The Crash of Vulcan XM610: Find Out What Happened in Wingate, County Durham 

I was a navigator on the crew that took 610 around the world in 1967. It was always my favourite aircraft for that reason, we were very sorry to hear it had crashed.

I was security for this Aircraft (and a few others) the night before the flight. There was a similar engine failure on another Vulcan around the same time. It took off from Waddington and my colleague said to me as we watched, that they seemed to be firing flares out of it as it lifted off. The pilot did a quick circuit and landed attended by numerous fire engines and other vehicles. I believe it was the same problem. The Aircrews and servicing Crews on these aircraft were all dedicated guys, and carried a big responsibility.

I miss seeing XH558 when it used to take off from RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire...It was a sad day when it was retired!

08/01/2023: Amazing story. The skill & bravery during a crisis of those airmen is simply outstanding. Well Done!

Spitfire, Lancaster, B-52, Concorde, Chinook, A-10, Vulcan.. Some aircraft just hit *different* when they fly over.. that Vulcan howl is as iconic a sound as _any_ in the history of Aviation.. I feel so privileged that I got to hear it in person on more than one occasion ❤🙏🏻🍻🇬🇧

I was 11 year old at Downhill primary school when I seen this pass overhead, i remember the teachers took us in early from 'playtime'. Hard too think how vivid it still is in my mind being 51 year ago.

I’m from Easington and was in the school yard in Horden when this passed burning overhead. I was only five but remember it clearly. I remember that we all looked up, unable to process what we were seeing. Thanks for explaining everything so clearly.

I remember seeing this incident unfold as the Vulcan passed over the west of Houghton le Spring. A group of us were attracted by the loud noise, at first thinking the pilot was using his after burners but soon realised the plane was in trouble. As it travelled further south we saw the first parachute and then a second as the plane turned eastwards. We then saw a flash of flame as it suddenly it went into a spiral dive and turned back inland. At this point we lost sight but heard on a radio where it had come down.

I was christened at RAF Finningley around this time, this base operated Vulcans too. I remember going to air shows and seeing more than one Vulcan in the sky and my god was it glorious.

This crew exhibited outstanding airmanship and great courage.

Yet another fascinating history lesson I knew nothing about, well researched and brilliantly told, many thanks. I saw several in my youth take off with that thunderous roar from their engines, yet appear to just hang in the sky like paper darts when turning. Greatest respect to all RAF crews who flew them, especially those who cratered the airport runway kicking off recapturing the Falklands. Now that's a story worth recounting.

I was stationed at RAF Waddington from mid 1970 to 1976 and was an LAC A Mech (P} when this disaster occurred. Thank you for telling the story, it is factual and well delivered. I remember a whole bunch of guys being shipped up to Wingate to guard the aircraft at the time. We were later all briefed on the accident. I also remember the very sad 1975 crash as I personally knew one of the Crew Chief's.as part of that crew that perished. 'Blue Skies'

Growing up in Vancouver, B.C., Canada a visit to the Abbottsford International Airshow was an annual tradition. The Vulcan was a perennial performer in the '70's and always the most impressive part of the show.

At Wingare secondary Modern school at the time remember it well. Both Senior and juniors school were lucky that day.

I recall my father once described that he saw the plane come down (he thought initially onto the school) and went to help. On his way and crossing an open field he looked up and saw a paper object fluttering towards him which landed perfectly in his hands. He saw that it was a map. Almost immediately a 'military dressed man' came across the field and confiscated the map claiming it was MOD property or such, and walked off again........

My father in law was head teacher at Wingate School (Doughie Haigh) when it crashed. He told me the story years ago. He is 90 now and I’m sure would love to see this. Many thanks!

A sight I'll never forget. Early 60s. at an air show at Laverton Victoria Australia. A Vulcan came in low, pointed its nose up and with a tremendous roar, went straight up. So impressive to me, a young air cadet.

My grandparents lived in a street called Lake view which is just across the road from where the Vulcan crashed, It crashed in a field behind the Coop store, They suffered a few broken windows as did nearby houses. I was given a vacuum gauge from the Vulcan by my uncle who found it on the road near the crash site. Wish I still had it.

