From arrival to departure: 12 years of joy and pain as Doncaster's Vulcan set for farewell

And when the world’s last remaining flying Avro Vulcan touched down in Doncaster more than a decade ago, aircraft lovers flocked to Doncaster Sheffield Airport to see the mighty machine soar gracefully through the skies.

Each and every time XH558 took to the air, nearby roads would be lined with people coming from far and wide to glimpse the Cold War craft as she headed into the yonder, emitting that distinctive and spine-tingling roar.

But just 12 years after arriving at what was supposed to be her permanent base, the Vulcan will soon no longer be able to call Doncaster its home.

The ongoing turmoil over the future of DSA means that Vulcan To The Sky Trust bosses have decided to move the aircraft to another base next year.

Options being considered include dismantling the aircraft bit by bit and rebuilding her at another home or even a short ferry flight to get her to new surroundings.

With the city already reeling at the announcement from airport owners Peel that it is considering closing the airport, the Vulcan news is just another hammer blow that will upset residents and aircraft lovers far and wide.

Here’s the full story behind Doncaster’s much-loved Vulcan – from arrival to departure.

The world's last remaining flying Vulcan before she was permanently grounded in 2015, has had a long and turbulent history.

One of 136 delta winged strategic nuclear bomber aircraft operated by the Royal Air Force during the Cold War, she first flew in 1960.

Converted for a maritime reconnaissance role in 1973 and then as an air-to-air refuelling tanker in 1982, after being withdrawn in 1984, it continued with the RAF's Vulcan Display Flight, performing until 1992.

Although Vulcans were used on the famed Operation Black Buck raids during the Falklands War in 1982, XH558 was not one of them.

In 1993, the aircraft was sold to C Walton Ltd who used it for ground-based displays at their Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome in Leicestershire, until 1999.

It was restored to airworthy condition by the Vulcan To The Sky Trust, who returned it to flight on 18 October 2007, with £6.5 million in donations making it happen.

In the summers from 2008 to 2010 it was based at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, moving its winter base to RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire at the end of 2009.

But in 2011 it moved to a new year-round base at Doncaster Sheffield Airport, much to the delight of its fans. spending the next four years taking part in air shows across the country.

2015 was its last flying season with the final ever flight occurring on 28 October 2015 over DSA, the VTTS making the difficult decision due to spiralling costs and fears over the plane’s safety in the air due to its age.

With the plane grounded, the Trust planned to make the Vulcan the focus of a new educational and heritage facility a DSA.

But earlier this year, a £2.2 million fundraising plan to build a new hangar collapsed with funding falling way short of its target.

And today has come the news that the Vulcan will be leaving Doncaster next summer.

The Vulcan to the Sky Trust have been renting space on the airfield from DSA for the aircraft following the unsuccessful fundraising campaign to build a new permanent home for the Vulcan.

John Sharman, chair of trustees at the VTST said: “We were extremely sad to hear the news regarding the strategic review of DSA and our thoughts are with the staff there who will no doubt be concerned about their futures.

“Our current agreement for parking our aircraft at DSA, together with access for our staff, volunteers, and visitors, runs until June 2023 and prior to the news about the future of DSA we had been told that the agreement would not be renewed and therefore would have to leave the site at that time.

“This is a blow to the Trust and will be very sad news for our supporters, but for some months we have been exploring options for XH558 to leave Doncaster.”

John added: “Since the aircraft was grounded in 2015, we’ve been working to build her the type of home that befits such an iconic piece of aviation history.

"Sadly, our latest fundraising appeal didn’t bring in the money needed to build a hangar and DSA have confirmed that she can only stay where she is until June 2023.

"Having sought assurances from the airport, we have established that their announcement doesn’t affect our timeline for leaving the airport.

“As soon as we knew that our future was likely to be away from DSA, we began the process of finding a safe and permanent home for XH558 – an important heritage aviation asset.

“We are working on two potential sites where we know we can protect her for decades to come and deliver on Robert Pleming’s vision of telling the Cold War story and the role of the V-Force and inspiring youngsters to pursue meaningful and productive careers in engineering.

“Clearly as the sites are away from Doncaster, the relocation will bring significant challenges but outcomes we believe the VTST can deliver.”

The VTST is currently exploring a number of options for a new home for Vulcan XH558 ranging from investigating the possibility of a short ferry flight to enable the aircraft to get to a new location intact or to dismantle and move and rebuild her in a dedicated permanent home.

John explained: “The option for a one-off flight demonstrates that the VTST are exploring every option. We were always told that we would not get approval for her to fly again by the CAA, however, we are now in discussion with them to explore any potential way forward as if this might be an option, it’s not one that we can ignore.

“The alternative is to dismantle the aircraft and move it to a proposed home and we have two potential locations in negotiation. While we acknowledge that it would be extremely sad to dismantle XH558 it would mean that ultimately, she will be preserved and will still be able to inform, educate and inspire future generations of engineers.

“As soon as a decision has been made regarding the final destination for XH558 we’ll be able to put the wheels in motion and we’ll keep our supporters updated throughout this process.

“We want to thank everyone for their continued support and interest in Vulcan XH558.”