South Atlantic. Mission Black Duck 1. Operations Black Buck 1 to Black Buck 7 were seven very long-range air raids conducted by Royal Air Force (RAF) Vulcan bombers of RAF Waddington Wing, including aircraft from Nos. 44, 50, and 101 Squadrons, against Argentine positions in the Falkland Islands. Five of the missions completed strikes. The objective of the missions was to attack Port Stanley airfield and its associated defenses. The raids, nearly 6,600 nautical miles (2,200 km) and taking 16 hours for the round trip, were the longest-range bombing raids in history at that time. The Operation Black Buck raids were mounted from RAF Ascension Island, near the equator. The Vulcan was designed for medium-range missions over Europe and did not have the range to fly all the way to the Falklands without refueling several times. The RAF’s tanker aircraft were mostly converted Handley Page Victor bombers with a similar range, so they too had to be refueled in flight. A total of 11 tankers were needed for two Vulcans (one primary and one reserve), a daunting logistical effort since all the aircraft had to use the same runway.
