On the 7th January 1971 a 44 squadron crew were tasked to fly a Hi-Lo-Hi mission over the border counties of England. Their aircraft was to be Vulcan B2 XM610 of the Waddington wing. The crew was captained by Flt. Lt. Garth Robert Alcock and consisted of F.O. Peter Hoskins as co-pilot, Flt. Lt. Jim Power as A.E.O., Flt.Lt Jim Vinale as Nav plotter and F.O. Roger Barker as Nav radar.

The mission went well and the Vulcan descended from high level off the Northumberland coast and entered the North of England low flying zone, taking it through the Northern Pennines and Cheviot hills. Half way through the low level mission XM610 was cruising at 300 knots on 75% power at 500 ft over the hills near Kelso. Ahead Bob Alcock could see that the weather was deteriorating rapidly so he decided to abandon the mission and climb back to a safe altitude.

Informing the rest of the crew what he was about to do Alcock increased the power to 85%, raised the nose and started to climb away. A few seconds later their was a loud explosion and the aircraft slewed to the left. Scanning his instruments Alcock noticed the RPM on No.1 engine running down and the jet pipe temperature rising rapidly to its limit then the fire warning light for No.1 engine illuminated. Informing the crew Alcock shut the HP cock and closed the throttle, the fire button was pressed then the engine air switch was closed. While he was doing this Jim Power confirmed that he had alternator failure on No.1 engine and then switched off and isolated the alternator. Scanning the aircraft with the rear facing periscope he informed the captain that he could see damage to the airframe in the area of the rear of No.1 engine.

The fire warning light went out as the captain continued his climb on three engines, and the fire warning system was checked to ensure it was still operating. Running his eyes over the instruments again, Alcock noticed the J.P.T. on No.2 engine now rising too followed by its fire warning light also illuminating. Again he shouted a warning to the crew, he grabbed the Ram Air Turbine release handle to let the turbine swing down into the slipstream, in doing this all none essential electrical loads were shed from the aircraft's electrical bus bars. The cockpit lit up like a Christmas tree as warning lights blinked on all over the instrument panels. No.2 engine was shut down in the same manner as No.1 causing the pilot to use a lot of left boot to keep the aircraft straight. The fire button for No.2 engine was pressed and after a few seconds the light went out.

Taking stock of what had happened the captain asked the A.E.O. to read out the emergency procedures from the flight reference cards, at the same time the A.E.O. gain scanned the under surface but every thing still looked the same. Alcock reached over to the centre console and pushed the rudder trim switch to take the pressure off his left foot. It was now time to declare an emergency so a Mayday call was transmitted.

The co-pilot was playing tunes on the fuel console as he opened the cross feed cocks and transferred fuel from the port to keep the aircraft C of G within limits. Jim Vinale passed an accurate plot of their position to the pilot to be transmitted with the Mayday call. The A.E.O. had used the cartridge start system to fire up the A.A.P.U. to provide more electrical power, and was in the process of gradually restoring selected aircraft systems back to life. Half the Power Flying Controls had been shed in the emergency and these were restarted apart from the auxiliary rudder P.F.C. Jim Power was very busy running through the reference cards and doing his switching when he noticed a glow in the eye piece of the periscope. A very nasty shock was received when he saw a fire raging in the area of No.1 engine, as he shouted a warning the fire warning light for No.2 engine re-illuminated and remained on for two minutes. The Mayday was call retransmitted and the captain ordered "Put on parachutes and prepare to bail out".

As XM610 was now in cloud Bob Alcock delayed the order to jump until they were into clear air at 6000 ft. The aircraft entered clear skies near Rothbury, the crew had put the I.F.F. to emergency and donned their parachutes. Static lines and emergency oxygen were connected, masks on and toggles down. Life rafts and Personal Survival Packs were connected to their lanyards. Protective helmets were donned and tightened down, the Nav radar was now down by the door and Jim Vinale pulled the cabin depressurisation handle, one by one the crew called "Ready".