As a child living close to The Cheviots I remember the low flyovers like it was yesterday. The noise, the excitement and the incredible flying skills all evident.

I watched this disaster from the playground of Wingate Junior School along with teachers and the rest of the pupils.I can still hear the noise it made as it hit the ground.

This crash is described in the prologue of Rowland White's book "Vulcan 607". Navigation Plotter, Jim Vinale, later went on to be part of Operation Black Buck raids on the Falklands in 1982.

Great story. The tactical route (low-level) skirted around the UK and was used by Vulcan crews to practice low-level flying at 500 ft above ground (agl) while avoiding built-up areas (quite difficult in parts of the UK, especially in England); the Dominie navigator trainer aircraft had a back end designed to mimic the Vulcan with two rear-facing nav stations and also flew low-level sorties following the "tac route" at 500 ft agl using map-matched radar predictions (MMRP) for nav updates. Weather could be a major issue, resulting in a climbout to a safe altitude; however, the introduction of Tornado with its terrain-following radar (TFR) changed low flying. The auto-pilot, tied in to the TFR, allowed Tornado to navigate in cloud down to 200ft agl; as a navigator used to pulling out of low-level as weather approached, it was an extremely weird experience the first time I sat in a Tornado with AP/TFR engaged flying into cloud over the North York moors at 250 ft agl. That certainly concentrated the mind!

The number of military aircraft which crashed over the UK post war without killing many civilians on the ground is amazing. It shows the bravery and dedication of aircrew in distress avoiding civilian areas. I remember the Stubton Victor crash in Lincolnshire caused by an unrecoverable flat spin. The aircraft crashed into and demolished a farmhouse, killing two people inside the house and two rear crew members who were unable to bail out (no ejection seats in the rear) because of gravitational forces caused by the spin. The third rear crew member bailed out and survived and the pilot and Co pilot ejected safely.

7th January 1971, I (Simon Williams) was at St Hild’s school in Durham aged 11, on the Dragonville estate, the bell had just rung for the end of playtime when this airplane attracted our attention. One boy called out it was ‘Concord’, we all laughed at him and told him it was a Vulcan, and for sure it was on fire - or at least a black smoke trail laid out behind it - we could see no flames. I can see Leigh Coulson also commenting - he was one of my friends in my class (not seen him for 51 years!), this incident clearly etched permanently in all our minds. Durham is 6 miles from Wingate, and at this stage fair to say the plane was at about 6000 feet and 2 to 3 miles north of Durham. We watched as it went in a straight line roughly toward the east coast and out of sight. A teacher later confirmed the plane came down at Wingate just missing a school and the pilot had ejected - to which we speculated the pilot was now 2 inches shorter - none of us appeared to have thought about the rest of the crew! 5 years later aged 16 I was on my epic Newbury to Durham journey (300 miles avoiding motorways) on my Puch Maxi N2 (30 mph max speed) (took me 2 days), and going past RAF Dishforth with the longest runaway parallel to the A1, a Vulcan did 3 touch and go’s in the time it took me to do the length of the runway! You can’t get more ‘open top’ than a moped, and a Vulcan over my right shoulder, and doing circuits round me, what a sight, totally made my day. 3 years later with an RAF flying scholarship (Air Cadets) and learning to fly at Kirmington, near Hull, I had an ex.RAF Vulcan Navigator teaching us flying theory (we called him ‘teach’) - he told us the visibility from the cockpit of the Vulcan was quite poor and certainly not easy to see other light aircraft. I can imagine that trying to ‘dump’ a stricken Vulcan into the ground was never going to be easy, hence, the pilot ‘targeting’ the North Sea made sense. I note the incident never put me off wanting to be a pilot in the RAF (although had count my blessings for just being a private pilot.) 4 years later we have Vulcan XL319 landing at Sunderland on Video. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MQKL_5YVuVE.html 1983 - Great sound at my old Sunderland flying club - great people - and now the Nissan car manufacturing plant - all credit to Nissan and the huge investments they’re making. And thanks to all those who have pieced history back together on the Internet.

Great video. Thank you. I saw the latter stages of this unfold as an 8 year old boy in the playground of East Rainton Junior School, Co Durham. Incredible.

