Page 22 - Demo

22Flt Lt Withers, Gp Capt Price and AVM Chesworth hot-debriefingBLACK BUCK I.performance aircraft the use of the airfield, and counter other threats tonaval operations, Victor-supported Vulcan raids commenced on 1 May.Other speakers will cover these later. But I must say that the firstBLACK BUCK sortie was a close run thing, due to greater than plannedfuel consumption. This was not really surprising as it involved twodifferent types of aircraft operating over distances never attemptedbefore. Not unnaturally, and before the full implications had beenappreciated at Northwood, another raid had been requested for the nextnight. As I was at Ascension, I had to insist that an in-depth analysis ofBLACK BUCK I was necessary before a further attack could becontemplated. But the deployment of Vulcans to Ascension, soon to befollowed by AAR Nimrods, created planning difficulties at Northwood.Because of a shortage of parking space at Wideawake it was necessary tolimit aircraft numbers based there. This dictated that aircraft not requiredfor the immediate ORBAT had to leave the island for Gibraltar, Dakar oreven, on occasions, the UK. This meant that tasking priorities had to beestablished by the CinC two or three days in advance to allow time to