It was still only ten minutes since the first explosion in No.1 engine as Bob Alcock gave the order "Static line manual override, Jump, Jump". The three men in the rear cockpit pulled their emergency oxygen knobs, the nav radar grasped the door opening handle, moving it outboard then straight through to the emergency position. With a very loud roar the door opened and dust flew into the rear cockpit as the slipstream roared by at 200 knots. Roger Baker sat on the sill at the top of the door, pulled his knees up to his chest, put his arms around his knees and clasped his hands together to keep himself in a tight ball. Hitching up his P.S.P. and dingy the sill Barker slid down the door. As the underside of the aircraft whipped past him he felt the static line jerk at his parachute, his hand flew to the manual handle and yanked it. With a loud crack the chute opened and he was instantly struck by the sudden silence. Jim Power followed Baker and Jim Vinale was the last to leave the rear cockpit. All three made a safe descent and landed in fields near Rothbury. After landing they all operated their SARBE beacons, within a few minutes a Whirlwind helicopter from 202 Squadron, Boulmer, was homing onto them.

Alcock decide to try to get XM610 back to the master diversion airfield at Leeming helped by his co-pilot Peter Hoskins. The fate of XM610 had however been sealed since the first explosion, therefore everything that the crew did from that moment could not have saved the aircraft. After trying a few handling manoeuvres Alcock tried the low speed handling of the aircraft but broke off at 185 knots as the aircraft became difficult to control. Ahead was the Tyneside conurbation so Bob Alcock nursed XM610 overhead at 6000 ft, trying to steer clear of the built up area. As Sunderland slipped by on the port side the captain slowly turned the aircraft towards the sea. XM610 was blazing fiercely by now and thousands of people on the ground watched as the crippled Vulcan passed over with pieces now falling from the port wing and engines. Near Easington Bob Alcock ordered "Jettison canopy", he and Hoskins reached for their jettison levers and pulled them back. A loud bang took place just behind their heads as the jettison gun fired and the canopy was whipped away from above their heads. Alcock could now see the full extent of the fire over his left shoulder and he did not like what he could see., XM610 was now heading towards the coast. With the noise in the cockpit making all communication impossible since the canopy had gone Bob jerked his thumb up in a sign to Hoskins to leave the aircraft. Hoskins reached for the seat pan handle, straightened his back, braced himself and yanked the handle. There was a one second delay then with a double bang Hoskins seat fired, his feet were yanked off the rudder pedals as his legs were pulled back and anchored to the seat as it accelerated up the rail reaching a maximum of 60 ft per second.

As the coastline slipped under the nose Alcock took one last look around then he too pulled his seat pan firing handle. One and a half seconds after the seat fired he was 80 ft clear of the aircraft and the drogue gun on the seat fired pulling out the drogue chute to stabilise the seat. One and a half further seconds and the barostat operated releasing the harness and leg restraints allowing him to fall from the seat. The pull of the drogue chute was transferred from the seat to his main parachute pulling it out of his pack and allowing it to open and start a safe descent with Hoskins.

With no one now on board XM610 enters a downward spiral, instead of crashing into the sea XM610 impacts between the main village and the school at Wingate completely destroying itself and causing a large crater. Luckily no one was hurt on the ground, but if it had crashed 100 yards either side a heavy loss of life would have taken place.

The enquiry into the crash of XM610 near Wingate traced the cause to a fatigue failure of a high pressure turbine blade in No.1 engine. The blade became jammed in the periphery of the turbine disc and rotated with it until finally causing the casing to rupture. The turbine then broke up causing high speed debris to pierce the engine casing and engine bay walls, damaging No.2 engine and the outboard No.3 and No.4 fuel tanks. From then on the flames grew out of control fed with fuel, the aircraft was in danger of breaking up when the captain ejected, with pieces breaking away and the flames spreading along the wing.