Well this is a surprise. As a 6 year old boy in 1971 living in Peterlee, I watched this Vulcan fly over the field I was playing football in out the back of our house! Flames pouring out the back. Dad grabbed me and we drove to Station Town where the crash site was already taped off. Dad spoke to a Policemen and for years we had 2 little pieces of metal form the plan in a shoebox. Thanks for the video. It brought back the memories of a 6 year old so vividly.

An outstanding video of an incident that required exceptional airmanship. Bravo Zulu to the crew of XM610. Thank you!

Flt Lt Alcock also had another Vulcan ejection in 1975 from XM645 in Malta. This had fatalities after a landing mishap and a go-around. Looking at a number of these incidents (including the Victor bomber) it is frustrating that the rear crews did not have ejection seats.

Nicely done. Loud but beautiful birds. My sis was an RCAF met observer. One idled for hours outside their office in St Hubert PQ on delivering the video tapes to Canada. Her hearing was never the same.

I was in Wingate Junior school same as Roy, I was 8 yrs old. I remember all of us looking up at it for what seemed like ages, came really low over the school and into the ground. Everything went quiet for a couple of seconds then a ball of flames shot up in the air, very frightening.

As a child out on break while attending a British Forces school in Malta back in 1975, I witnessed one of these magnificent aircraft explode in mid-air following a failed landing at Luqa airport. As I understand it, and similar to Wingate, the crew were also trying to make it out over the sea in order to ditch the aircraft, but fire spread too quickly and only the pilots, using their ejector seats made it out. The aircraft crashed into a village. Five crew members from the rear and one person on the ground lost their lives, but the toll could have been substantially higher considering how densely populated much of Malta is. I could be wrong, but I think the Vulcan was pulled from service not long after that incident.

Years ago, at MCAS El Toro, I had the pleasure of seeing the Vulcan in person. What a beautiful aircraft! The best part? Her sound! When you are standing behind, the crackle of those engines was pure magnificence.

I’m from County Durham now living in Melbourne. Such a delight to hear the names of towns from my youth. Once again another brilliant piece of aviation investigation. These videos are so riveting can’t understand why the site doesn’t have a larger following, it leaves others of similar ilk in the dust.

Brave fellas... decorations well earned. I was at the accident scene of XL390 in August of 1978 in Glenview, IL. I was only 7 years old. I'll never forget it.

Another quality monograph about a fascinating incident. Your presentations consistently demand my undivided attention. Yes, the three crew in the back are not well cared for in the design of any of the V bombers in terms of exiting the aircraft in flight. They would be forgiven for concluding that they were dispensable. I was fortunate enough to see a Valiant on one of these low-altitude training runs whilst trout fishing with my Dad on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales, circa 1962. It came barreling up the valley, low, massive, white, noisy and fast. I remember looking across the valley rather than up at the sky; it was lower than the hills. I was then an impressionable 7-year old. Needless to say, I remain impressed.

I used to live in Kelloe, and always wandered what happened. Thanks

Another excellent episode, thanks for producing it. I have a very vague memory of this incident - unless there was a different Vulcan crash around that time. I was still in elementary school at the time. Love the Vulcans, such an elegant aircraft. Don't they say in aviation design, " if it looks right, it probably is right". The Vulcan definitely looks right. This is also a good example of why you never stop training. Every crew member did their jobs, and didn't hesitate when they were told to jump.

Very, very well done ! ! ! You described it excellently! ! ! Thanks! As a kid I remember this on the news, and discussed by family members...

I was 8 (9 in the March of that year) and i was in the school playground in Dene House Juniors in Peterlee and i can remember vividly the plane flying over with smoke coming out of the rear. It crashed not far from my Aunt's house in Station Town. FLt Lt Alcock was later to be on the crew of the Vulcan that bombed the runway in the Falklands war.

Outstanding video and details Lived in the area all of my 70+ years. Never knew about this !!! Thank you

I can recall standing in my school yard at Ushaw Moor junior school aged 10, looking up at this vulcan on fire and counting the parachutes opening as the crew bailed out. Thankfully it didn't put me off becoming a pilot in my adult life.

