JAMES HAMILTON (grave 64)

The Vulcan never failed to impress at air shows. The huge delta bomber, which combined fighter like performance with engines that could make spectators bones rattle, made a huge impression on all who saw it fly. Indeed, such was the popularity of this aircraft that even the Americans were clamouring to have it at their air shows.

Naval Air Station Glenview, just outside Chicago, had become a regular on the Vulcan’s show circuit where it was a star performer. When in America the Vulcan always impressed putting its equivalent, the American B52 Stratofortress, very much into second place.

On 11th August, despite the Vulcan getting old and entering its twilight years the upper echelons of the RAF command structure still wanted to maintain its prestige and it is possible that too much pressure was applied to perform.

Vulcans were normally operated by constituted crews, that is to say that the same crew trained and flew together on every mission and this would normally also be true of the display crew. However in 1978 it was decided, quite late in the day, to put together a crew specifically for the air show and it is fair to say, from relatives comments, that the crew themselves were not altogether comfortable with this. Having registered their objections, they did as ordered and began to prepare for the display in Chicago.

The crew (All four standing) immediately before the flight.

The day prior to the air show was Press Day and the crew of Vulcan XL390 prepared their aircraft for its display. As they taxied out, all the crew must have felt the effect of the quite considerable pressure applied on them to perform. Not only were they expected to fly the display, they were expected to knock the socks off the finest the USAF had to offer. All this as a recently formed crew and in an aircraft that was reaching the end of its operational career.

The Vulcan began its ‘Dress rehearsal’ display with a fast fly past followed by a wing-over, but for reasons which shall never be known it was unable to complete the manoeuvre with the height available and crashed killing all four crewmen. The residential area where the accident occurred was heavily populated, but the crash site was in the only clear area, a landfill site. Many of the locals felt that the crew must have used the last vestiges of control to direct the aircraft into the only clear area, sacrificing their own lives to save those on the ground.

The crew were buried at Scampton on the 18th August with the funerals being conducted by the Station’s Chaplain, Squadron Leader the Reverend Nigel Bryan. The funeral was attended by most of 617 Squadron and the air show organiser Mr Don Jens, who was there to also represent the Mayor of Chicago.