Soon after the crash of XM610 all Vulcans were modified and titanium armour plates were fitted in the engine bays in the area of the high pressure turbines and also the roof of the bay. This plating was designed to prevent debris from any exploding engine damaging the next engine or entering the bomb bay or rupturing the fuel tanks and causing the loss of the aircraft.

For his attempt to save his aircraft Bob Alcock was awarded the Air Force Cross and the rest of the crew each received the Queens Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air. Bob was also R.A.F. man of the year for 1971.

Unlucky for Bob he was involved in another Vulcan crash on the 14th October 1975. Whilst landing XM645 of 9 squadron the aircraft touched down short of the runway at Luqa, Malta, forcing the port undercarriage leg through the wing and rupturing the fuel tanks. Bob hauled XM645 back off the ground and climbed to try to gain enough altitude so that the rear crew members could bail out. Unfortunately the aircraft blew up in mid air, Bob and the co-pilot ejected safely but the five rear crew members all perished. A woman was killed on the ground when the wreckage fell near the village of Zabbar.

Incidentally, Jim Vinale the Nav plotter was aboard the museum's Vulcan XL319 when she was delivered in January 1983.

Comments

  • Kevin Mudge-Wood, Canterbury, Kent. I found your site looking for information about the Vulcan crash at Wingate. I watched the burning plane cross the sky from the playground of Easington Junior School and have vivid memories of the day. I was surprised to learn that it took place in 1971 (I'd always though it was 1968, or possibly '69). I was also surprised to read that it was in January because I don't remember it being cold (I've obviously been living in the south too long, they breed them hardy up north) and I'm sure the sky was cloudless. I seem to recall that it came down near Welfield Grammar School, where my brother was a pupil. Thanks for the information! KMW

  • Paul Lewis, Anstruther, Fife. Absolutely amazed at the detail and accuracy of Jim Rutland's report "Crash of Vulcan XM610 over County Durham"on your Website. I arrived at RAF Waddington on Jan 1st 1971 as a LAC Air Radar mechanic and was employed on the Line Sqn.I was part of XM610 `see off' crew on that fatal sortie and later a crash guard `On site' in Wingate. I well remember the field of mud and the enormously deep hole made by one of the Olympus engines which had penetrated a disused mine shaft.I also remember the locals whose houses overlooked the crash site leaning over their fences to return bits of aircraft from their gardens. The local people then, as now, being very welcoming and particularly friendly.

  • Carol Thompson, Ontario, Canada Your information on the crash in Wingate was very interesting. Having lived there at the time I remember it very well. I was attending college in Peterlee (approx 8 miles away) and we all heard the crash. Along with Kevin Wood who also posted a comment, I remember the weather being quite warm and sunny that day. However the location of the crash was not near the grammar school but behind the old co-op store and very near to the Junior school that Kevin was atttending. As I remember the pilot received much praise for missing the school which would have been devastating. Added interesting fact - My Dad at the time was a local counsellor and his name - James Alcock - no relation to pilot.

  • Will Taylor I read with interest the account of the Durham BII crash. My father was the captain of a BII which crashed on take off on Thursday 6 Apr 1967 at RAF Scampton. I believe the cause of the crash was something similar. Fractured turbine blade, piercing casing and causing massive failure and subsequent fire/explosion. The aircraft burned out on the end of the runway, and there used to be some impressive pictures of the skeleton, which had burned its way into the concrete. My father visited the wreck the day after, and picked up some souveniers which included the control column, his flight helmet and some blobs of molten aluminium from the runway. One of which is mounted on a small wooden plinth in his home today. I would like to try and get hold of one of the overhead air phots taken of the aircraft. The only part seemingly intact was the nose, which broke off and rolled through 90 degrees to one side. Will Taylor, (son of former Flt Lt W F Taylor)

