British bomber may soon be relic of the past | ShreveportTimes | The Times British bomber may soon be relic of the past Historic Vulcan not on list to keep at base. A bat-winged British Vulcan bomber, a rare display at the 8th Air Force Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base, could be destroyed if efforts to improve the museum fall short. The bomber, a gift from Her Majesty's Government to the Air Force in 1983, is not among those slated to be kept if the local museum, now in its 30th year, fails to pass a pending review. The museum failed an initial accreditation by the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, its parent body, in 2007 and will face a repeat inspection, possibly later this year. "We're not going to lose them," said Lt. Col. Bob Fournier, 2nd Bomb Wing Director of Staff, who has attended 8th Air Force Museum Association meetings, closely overseeing work to improve the facility. He noted improvement to the building and airplanes at its air park. "They just get better and better." Col. Robert Wheeler, 2nd Bomb Wing commander, stressed the important lessons the museum can convey. "This part of history that 8th Air Force (Museum) provides is a huge piece of what we teach our young folks, and our folks that are even older, to not make the same mistakes of the past," he said. And, he added, it is "an opportunity for those young kids ... to see through (veterans') eyes, to get that twinkle going, for their dreams for the future," The British Mark II Vulcan bomber was one of a trio of "V Class" bombers that ruled the skies over the United Kingdom for close to 30 years. With its sibling airplanes the Valiant and the Victor, and with its U.S. cousins, the B-47, B-52 and B-58 bombers, the Vulcan helped form a protective nuclear shield throughout the Cold War. In May 1982, several of the aircraft flew an epic 13,000-mile mission to bomb the Port Stanley runway on the Falkland Islands, which had been occupied by Argentina earlier that year. It was the longest aerial combat mission in history until January 1991, when seven B-52s from Barksdale opened Operation Desert Storm with a nonstop mission to and from the Middle East, a mission now known as Operation SECRET SQUIRREL. The plane at Barksdale was delivered by then Vice Air Marshal Michael Knight and a select crew on June 9, 1982, just a few months after the Falklands mission. Knight later became the British equivalent of the chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force. The gift to Barksdale marked the close association between the U.S. 8th Air Force and the Royal Air Force, which dates back to World War II and continues to this day with a British liaison officer resident at the local base, which is home to 8th Air Force headquarters. Fans of the James Bond movies may remember the Vulcan as the British bomber that was hijacked in "Thunderball." "I think it's a travesty and I think (the British) would consider it a travesty," said local historian and military author Gary Joiner, an Anglophile who received doctorates from Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy, at St. Martin's College, Lancaster University. The Vulcan at the museum took part in several "Bomb Comp" events at Barksdale and also flew in air shows. "I was at the base when it flew in and did its aerial demonstration and made every eye pop," Joiner said. Its wanton destruction "would be an affront to the crown and the people of Great Britain." That was echoed by a Briton, John D. Richards, 61. "I personally think it is sad that the United Kingdom, having given the USA a present of the Vulcan, that they ... are now planning to destroy it," he wrote. "I personally feel this to be a slur on our country. The fact that, of all the Vulcan B2s built, this one is the only one I never saw flying has nothing to do with it. " However, its destruction is not a given. The 2nd Bomb Wing must request the review after it has had a chance to revamp the museum, and it is working hard to do so. The museum's physical plant has been cleaned, a workshop has been added, a fenced yard is now available for refurbishment of airplanes and volunteers have been cleaning and restoring the Vulcan, B-52s and other aircraft. "Here at the Air Combat Command History Office, we still have hopes that the Barksdale museum will be able to pull it together and give their static display aircraft proper care," said David Bragg, staff curator with ACC headquarters at Langley Air Force Base, Va. "I am not aware of any immediate plans to take any of their aircraft away, although I can see it happening unless the aircraft get proper care real soon. The National Museum will not let the aircraft rot away when there is a better solution." As for the fate of the Vulcan, he said, "the British Government probably would not be consulted. When they gave the aircraft to the Barksdale museum, in actuality they were giving an unconditional gift to the U.S. Air Force. But again, if the aircraft is being properly cared for there will be no justification for moving it." Spokesmen for the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, also say the loss is not a given, although the Vulcan is on their 2007 report as one of about half the display aircraft at Barksdale to be deactivated. That "was one recommendation but the final decisions will be made by the ACC historian," wrote National Museum spokesman Rob Bardua.
"I think it's a travesty and I think (the British) would consider it a travesty," said local historian and military author Gary Joiner I couldn't have put it better myself
