XM652 being Dismantled at Waddington, 1983/'84

[Tom M]

Hi everyone, I've been a reader of this forum for a while and thought I'd share my memories and a couple of photos of the "XM652 dismantling saga" at Waddington about 1983. I was only about 4 or 5-years-old at the time but still remember visiting the bomber, and even today I feel a surge of disappointment that only the cockpit survived.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22822942@N ... otostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22822942@N ... otostream/

One weekend, while enjoying a pint in the local pub, my Dad and an acquaintance decided to tender for a Vulcan, which the MoD was disposing of. Not long after, and much to their alarm, they learned that their bid had been successful! What followed was months of toil attempting to dismantle XM652 at Waddington.

The arrangement was that my Dad would "project manage" the dismantling, transportation and restoration of the Vulcan. His acquaintance - who owned a hotel where 652 would ultimately be displayed - would front the money but play no active role in the dismantling.

The RAF weren't particularly helpful other than allowing us onto the base, and my Dad spent every Wednesday (his day off back then) and any weekends he wasn't working on the base come wind, rain or shine. With a bit of help from his friends (one of the guys from the pub - where the project had gained popular support - had a crane company and duly supplied a crane free of charge), the Vulcan was slowly, and properly, dismantled. To the best of my knowledge, the only other Vulcan to be dismantled and moved by road for preservation purposes was XL318 at Hendon, carried out by the RAF engineering unit.

To cut a very long story short, the RAF wanted rid of 652, which I believe was parked somewhere near the spot where XJ825 spent her final days. The wings, nose and ECM tail cone had all been carefully removed. All that was left was the fuselage. Unfortunately at that point the owner sent a team in to chop the fuselage for transport. They did a poor job, cutting through the main spars etc. But by then it looked brutally apparent the Vulcan wouldn't be put back together again - assuming that had ever been the intention. My Dad was pretty disappointed. XM652 finally made it to Sheffield in 11 big pieces. The last I saw of it was the cockpit section sitting in a Sheffield scrapyard.

Thankfully it was saved and is now on a farm in Wales, although I haven't seen it since 1984. My Dad still has the log book , which despite being somewhat "dry" contains some interesting information. Apparently 652 had a dent above one of its intakes due to an eagle strike over Canada! We also have a key ring with "652" punched in it - standard issue? One thing I can say is that the cockpit was absolutely immaculate during the dismantling process before ending up in the scrapyard. I have absolutely no idea how complete it is today.

In conclusion - and the cold light of day - the thought of participating in tendering for a Vulcan B2, and then trying to dismantle it, sends shivers down my Dad's spine! "Youthful naivete" is a phrase that comes up a lot in conjunction with XM652. Perhaps you could say the owner came to his senses!

There was a final twist in the tale: assuming there'd be a lot of competition, they actually tendered for two Vulcans, thinking it would improve their chances of getting one of them. Thankfully they were unsuccessful in acquiring a second V Bomber, which means XM655 is still alive and kicking today!

(Not much, other than a few photos and the odd mention, exists online about XM652. I believe it was the first Vulcan to receive wrap around camouflage (I could be wrong about that) but otherwise may have been a fairly unremarkable example. I'd love to hear more information about her from anyone who may have flown or worked on her. Despite the fact that it was almost 30 years ago and my young age at the time, the Vulcan has remained my all time favourite aircraft, with XM652 occupying the number one spot.)

[Mayfly]

Hi Tom thanks for your post, give me some time and I will see what I can find in DTs flying log book.

When you say you have the 'log book' I assume you mean the F700? - the record of 652s servicing history?


If you say Hi in the new members forum I'm sure you will receive a warm welcome, it's good you know you have been reading IA for a while.

[Jigsaw]

Thanks for that info Tom

[Kermit]

Great report, thanks Tom !
As for XM652, her nose was still listed as exhibit at the Military Aircraft Cockpit Collection in Welshpool six years ago, wonder if it s still there ?
A sobering tale, I must say.

