Corgi AA31207 Vickers Vulcan – XL427, 617Sqn, Scampton, Lincs,1969

XL427 was completed in September 1962 before being equipped to carry the Blue Steel standoff nuclear missile and put on strength with 83 Squadron. After several years of operation with 83 Squadron, XL427 was transferred to the Scampton wing and 617 Squadron in 1969. This model represents the aircraft during its first spell with 617 Squadron, the famous ‘Dambusters’, in 1969, and is depicted carrying a Blue Steel missile and proudly displaying the triple lightning bolts of 617 Squadron’s crest on the tailfin. XL427 was to go on to have a somewhat nomadic career, serving variously with 27, 9, 50, 44 and 230 (OCU) Squadrons before finally being delivered to Macrihanish for crash rescue training in 1982. The aircraft lingered on a little longer, finally being removed from the RAF’s books as destroyed in 1986, a sad end for such a fine aircraft.