I was working at Philadelphia Central stores for the NCB at the time and saw this plane going down over Wingate. I was 15 years old at the time and remember it well. Glad all crew were safe and well

Very interesting, I don't remember that one at all but I do remember the Vulcan crash at Syerston back in the late 1950's. I was once driving down the A1 about 1981/2 and as I came round the roundabout at RAF Leeming I was met by Police in the road who told me to stop and turn off my engine. After a few minutes a Vulcan came in from the west just above the road surface and landed at the airfield and off we went again. Wonderful sight so close to it. I heard later the plane was being retired there and that was its last flight.

Remember it well, arrived at crash site shortly after. I found a piece of the Vulcan intake valve which kept 30 years eventually gave it to Air museum Sunderland.

Brilliant story. I was one year old when this happened my dad had to cover my ears as he says the noise from Vulcan was loud We lived in aclom street station town a stones throw from crash site. Local farmer still has parts of plane in his barn.

Fascinating story, excellently told and thoroughly researched. A joy to watch, thanks

Excellent story telling, content and visuals. Thank you.

great video thanks. I lived in shotton colliery just north of wingate at the time. I was ten years old and this memory has always stayed with me. I remember it was very low passing over head I remember the noise and the plume of smoke trailing from the left engine I wondered has it got bombs on it. Also remember seeing for the first time in my life a couple of parachutes slowly decending. then it was gone followed by a boom soon after seeing a plume of smoke south of shotton colliery

I was at school in Peterlee when this happened I clearly remember the Vulcan flying over the school very very low was a big shock

Well deserved award and commendations for the crew. A fine and well interesting film! 👍

At least no one was killed or injured. You had me worried there and in suspense.

My grandparents use to live in Hutton Henry just south of Wingate and I didn't know about this accident.There's some largish towns south of Wingate; Stockton, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough so imagine if it had landed on one of them or worse crashed into ICI Billingham!

Ha "Ask and thou shall receive" what a legend mate 👍

Fascinating story.A beautiful aircraft came to a fiery end,at least no people lost to its demise.Keep up the good work👏👏👏

The is an Avro Vulcan B.2 XL319 at Washington Rd Sunderland, recently renovated. There is a vicious rumour the locals stripped the wreckage site bare and reassembled and tried to weigh it in at Newton's Scrap Yard a few hundred yards away. They would have too but the lads reckon it ran out of juice.

I remember camping in Anglesea in the 70s and watching the Vulcans practicing their bombing dives, very impressive at the time. I've never heard about this incident though, thanks for posting.

Great analysis Mr Geordie.

an amazing story and well told sir! I live nearby, in Durham, and did not know anything about this.

I am no aeronautical engineer, but I can apply logic. The lack of ejection seats for the rear crew is simply down to weight, and the structure of the aircraft. ...... Pilots are VERY expensive to train, so it makes sense to prioritise saving pilots, plus the cockpit roof is relatively easy to remove to permit ejection. ...... Each ejection seat adds 100 to 150 lbs weight, but more than that, one would need to completely redesign the rear fuselage to accommodate a clean exit of no less than 3 seats, which would add a lot of structural weight.. ...... With weight and space already at a premium, ejector seats simply were never a practical proposition.

Superbly narrated and researched, thanks.

Great video, glad everyone was safe. As kids, we regularly saw Vulcans fly over Ferrybridge, West Yorkshire, at low altitude when they were out on exercise/patrol from RAF Waddington. It was a sight to behold when they banked sharply around the back of the now demolished Ferrybridge ’C’ Power Station. It was like watching a huge metal Pterodactyl flying around. And when the pilot levelled out and headed onwards towards RAF Church Fenton, that was also amazing: the huge cry/roar as the pilot opened the throttles; the thick dark soot from the four Olympus engines… still gives me goosebumps. Fine, just fine. Ahhhh, time machine please!! Sorry, good memories. Love your channel. Keep up the excellent work.👍🏻

British engineering at its finest. Such a great shame that there are no flying examples anymore.

Great work guys

Steve Palfrey 1 second ago I was in the playground in Wingate. 10 years old and saw it go over on fire. It actually came down behind houses in Station Town( a small ex colliery village next to Wingate). I shut my eyes and plugged my ears as it hit, but the ground shook. We only found out afterwards that noone was on board and that one of the airmen landed on Peterlee roundabout. A piece of wing broke off and landed down the road from where I lived.

