The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) has bid a fond farewell to the VC10 air refueling tanker, a type that has been in British military service for 47 years. The majestic T-tailed, four-engine jet airliner may not have been a commercial success, but the RAF extracted great value from a fleet that numbered 28 at its peak, performing also in the passenger and cargo transport roles, and aeromedical airlift.
AIN was aboard the final flight from RAF Brize Norton on September 20, comprising the last two VC10 K.3 aircraft serving with No. 101 Squadron. The takeoff was sporty, thanks to the four Rolls-Royce Conway turbofans providing a total 85,000 pounds of thrust. The VC10 was designed for hot and high airfield performance, one reason it was never able to compete economically with the Boeing 707 and DC-8. Thus it became the last airliner to be entirely built in Britain.
Chris Pocock has been covering the defense beat for AIN for over 30 years. He is a British citizen and a graduate of the University of Cambridge. Chris worked in the air cargo business for ten years before becoming a full-time writer in 1983. He subsequently edited two air cargo journals before becoming AIN’s Defense Editor. He retired from that position in 2018, but still contributes to the publication. Chris has written extensively on aerial reconnaissance, including four books on the history of the U-2 spyplane. He also lectures on this and other topics related to intelligence-gathering in the Cold War.
