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.

Avsnitt(1490)

The Battle of Berlin with Sir Antony Beevor

The Battle of Berlin with Sir Antony Beevor

Warning: this episode includes discussion of subjects like suicide and sexual assault that some listeners may find disturbing.80 years ago, the Soviets launched their final assault on the German capit...

17 Apr 202536min

The Liberation of Bergen-Belsen

The Liberation of Bergen-Belsen

Warning: This episode contains detailed discussion of the Holocaust and genocide, which some listeners may find upsetting.80 years ago, British troops liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. T...

15 Apr 202527min

The Sinking of the Titanic

The Sinking of the Titanic

How could the unsinkable ship… sink? In this dramatic moment-by-moment account, Dan tells the dramatic tale of the Titanic from the moment of impact with the iceberg to the first steps of survivors in...

13 Apr 20251h 22min

The Red Army Surrounds Berlin

The Red Army Surrounds Berlin

By April 1945, Soviet forces stood at the gates of Berlin. From the summer of 1944, Hitler's armies had suffered a series of cataclysmic defeats that had left them shattered and desperately trying to ...

10 Apr 202532min

The Great Tariff Battle

The Great Tariff Battle

Have trade tariffs ever worked? Dan explores a cautionary tale from the turn of the 20th century when Britain's Conservatives' flirtation with tariffs led to huge political upheaval and a truly disast...

8 Apr 202533min

Saint Petersburg: Putin's Hometown

Saint Petersburg: Putin's Hometown

Founded by Peter the Great, the city of Saint Petersburg was built to rival the majesty of any capital in Europe. Its splendour made it a hub of Russian culture, and its geography made it a focal poin...

6 Apr 202549min

The Samurai

The Samurai

This is the story of the legendary Samurai - how did they go from provincial bodyguards to revered warriors? Why did they transform from ancestral soldiers to office workers? And will we ever see them...

3 Apr 202532min

Francis Drake (Part 2)

Francis Drake (Part 2)

Dan Snow picks up his dramatic tale of the exploits of Francis Drake- this time the story of the Spanish Armada. From his astonishing raids on Spanish assets in the New World to his exploits as Queen ...

1 Apr 20251h 20min

Populärt inom Historia

motiv
massmordarpodden
historiska-brott
p3-historia
historiepodden-se
olosta-mord
rss-massmordarpodden
rss-seriemordarpodden
historianu-med-urban-lindstedt
rss-brottsligt
rss-historien-om
konspirationsteorier
nu-blir-det-historia
krigshistoriepodden
harrisons-dramatiska-historia
militarhistoriepodden
palmemordet
rss-arkiv-stieg
vetenskapsradion-historia
podme-bio-4