XM655 is a B Mk. 2 Vulcan, and the youngest Vulcan in existence (the third to last produced; XM656 and XM657 have both been scrapped). Delivered to 9 squadron at RAF Cottesmore in November 1964, she went on to serve with 50 squadron, 44 squadron, then back to 50 squadron, and then back to 44 squadron again. XM655 returned to 50 squadron and was put up for disposal in late 1983. She was bought by businessman Roy Jacobsen who had hopes to fly her on the airshow circuit.

She was the first Vulcan "civilianised" and was flown in to Wellesbourne Mountford about a week after a Cat 3 Check, on the 11th of February 1984. Hundreds of people were there to watch her arrive. She had flown only 5,744 hours, making her a very viable proposition for taking to the air once more. However, within a week the CAA made it clear that the aircraft would not be flying again without stringent conditions being satisfied. While efforts at funding the work necessary were began and the aircraft was put on the civil register as G-VULC, they were haphazard. A plan to fly the aircraft in America got as far as registering the aircraft on the American civil register as N655AV but no further. Eventually Roy Jacobsen lost interest in XM655 and bought another Vulcan, XL426 at Southend (also eventually to suffer the same treatment as XM655 - see the excellent Vulcan Restoration Trust site for full details). Parking fees were mounting at Wellesbourne and eventually the airfield owner took Jacobsen to court to recover them. The result was that the ownership of the aircraft passed to the airfield owner (John Littler).

The rear spar has undergone an inspection and was found to be in tip-top condition, with not even any rust to be found - when some paint was scraped off there was virginal primer underneath! XM655 now has fuel in her tanks at all times now to keep the system and the seals 'wet'. The fuel system is working correctly; fuel has been put in on one side and transferred across to the other and then balanced with no problems. Number 1 and 2 engines have around 1,400 hours left on them and 3 and 4 have around 1,000 hours left. As we found out in 1998, even the undercarriage still retracts without problems.

However this was no pristine aircraft; XM655 had paid a heavy price for the neglect, and is unlikely ever to fly again, despite grand claims by the XM655 Association (an organisation now defunct which was started without the aircraft owner's permission or any involvement of the engineering team).

The engineering team have no intention whatsoever to attempt to put this aircraft back into the air. Instead she will be kept alive - in ground running condition.

In 1998 that proved to be a bit of a battle, with rudder PFCU problems and undercarriage problems to overcome. Replacing a shock absorber on the 25th of July 1998, however, found 655 with air under her wheels for the first time in 14 years during a retraction test!

Since then 655 has been chugging along nicely though the occasional problem still pops up to keep the engineering team on their toes. We have repainted the aircraft which had been looking very faded in recent years, and completed this task in 2001. Beagle have reskinned the flying surfaces for us, something 655 has needed as the existing surfaces were suffering from corrosion. Most recently the jet pipe shrouds were replaced as they had become corroded - something all outdoor Vulcans suffer from. We continue to be grateful for help from our many friends - see the thanks page for their contributions. A purpose built workshop has been put together at Wellesbourne to replace the two large shipping containers we used to use, and this has made a great difference in comfort for our hard working volunteers!