Avro Vulcan B.Mk2 XM655 Night Shoot at Wellesbourne
Tuesday, June 16th, 2015Avro Vulcan XM655 was third from last of the Vulcan bombers produced for the Royal Air Force, being delivered in late 1964, and was part of the UK’s nuclear deterrent force throughout the 1960s and 1970s. It is now owned by Wellesbourne Airfield, and is looked after by 655 Maintenance and Preservation Society (655MaPS) which is a volunteer organisation of Vulcan enthusiasts. XM655 is one of only two Vulcans remaining in ground running condition, the only one with the most powerful of the engine variants, the Bristol Olympus 301s. The aim of 655MaPS is to keep this fine example of British engineering in running condition for as long as possible and to raise much needed funds by showing her off to the adoring public on a regular basis with ‘fast taxi runs’.
2014 marked the 50th anniversary of XM655 entering service with the RAF and the 30th anniversary of her landing at her then new home of Wellesbourne Airfield. Our first event on the 15th of November 2014 was part of the celebrations to mark these milestones and saw just under a hundred photographers gather to capture some very special images. So successful was our first event that we have been invited back in October 2015.
Our event on the 24th of October 2015 will start at 15.00 with a welcome address from the Chairman of 655MaPS, Charles Brimson. Shortly after this we will start our photography taking advantage of the late Autumn afternoon light. There will be various cameos set up for you to enjoy, these will include ‘Cold War’ Re-Enactors that will be playing the parts of Ground Crew and Airman. The Society have some wonderful equipment that will also be at our disposal such as a genuine tug, towing arm and of course the all important payload loaded in the bomb bay (we are assured that these are models and not the real thing…). XM655 will be positioned on the taxiway directly in front of where she normally lives, this will afford us the luxury of a clear backdrop. After dark we will be lighting XM655 and will continue the theme of recreating cameos that represent those everyday scenes that were once commonplace on RAF Bases around the UK. To ensure you don’t miss any of the action there will be hot food and drinks available for you to enjoy (at extra cost) all evening just off to the side of where the photography will happen. The photography is due to finish around 20.00 with XM655 set in a full state of ‘ready to depart’, all her lights on and ground crew giving her pilot directions from the taxi way.
We hope many of you will wish to join us again or for the first time, so we therefore look forward to seeing you on the day.
Event cost £50.00 per person, or £40.00 per person for 655MaPS members. Members please contact Avril on membership@xm655.com to get your ‘one time use’ discount code. Discounts can only be applied at the point of purchase and we are unable to apply discounts retrospectively.
For more information on XM655 and how you can support the Society or become a member of 655MaPS please click this link to their homepage, www.xm655.com