XJ823

Preserved at Carlisle Airport as part of the Solway Aviation Museum is Vulcan B2.MRR XJ823. This Vulcan is well looked after and regularly repainted (it is in fact currently undergoing a repaint as of 29/10/2021), although birds and the harsh Northern weather are not kind to the aircraft. This Vulcan is of a particularly special significance, not because of any individual history (although it did once break the sound barrier), but because it is now the sole surviving complete B2.MRR variant. Of the nine converted, three were converted to K2 tankers (XH558, XH560, XJ825), two were just scrapped (XH554, XJ780) and four initially entered preservation (XH537, XH563, XJ782, XJ823). Of the preserved MRRs, XJ823 is the only one to survive until today, the others having been scrapped in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Vulcan has a secure future ahead of it, and with its paintwork often being redone it will always be one of the best looking survivors around.