[MOD]

Welcome Tom and thanks for the story of the demise of 652.


ibw

[Xplumberlives]

Welcome aboard Tom.

[Dan4th]

Welcome Tom W!

There just has to be a book or a TV show
in there somewhere..........

Who would you want to play your Dad?????????

A Great Story!

And only in England!

Dan4th

[Tom M]

Hi everyone, thanks massively for the welcome and glad you enjoyed the story!

Mayfly - I checked the " log book" and you're right, it is the service history. The blue folder/binder with the Vulcan's serial number printed on the cover is MOD 180, while the forms are MOD 700s. Thanks massively for looking into 652's history, much appreciated, and I'll definitely say hello in the new members forum.

Kermit - last I heard the nose was indeed still at Welshpool, though I'm only going from information publicly available online. I did read a feature article about the owner's cockpit collection (BBC I think) and seem to remember it was relatively recently. If memory serves me right it went to Burntwood, Staffordshire after leaving Sheffield, and then onto Welshpool sometime later.

Dan4th - haha only in England indeed! I think at the time it was just something my Dad was involved in, and people may have found it quite eccentric but otherwise didn't give it too much thought. As time's gone by it's taken on more of a legend and frequently comes up in conversation. They say truth is stranger than fiction - and heaven knows what they were thinking! The chap who supplied the crane didn't realise the size of the project/aircraft until he got to Waddington and saw the Vulcan. Apparently his words were something along the lines of: "What the [expletive] have you done?" !

I've been meaning to write this story up for a long time. Sadly the bulk of the photos were borrowed some years ago and never returned. I'm determined to track them down and when I do I'll post the entire series.

Thanks again to everyone, delighted you've enjoyed reading.

[Mayfly]

It will be a few weeks Tom and if I haven't got round to checking DTs log book by then give me a shout!!!

[Tom M]

It will be a few weeks Tom and if I haven't got round to checking DTs log book by then give me a shout!!!

Wonderful, thank you very much! It'll be great to see if anything is there! Absolutely no rush though, I'll keep my eye on the topic.

[Avro683]

What a great article and set of pics! Shame that she couldnt have been saved intact but at least your family as played a part in the cockpit survivng into preservation at least.

[Lucas1860]

Great, just great.

Jim

[Gully]

Welcome aboard and thanks for the story!

Gully

[Tom M]

What a great article and set of pics! Shame that she couldnt have been saved intact but at least your family as played a part in the cockpit survivng into preservation at least.

Thanks a lot for the welcome and kind words Avro683, Lucas1860 and Gully!

Delighted you enjoyed the story and definitely pleased the cockpit was saved. Although I do sometimes wonder what might have happened had our family not got involved! Who knows, maybe the outcome could have been worse

I've tracked down a few more photos which I'll post as soon as they're scanned in. Just waiting for my sister to send them as scanners are a bit beyond my Dad!

[Xplumberlives]

Looking forward to the next installment Tom!

[Dagger_id]

Interesting story Tom and welcome on board!From those 3 V-bombers type,the Vulcan is one of my favorite.

[Tom M]

Looking forward to the next installment Tom!

Thanks Xplumberlives, update coming soon One thing I did forget to mention, which you may find amusing, is that in the spirit of DIY, my Dad's friend Les, a painter and decorator, had been lined up to give 652 a sprucing up upon reassembly. Les was famous for cutting in with a 12 inch brush, so it's probably for the best that it never got that far! In some ways it shows that they'd actually planned ahead to the "restoration". In others it reflects how little "serious" planning the project ever got!

Interesting story Tom and welcome on board!From those 3 V-bombers type,the Vulcan is one of my favorite.

Thanks Dagger_id, much appreciated. I agree with you about the 3 V-bombers. I always thought it was a real shame that they scrapped that Victor at Waddington that used to sit behind XM607.