Air-to-Air Refuelling Plan, Marham News, South Atlantic Special 1982

The refuelling plan on display is for Operation BLACK BUCK, which required 18 tanker sorties to fuel one Vulcan bomber on a 6,800-mile roundtrip to attack targets on the Falkland Islands. At the time, these were the longest bombing missions ever flown.

After the Argentine capture of the Falkland Islands there were concerns that Argentinian fast jets would be stationed at Port Stanley airfield which would put the ships of the Task Force at risk. To deter this, the RAF planned to bomb the airfield. The attack required 11 tanker sorties on the outward leg and seven on the return, to get one Vulcan to its target. The Vulcan managed to achieve one hit on the runway, which was enough to deter the basing of fast jets on the Falklands.