I recently visit the National Museum of Flight.

Pictured here is the Avro Vulcan B.2 (XM597), currently resting peacefully at the National Museum of Flight in Scotland. Don’t let its tranquil museum setting fool you—this delta-wing beast is a decorated Falklands War veteran that once sparked a massive international incident.

During Operation Black Buck 6 in June 1982, its in-flight refueling probe snapped off over the Atlantic, leaving the crew stranded with zero chance of making it back to their base on Ascension Island.

With fuel tanks nearly bone-dry, the crew declared a Mayday and made a dramatic emergency landing in neutral Brazil, escorted by fighter jets. To make matters tenser, they landed with a top-secret American anti-radar missile still clamped to the wing.

The resulting diplomatic standoff lasted seven days before British diplomats successfully negotiated the return of the aircraft and crew, under the strict condition that it would never fly in the war again. It is an incredible piece of aviation history hiding out in the Scottish countryside!