  • Tony Bean - Biggleswade - Bedfordshire I have looked for a report of the crash for some time now (having spoken to a colleague who was in disbelief at my account). However, having read the report and comments section I think I qualify as the nearest to the crash (so far) At the time of the incident I was attending Moore Lane junior school, which I believe is the school mentioned in the report The other school near to the crash site was Wingate infant school which backed on to the farmland where the Vulcan came down My younger sister was attending the school at the time but my mother reliably informs me that for some or other reason the infant school was closed on that day I clearly remember being in the playground of the junior school that day and looking up in disbeleif at what was in essence a fireball heading down and towards the village I remember seeing parts of the fuselage falling away (trophies later to be coveted) and in the distance, the canopies of those bailing out of the aircraft opening up further to the northeast The Vulcan passed directly over our school and I remember being able to see inside the fuselage (bomb doors open?) The noise was deafening and the ground shuddered as it dropped into the nearby farmland I too remember it being warm that day and until reading the article, was shure it was in spring or summer having thought about it now, I wonder why we all just stood and watched the aircraft descend towards us rather than run and take cover (teachers alike) Anyway, the school had plenty of subject matter for work for some time from the crash and all the corridors of the school were awash with vivid paintings of the Vulcan for months after

  • Kevin Hutchinson

    ..Kevin preceeded this comment by talking about his direct experience of a crash of a Halifax in Ryhope

    So far as the crash of Vulcan XM610 is concerned, I have little to add to the comprehensive accounts already given. I think, though the site of the crash is more properly called Station Town, and I have the Ordnance Survey Reference as NZ 406 367. I was part of a bomb disposal team that was sent - very late in the proceedings - to try to find the engines. They were too deep for the instruments we were using, Förster 4013 Bomb Locators. The engines were later found by more conventional means.

  • Phil Carmichael

    It is very interesting to read the article by Jim Rutland and comments from others who remember the Vulcan crash. I remember it pretty well, as I was a pupil in Wellfield Grammar that day. We were in a classroom on the south side of the school having a Tech Drawing lesson, when the sound of the Vulcan, approaching from the north, was heard. Low flying aircraft were pretty common at that time, on most days a pair of USAF RF4Cs would fly over at around 500 feet on training missions. This day the noise became loader than the usual Phantoms, in fact it grew to ear splitting roar. At this point we rushed out of the building just in time to see the Vulcan pass directly over our heads at less than 50 feet. I can't remember if the bomb bay was open, I was more concerned with the flames that enveloped the tail! We watched it pass over the houses in the adjacent street and it disappeared from view. At this point it was flying south, parallel to Wingate's North Road, about 50 yards to the east. As we waited for the inevitable crash, the aircraft suddenly reared up, back into our view, in a near vertical climb. It then stalled and fell to the left, diving into the ground with a huge explosion, the fireball rising high into the sky.

    Speaking to other pupils and teachers, they saw the aircraft approaching the school from the north and it looked to be heading directly for the school. Harry Lamb, our great PE teacher, was teaching the 3rd year rugby in the field in front of the school and shouted them (in no uncertain terms) to "RUN" down the field to the east away from the school. My mother saw the burning aircraft from Shotton Village and presumed we were back at war!

    After the crash, the USAF Phantoms appeared for a flyover - possibly under instruction to recce the site? Then all sort of sundry ambulances, fire engines and police vehicles started arriving, plus an American jeep for some reason.

    Seriously, I do believe that it was a miracle that it didn't kill me and a few hundred other schoolkids, or other citizens of Wingate. Its track between me and the crash site was directly over hundreds of houses, Wingate Secondary Modern and Wingate Junior school. It found one of the few safe places to come down within the borders of Wingate and Station Town. I have read the official account where the pilot, apparently, pointed the aircraft at the sea over Easington then ejected. How did it manage to navigate its way into a course, directly north to south, over Wingate? It was flying straight and level when it passed over me, certainly not "spiralling down". The pilot was rewarded with a medal for his actions,- would he have still got it if he had flattened Wellfield Grammar School?