RAF Wellesbourne Mountford and Vulcan XM655

Wellesbourne was constructed in 1941 in the classic A style. The first unit to arrive at Wellesbourne was N°22 Operational Training Unit (OTU) flying both Vickers Wellingtons and Avro Ansons naturally falling under Bomber Command. The unit operated at Wellesbourne between 14th April 1941 and 24th July 1945 where a number of crews from N°22 OTU took part in some of Bomber Command's infamous 1,000 bomber raids on Cologne, Essen and Bremen. At their peak N°22 OTU were turning out 150 trained crews per month for the Vickers Wellington. It was here at Wellesbourne that crews would be formed in that famous Bomber Command ritual of sorting yourself out into crews.

During the course of the Second World War Wellesbourne was attacked and bombed by Luftwaffe bombers returning from raids on Coventry and Birmingham. On conclusion of the Second World War between July 1945 and December 1947 N° 3 Glider Training School were operating from the airfield training airmen preparing for war in the East using the General Aircraft Hotspur. Between 1951 and 1954 N°9 Advanced Flying Training School were flying Airspeed Oxfords, North American Harvards and de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunks.

Fittingly, for this particular occasions, Wellesbourne between 1948 and 1963 was home to the RAF School of Photography who would operate an Avro Anson. Between 1950 and 1952 the RAF's School of Education was housed here and between 1951 and 1964 the Airfield Construction Branch also found a home here. In 1964 RAF Wellesbourne Mountford ceased operations owing to it's proximity with RAF Gaydon who at the time were home to part of the V-Force in the form of the Vickers Valiant B.1 and subsequently the Handley Page Victor B.1 and B.2.

Today's airfield is a great deal less than it's war time equivalent as many are across the UK however it is lucky enough to still be operational albeit with civilian residents. one of it's first civilian operators was the Air Atlantique Douglas DC-3 between 1965 and 1981. Rootes Group also utilised the site for Automotive testing which is fitting for me considering that's what I do for a living.

Today Wellesbourne is home to a number of outfits including several flying schools, a helicopter company, an aviation museum and the reason i'm here Vulcan XM655.

Avro Vulcan XM655 is the newest Vulcan surviving today being the third last airframe to be constructed by Avro. She was completed on 19th November 1964 with the superior Bristol Olympus 301 engines. XM655 was initially delivered to RAF Cottesmore in 1964 flying with 9, 12 and 35 Squadrons before being relocated to RAF Waddington in 1967 joining 44, 50 and 101 Squadrons in due course. XM655 came to the end of her military life in late 1983 where she was bought by businessman Roy Jacobson who had high hopes of returning her to the air. on 11th February 1984 she flew into Wellesbourne with only 5,744 hours on the airframe. Little progress was made in response to the CAAs directive of 'stringent conditions being satisfied' with regards to maintenance to airworthiness which inevitably caused Roy Jacobson to loose interest. Instead he bought Vulcan XL426 at Southend, which is also now in taxiable condition.

Roy Jacobson had racked up quite a bill in parking fees at Wellesbourne and he was subsequently taken to court over the matter, the result of the ensuing legal battle meant that XM655 ended up in the ownership of Wellesbourne airfield. XM655 had stood unloved on the airfield for quite some time, exposed to the British elements, she was in a very story state. It has been reported that at one point the cockpit had been broken into and the co-pilot's control column had been removed by hacksaw and several of the instrumentation had been stolen.

A group called the Delta Engineering Association formed to care for XM655 with the very clear intention to get her back up to ground running condition. This they achieved, repairing the damaged cockpit and the hydraulics were seen to resulting in several engine runs being undertaken. Unfortunately in March 1996 Delta upped sticks and moved to Kemble leaving XM655 again in the dark however there was light at the end of the tunnel. A number of volunteers stayed behind at Wellesbourne where they formed a proper membership organisation to look after the airframe, they are called the 655 Maintenance and Preservation Society or 655MaPs, they have been running since 1998.

"Thanks to the generosity of Wellesbourne Airfield and with funds provided by the society’s members and other donors, 655MaPS have been able to assemble an impressive collection of workshops, storage units and ground equipment to support and service XM655."

organisation website

Thankfully their dedicated volunteers have done an immense job at achieving some fantastic results, with her fuel tanks being kept fuelled to prevent deterioration of the seals and the operating systems are regularly powered up in 'Anti Det' runs. I would highly recommend checking out the groups website to keep up to date with forth-coming events including the Wellesbourne Wings and Wheels event that happens every year.

XM655 MaPS

XM655 is also something of a screen star having featured in several documentaries from, 'Guy Martin: The last flight of the Vulcan Bomber' to 'RAF at 100 with Ewan and Colin McGregor'.

Unfortunately Wellesbourne's existence has come under further threat, this time from those pesky developers who had plans to build 1,600 new homes on the airfield's land. I think it goes without saying what I think to that! Luckily as of October 2024 it has been reported by the BBC that there have been plans put in place to 'create a new runway, hangers and aircraft parking'. The airfield may also be getting a new control tower and maintenance facilities along with a new check-in area, waiting lounge and cafe. The owners of the airfield have stated that this is about 'securing the future of aviation in Wellesbourne', which I am particularly glad to hear that there are still some dedicated defenders of our aviation community. So the future is looking bright for Wellesbourne and I very much hope that all these planning permissions go through with ease.

This isn't my first time at Wellesbourne, several years ago I was lucky enough, with the help of retired Wing Commander Mike Pollitt, to gain access to the cockpit of XM655 in order to conduct a series of 360 imagery tests using manual methodology. At the time I was working in the heritage sector producing a mixture of Photogrammetry scanning services and high grade 360 imagery methods. XM655 provided me a platform to test my process in a particularly challenging environment. If you are interested you can click on the below images to view the results in all their finery.

Onto this evening's shoot and tonight is organised by Threshold Aero and what a shoot this has shaped up to be. As per usual a safety briefing must take place for everyone's safety along with the plan of attack for the evening shoot. Whilst shooting is the main concern for the evening XM655 had their shop open along with some fairly substantial burgers and donuts on offer. The shoot started with a few shots as the sun began its decent, followed by the Anti-Det run and finally lights were laid out by Threshold Aero for a nice finish to the evening luckily with some stars.

That's me coming down the ladder! Thanks to Will Hay for getting that one for me! Fortunately I gained permission to place some action cameras inside XM655 during her Anti-Det run so you'll be able to see and hear just what it is like to be in there during an engine start.

These things don't happen without the massive support given by volunteers, these volunteers are no exception. The Volunteers at XM655 have been up against it over the years and have really come through shining and it truly shows when they are able to show her off in all her glory at events like these. I also want to mention how refreshing it is to see so many young people actively getting involved in this heritage and receiving valuable guidance from those who lived and breathed it during its service life. These people are heritage's future and it will only survive with them. So I want to say a massive thank-you to the team at XM655 and I wish you all the very best of luck for your future endeavours!

If you love jet noise you should definitely click the link below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfuQCzRJcg4