vulcan force will continue to be armed and targeted as before, though the Tornado force will supplement it over the next two years and handle targets closer to the UK Home Base and RAFG.’

*

29th January 1984, Vulcan dispersal, RAF Scampton.
UK BIKINI STATE: RED.

“Have you decided what to do with the wife and kids yet, Mike?” Flight Lieutenant Ted Tootal asked his pilot.

Squadron Leader Michael ‘Mike’ Winters considered the question for a moment before answering.

“Cath wants to take them off to her Mother’s in North Wales.” The Vulcan pilot said at last. “Not sure I see the point to be honest; you’re as safe, or otherwise, here as there. All it takes is one missile to overshoot and…”
“Yeah, I know what you mean.
“Kate wants to stay here, says she’s spent two years getting our quarters fixed up properly and the Russians are not going to chase her out of it. My brother lives in a village just outside Winchester, which should be safe enough and I’m going to try and get her to go there.”
“Good luck with that, if I know Kate…”

The two men’s conversation was suddenly and rudely interrupted by the sound of a deafening klaxon. The aircrew sitting in the ready room had already begun to move before they consciously recognised it as the alert siren.

‘This is the Bomber Controller with a message for all Vulcan squadrons in Number One Group. All crews immediately man your aircraft…repeat…’

Winters and his crew were heading out of the door heading for their aircraft – Vulcan B.2 XM594 – before the message from RAF High Wycome had finished.
The Air Electronics Officer, Flight Lieutenant Mark Jones, was the first member of the crew up the ladder. Once in his seat he began to turn on the bomber’s systems. He was followed by Winters, who started the four Rolls-Royce Olympus 202 turbojets.
The next man was the Navigator Radar, Squadron Leader Alistair Currie, followed by Tootal. The last man up the ladder was Pilot Officer John ‘Jack’ Macragge, the Navigator Plotter. He closed and secured the hatch behind him before taking his seat.

Normally by this time the Vulcan would already be taxiing from its dispersal towards the runway, in fact it would probably be lining up for a take-off before even the main hatch was secure. Instead the aircraft was holding while it waited for the ‘scramble’ message.

‘This is the Bomber Controller…’

***

[Macragge1]

Wow! Looking good Jan; liking my little cameo as well Considering this is late January it's looking like we're in the middle of a readiness test at the moment, though obviously the crew won't know that until they're stood down - given the tensions even at this point, I'll imagine it's nerve-racking, especially given that the crew have families to consider...

Keep up the good work, and looking forward to the next installment!

EDIT - Nice to see the BIKINI states; the new 'Counter-Terrorism Threat: Heightened' or whatever it is just doesn't have the same charm; I saw such a sign sitting outside the HMS Ledbury as it sat on the Quayside this weekend, and was rather dissapointed...

EDIT EDIT - Tiniest of nitpicks; I think the international situation only actually diverges with our own with some unpleasantness in Berlin in late 1983, rather than '82, so presumably this would be when any (admittedly last minute) organisational changes would take place?

[JN1]

Thanks very much, Jack. I knew I just had to include you as the 'sprog' of the crew. The scramble sequence is based on what the guide at the Newark Air Museum told me when I was in XM594's cockpit last month (why I picked her).

Yes, it's a readiness test. Dispersal of the bombers hasn't even happened yet so we know it's not the real thing, if it was the message from the Bomber Controller would be 'SCRAMBLE!'

The co-pilot is named after a Vulcan pilot my Dad used to know and I'm sure you can guess who the pilot is named after.

I preferred the old BIKINI states too. A building I used to work had a BIKINI state outside - it was always BLACK SPECIAL when I was there.

EDIT: I had to take the reorganisation back to 1982 or all we'd have were a few Vulcan K.2 tankers. Most of the Vulcan squadrons vanished almost immediately after the Falklands War, apart from No.50 with the K.2 tanker.

XM594 as she is today (took these myself).

[Gen_Patton]

Too Cool! I'll have to subscribe to this TL too!

@Macraggle

What have we done? There are 7 "P&S verse" TLs!

[Chipperback]

BIKINI STATE: SUBSCRIBED!

[JN1]

Thanks, gents. Much appreciated. With my TLW comittments this story may be a little slow in coming out, so please bear with me.

[JN1]

II

'This is the Bomber Controller to all Vulcan crews. Stand-down from alert but maintain cockpit alert for the next 15 minutes.'

***

[Sior]

http://www.kenmcbride.com/National-M...Flight/vulcan/

360 view of cockpit.

http://www.vectorsite.net/avvulcan_2.html

more info

[FlyingDutchman]

Kudos Jan.

I'm curious how this continues.
By the '80s the Vulcan fleet was badly in need of an upgrade (as you likely know) and I wonder how the RAF is going to get that organised.

[Macragge1]

Originally Posted by FlyingDutchman

Kudos Jan.

I'm curious how this continues.
By the '80s the Vulcan fleet was badly in need of an upgrade (as you likely know) and I wonder how the RAF is going to get that organised.

