Operation Black Buck was a hugely ambitious long range ground attack mission against Argentine positions at Port Stanley Airport on the Falkland Islands. At the time, it was the longest bombing mission ever attempted. The round trip from the RAF base on Ascension Island was over 12000Km.This was far beyond the Vulcan’s operational range. With a full bomb load, fuel, an extra crew member and a fresh coat of paint the Vulcan was burning over 7000kg of fuel every hour on the way to its target and a complex schedule of air-to-air refuelling was necessary to make the mission possible. Indeed the distance was also beyond the maximum range of the Victor refuelling tankers, and they would also need to be refuelled during the mission.
Summary
12000 km, 18 refuellings, one target.
