XH537

XH537 was built in 1959 and delivered to Boscombe Down on 31 August that year. In January 1960 it was picked as one of the development aircraft for the American Skybolt air-launched ballistic missile. Its modifications were finished by June 1961, and it then flew carrying dummy Skybolt rounds.

Skybolt was cancelled, and the aircraft lost its trials equipment. It went into ordinary RAF service with 230 Operational Conversion Unit at Finningley, training Vulcan crews. In 1978 it was converted to B.2(MRR) standard and joined 27 Squadron at Scampton, which flew the Vulcan on maritime radar reconnaissance.

It made its last flight in March 1982, while other Vulcans were being readied for the Falklands. That flight took it to Abingdon, where it served as a ground instruction airframe for nine years. The rest of the bomber was scrapped in May 1991, but the nose section was kept.

The nose passed through private hands. Colin Mears bought it in 1994 and Paul Hartley acquired it in 1997. A plan to use it as a crew escape trainer for the flying Vulcan XH558 came to nothing. Instead it moved to Hurn in late 2001 and was restored there with sponsorship from Channel Express. The museum bought it outright in March 2003 and later built steps and an internal platform so visitors can see the crew compartment.

The nose sits high in a purpose-built cradle. Steps and an internal viewing platform let you look into the cockpit.