In the 34 minutes between the first and second refuellings, Withers's Vulcan burned through of fuel, at the rate of per hour. All this time its weight never dropped below the theoretical maximum. At the end of the second refuelling, two more tankers peeled off and returned, reducing the force to just three: Withers's Vulcan, a Victor flown by Squadron Leader Bob Tuxford, and a Victor flown by Flight Lieutenant Steve Biglands. As a result of the fuel demand and problems in flight with refuelling, two of the Victors had to fly further south than planned, reducing their own reserves. At the final refuelling bracket, the sortie flew into a violent thunderstorm, during which Biglands's refuelling probe failed.