Just as the Vulcan and Victor’s operational sunset approached, war clouds appeared on the horizon and the V-Force jets were thrust into a real shooting war. Chris Pierce recalls the first Black Buck raid on Port Stanley Airfield
When the Vulcan and Victor were thought to be in their twilight years of service, Britain’s armed forces were primarily focused on defending the country and its NATO allies against the danger posed by the Soviet Union. Despite the long-running dispute about the Falklands sovereignty, their remoteness from the UK ensured they were not at the forefront of British military thinking. However, the Argentine military dictatorship of the day was secretly planning to invade the islands to boost its flagging popularity by generating a wave of jingoism. By 1982, the Malvinas – as they are known to Argentina - were set to be ‘reclaimed’ by its armed forces.
