Operation Black Buck was one of the most remarkable long-range air operations of the 1982 Falklands War. RAF Vulcan bombers flew from Ascension Island to strike targets around Port Stanley, supported by an elaborate chain of Victor tanker aircraft. The Vulcan and Victor were both part of Britain’s RAF V Bomber Force, alongside the Vickers Valiant.
On 1 May 1982, Vulcan XM607 completed the first Black Buck attack. Twenty-one 1,000 lb bombs were dropped across Port Stanley airfield and one struck the runway. The raid damaged the airfield but did not make the runway completely unusable.
The mission was extraordinary for its range and complexity. Multiple air-to-air refuelling contacts were required to get the Vulcan to the Falklands and back, making Black Buck 1 the longest-range bombing mission flown under combat conditions at that time.
Further Black Buck sorties attacked the airfield and Argentine radar installations, including missions using AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missiles. Their precise strategic effect remains debated, but the raids demonstrated that the RAF could project air power across an exceptional distance.
Michael Rondot’s Operation Black Buck artwork commemorates the Vulcan crews, Victor tanker crews and the complex refuelling operation that made these missions possible.