Well done for an excellent account of an incident from my childhood!

Brilliant video

Fascinating, many thanks👏🏻👏🏻

I used to live about 2miles from R. A. F Warrington when I was about 15. On training days, aftershave offs, my mother would go round pushing things on shelves back into place after they had vibrated during the Vulcan f!going overhead. Most shelves had beading fastened along the front to avoid breakages.

wow I didn't know about this, I'm from Stockton and often cycle upto Sunderland along the old railway that stops right by Station town then Wingate, every days a school day thanks for sharing.

I visited Waddington in 1969 as part of our training on air radar. Very sad the number of pilots and crew lost since the last war.

That was an intense situation! Good thinking of the Pilots & flight crews... Sometimes, things like these happen, even to the most advanced planes. It was very lucky , after the pilots ejected, that the plane did not come down in a populated area...

I was 3 in the april of that year and lived in the street 14 store bank it crashed in the feild behind our house leaving a 25 foot hole i still have trouble with low flying aircraft when i cant see them the noise freeks me out still im 54 now and remember it well my mam &myself were in the hartlepool mail my dad found out about it when he seen us when he read the paper after work well done pilot for saveing mine and my mams life xx 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

The Vulcan is my fav aircraft. Nice video, thank you!

Great video thanks.

That was a great recounting of fact. A very interesting story. Thank you.

Great video - thanks.

Good story, very well told, great editing from found footage

I was at work that day over the road from where it crashed.Alot of very lucky people that day .

I really enjoyed that. Thanks. Subbed and look forward to further gems of History.

Very interesting. Thanks 😊

Superb video and commentary! Really well done!

Superb. Fascinating account well told with spot on graphics.

I live a few miles from Wingate snd never knew of this. Yes before I was born, but still WOW !! Thanks for the video 👍

I saw a Vulcan take off at an airshow in the UK. It's engines churned up the runway and subsequent display plans had to be all changed about.

Vulcan B2 XL390 of 617 Sqdn crashed at Glenview NAS, Chicago on 11 Aug 1978 during an air show. Got to meet the awesome crew and got a tour of the cockpit and sit in the coal hole before they flew their show at El Toro, Ca, early that same year. I was just 12, but this still haunts me. Thanks for the excellent video.

Great video. Liked it as always

Hadn't heard of this incident before. Excellent video, sir!

My grandfather worked of this project. When I was young and slept over, there were several pictures of this jet.

Very interesting, Thank you. I lived close to Waddington as a kid and spent many hours at on the road at the end of the runway watching the take off.. I would ride up from North Hykeham on my push bike. I'd have been 12 yrs old in 1971 and who knows I may have seen it leave on the day of the disaster.

Vaguely remember watching it flying past Eppleton Junior School in Hetton-le-Hole with fire coming out the wing when I was about 9 years old. Remember it screaming over and then a few minutes later we saw the plume of smoke in the distance as it crashed in Wingate.

I was a pupil at Easington Junior School and watched the burning Vulcan cross the sky towards Peterlee from the playground.

Great story with a good end. Thank you. I grew up seeing these aeroplanes flying overhead in the North of Scotland.

I saw this incident.i was exercising a racehorse with others close to the Rushyford to Bishop Auckland Road & saw the Pilot eject just before the plane went down . I did not realise till now that it was a Vulcan Bomber .I did hear at the time that the Co Pilot had ejected earlier but only realised from this article that three crew members had parachuted to safety over Rothbury

I was at primary school in Belmont when this happened. Remember seeing the parachutes as the crew bailed out

Absolutely fascinating especially as i live in Blyth and happen to love Vulcans !

Unforgettable memory

That was very interesting - thank you for posting. I have always thought the vulcan one of the most beautiful aircraft ever made.

Great work on this video! fascinatiing to watch . . . .

Top Notch , Top Notch, Top Notch, Biggin Hill, was a venue, which one had seen, Vulcan bombers, the thrust from the engines, was superb, flash white, or when they were in camouflage.!

I was aged 10 and at school in nearby Peterlee. I can still remember seeing the stricken plane fly past.