I can't help think it'll soon be a fairly moot point

[Lemon flavoured]

Cool. I haven't been to the Newark Air Museum for ages, which is daft really because I live about 1.5 miles away in Coddington.

[FlyingDutchman]

Originally Posted by Macragge1

I can't help think it'll soon be a fairly moot point

I wasn't familair with the Protect and Serve - timeline, checked it out just now.

Agree that it'll be a moot point...

[JN1]

Originally Posted by Sior

http://www.kenmcbride.com/National-M...Flight/vulcan/

360 view of cockpit.

http://www.vectorsite.net/avvulcan_2.html

more info

Nice pics. That's the interior of the East Fortune Vulcan isn't it? What really struck me was how small the cockpit was.

Originally Posted by FlyingDutchman

Kudos Jan.

I'm curious how this continues.
By the '80s the Vulcan fleet was badly in need of an upgrade (as you likely know) and I wonder how the RAF is going to get that organised.

Thanks, much appreciated.

As a P&S spin-off I think it's no surprise this will end in tears. XM594 has not yet made her last flight, but it is not too far off.
As Jack says, the upgrade problem will soon be moot.

Originally Posted by Lemon flavoured

Cool. I haven't been to the Newark Air Museum for ages, which is daft really because I live about 1.5 miles away in Coddington.

For shame! Well now you've a good excuse to go.
I was lucky in that both the Shack and Vulcan were open - 50p each, best Quid I spent all holiday!

[markjones980]

Lordy!, I'm looking forward to this, as a regular visitor to the Scampton/Waddington area, I was there in my minds eye at the first paragraph!
If you you know Jans work, you just know this is gonna be goooooood!

And thanks for the cameo Jan

[JN1]

Thanks very much, Mark. Thought you'd enjoy being a member of a Vulcan's crew.

[JN1]

III

8th February 1984. Vulcan dispersal, RAF Scampton.

UK BIKINI STATE: AMBER.
Vulcan bomber QRA state: 15 minutes.

“Halt!” The RAF Police dog handler barked. “ID now!”

The handler’s dog strained against its chain, growling at the figure in front of it, while the corporal’s ‘oppo’ kept him covered with a Sterling SMG. The man in front of him carefully and slowly reached into his DPM jacket, withdrew his identification and…showed it to the dog.

“Fuckin’ comedian!” The RAFP Corporal said angrily.
“That’s ‘Fuckin’ comedian, Sergeant, to you, Corporal!” Sergeant John ‘Jack’ Archibald, an armourer assigned to the RAF Scampton Vulcan Wing snapped back.

*

Until recently Sergeant Archibald had been an armourer working on an RAF Germany Jaguar squadron. However a joke involving a WE.177C and a ‘sprog’ airman had attracted the wrath of the RAF Police; fortunately for Archibald his Commanding Officer had a sense of humour and saw the funny side, so instead of punishment he had been posted back to the UK.
As the posting was recent Archibald had not yet sorted out married accommodation and had sent his wife and son, recently born in a hospital in Mönchengladbach, to stay with his aged parents in Central Scotland.
In common with his posting in West Germany Archibald was responsible for the maintenance of the nuclear weapons used by the two Vulcan squadrons based at RAF Scampton, in this case WE.177Bs. When he had first arrived his job had been relatively easy as most of the bombs had been in highly secure magazines, guarded by the RAF Police and RAF Regiment, where they needed little in the way of maintenance.

When the UK had gone to BIKINI STATE AMBER, however, a proportion of the RAF’s nuclear capable aircraft, other than those already on nuclear QRA in Germany, a mix of Vulcans, Buccaneers, Jaguars and Nimrods, had been loaded with nuclear weapons and placed on alert. Now checking on the bombs involved walking out to the heavily guarded dispersals.

The dispersals themselves were guarded by members of the RAFP armed with a mix of Sterlings and SLRs. Beyond them and around the airfield perimeter were more heavily armed members of the RAF Regiment and some light armour, and for a mile around in every direction beyond the perimeter the countryside was closed off and patrolled by armed troops and police, having been declared a Ground Defence Zone.

*

“Open up the bloody bomb doors then!” Archibald shouted to one other ‘erks’ who had climbed up into the cockpit of XM594.
“Right, Sarge!” Came the muffled reply.

Once the bomb bay doors had swung open Archibald stepped under the bomber and shone his torch upwards. He noted the two green painted WE.177Bs towards the rear and the extra fuel tank forward; there were no obvious problems.

“No leaking ‘liquid plutonium'?” One of the other armourers asked laughing.
“Smart arse.
“No, they look fine to me.” Archibald replied. “I just hope we can download and put them back in the bunkers soon.”

***

WE.177B free-fall bombs (and yes, that is a TSR.2 above them).

[Baron Bizarre]

Wow, good stuff. You know, at this rate, we're going to need a "Protect & Survive" forum.

[JN1]

Thanks very much. I do like the idea of a P&S forum.
This is actually quite a relaxing story to write compared to my own TL. Nice short chapters and someone else has done a lot of the work (cheers Jack ).

[CANMAN]

Any updates coming up?

[Archangel]

Subscribed, JN1!