Falklands40: The Black Buck Raids

Falklands40: The Black Buck Raids

The Falkland Islands lie 8000 miles from Britain making the Falklands War a particularly tricky one to fight; it required some seriously innovative thinking. No story from the Falklands better tells the story of that innovation than Operation Blackbuck which ran from the 30th of April 1982 to the end of the war. British bombers flew 4000 miles from the Southern Atlantic base at Ascension Island to the Falklands to destroy the Argentine runaway at Port Stanley. But there was a huge hurdle; Vulcan bombers couldn't manage that distance on one tank of fuel. Thousands of feet above the Atlantic in complete radio silence, the RAF crews had to engage in mid-flight refuelling, a particularly delicate dangerous process in which one aircraft feeds fuel to another while maintaining the exact same high speed, altitude and bearings without crashing into one another.


Join Dan on a trip to the Midlands Royal Airforce Museum at Cosford where he meets Dr Peter Johnston to tell the story of the Black Buck Raids- the longest bombing mission in history as well as stories of the RAF in the Falklands War from inside the famous Bravo November Chinook helicopter.


You can visit RAF Cosford. Find more information here.


Produced by Mariana Des Forges

Mixed and Mastered by Dougal Patmore


If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episoder(1492)

Enheduanna: The World's First Author

Enheduanna: The World's First Author

It's hard to imagine a time when we didn't write things down- on stone, papyrus or parchment. Who was the first to actually put 'pen to paper' and write. Well, her name was Enheduanna. She was an Akka...

27 Feb 202323min

Russia & Ukraine: A Year of War

Russia & Ukraine: A Year of War

On the 24th of February, 2022, the world looked on in disbelief as Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. One year on he shows no signs of easing his commitment to the conflict, des...

24 Feb 20231h 12min

History of Britain's Black Airmen

History of Britain's Black Airmen

When you think of some of the remarkable feats of airpower throughout history, you might think of the Dambusters, or the Battle of Britain. But what about some of the untold stories of Britain's remar...

23 Feb 202340min

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks

On the 1st of December, 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. After taking her seat in the section designated for people of colour, Rosa was asked to move for white passengers that wa...

21 Feb 202322min

How Natural Disasters Have Shaped Humanity

How Natural Disasters Have Shaped Humanity

We think of our natural environment as a subset of history, like studying the history of warfare or economics. But in truth, climate is the driving force of humanity, and understanding our climate hel...

20 Feb 202329min

Aphrodite: Goddess of Love

Aphrodite: Goddess of Love

This episode contains graphic references.Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty in Greek mythology.Her origin story is one of the more colourful ones, being born from the foam of Uranus’s castrat...

17 Feb 202350min

Spies in the Sky

Spies in the Sky

Spy balloons are really blowing up right now. The US has shot down one confirmed Chinese balloon and has engaged several other unidentified flying objects. But like so many things we cover on this pod...

16 Feb 202329min

The Tragedy of HMS Captain

The Tragedy of HMS Captain

As a crew of over 500 boarded HMS Captain in the autumn of 1870, none of them knew their fate was sealed in the offices of the dockyard. The Captain was one of the Royal Navy’s first steam powered bat...

15 Feb 202334min

Populært innen Historie

rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
rss-katastrofe
henrettelsespodden
rss-historiske-romanser
med-egne-oyne
historier-som-endret-norge
rss-benadet
sektledere
historier-som-endret-verden
rss-nadelose-nordmenn-gestapo
aftenposten-historie
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
rss-frontkjemperne
rss-gamle-greier
historiepodden-ww2
historiepodden
liberal-halvtime
rss-historiepodden-ww2
vare-historier
gangsterpodden-2