Navigator aboard the Cold War Vulcan nuclear bomber (145)

Barry Mullen was a Navigator Radar on the legendary Royal Air Force nuclear bomber, the Vulcan.

The Navigator Radar (Nav Radar) had the responsibility for coordinating bombing from the aircraft.

This role was performed entirely via instrumentation and was achieved via the ground-facing radar and the Navigation Bombing System a direct successor of the WW2 H2S system used in aircraft such as the Lancaster.

 This allowed accurate bombing from 57,000 feet down to an incredibly low height of 250 feet.

Barry served during the 1970s and candidly shares his experiences. He tells us about his time at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus during the Turkish invasion as well as the detail of his mission scenarios, both conventional and nuclear. He also shares information about his escape and evasion training as well as much more. 

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Back to today’s episode, we had a little bit of a problem with the audio, but I do think what Barry shares is worth hearing and I hope that doesn’t affect your listening too much. 

I am delighted to welcome Barry Mullen to our Cold War conversation…

There’s further information on this episode in our show notes which can also be found as a link in your podcast app here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode145/

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Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.

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0:00 Introduction and Barry's initial experiences with target study

1:14 Barry Mullen's journey to becoming a navigator and his training experiences

7:55 Difficulties encountered during training and training for high level and low level attacks

11:25 Barry's posting in Akrotiri, Cyprus and Cold War missions in Cento

15:17 The Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 and Barry's experience during the invasion

20:25 Squadron's role post-invasion and Barry's return to England

22:43 Barry's training and experiences in Canada and the United States

29:49 Barry's posting as an instructor at Scampton and selection for the Vulcan display crew

34:19 Nuclear weapon simulator checks and discussions on nuclear deterrence

47:00 Flying other aircraft besides the Vulcan and the most dangerous situation during service

50:06 Closing remarks and promotions

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