`Thunderball` style Vulcan nuclear bomber up for auction

The owner of a Vulcan bomber has opened an auction to sell the plane on Ebay. The aircraft, designed to carry nuclear bombs, no longer flys - so SPECTRE operatives may stop reading now.

A Vulcan bomber featured in the 1964 James Bond film "Thunderball". It was a NATO bomber which was supposed to be piloted in a test run by Major Francois Derval. It carried a payload of two atomic bombs. The Vulcan was the key to SPECTRE's plan, Angelo Palazzi, Derval's imposter, came to Derval's hotel room where he was being seduced by Fiona Volpe, Palazzi killed Derval and stole his ID. Palazzi boarded the Vulcan and once in the air, gassed the co-pilots and crash landed the Vulcan into the waters of the Golden Grotto, allowing SPECTRE frogmen to steal the bombs.



The seller of Vulcan Bomber XL391 (complete with engines) lists the item as "your chance to own a piece of aviation history". Bidding started sensibly at £6000, but has attracted wild bids of £1 million since publicity brought the auction to the attention of wannabe Largo's.

"There's no way it would fit in my hangars and I just hope it goes to a good home," the seller said. "People in the past have asked to buy bits and pieces of it for spares or memorabilia but I hope it stays in one piece."

Thanks to `Brinke` for the alert.

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