With the delivery of the first ‘Blue Danube’ atomic bombs to
RAF Wittering in 1953, the RAF became the guardian of the British nuclear
deterrent. For the next sixteen years, it held this role, one that was a
defining feature of RAF operations through the late 1950s and 1960s. For the
servicemen selected to be responsible for this duty, life was characterized by
continuous training with the weapon, and the aircraft and missiles designed to
carry it, preparing for a mission they hoped they would never have to complete.
In 1969, with concerns about the vulnerability of air stations and aircraft,
the RAF passed control of its strategic deterrent to the Royal Navy and its
Polaris submarines.
The British Government’s quest for its own nuclear weapon
culminated in 1952 and Operation Hurricane, which ended with the detonation of
a nuclear device on the frigate HMS Plym at the Montebello Islands off
Australia. The product of the test was Blue Danube, a 10-kiloton fission bomb
weighing over 10,000lb. In August 1953, the Bomber Command Armament School was
established at Wittering to handle the ‘special store’ and to train air and
ground crews in its loading, before the first of the new aircraft, the Valiant,
arrived in squadron service in early 1955. The following year No. 1321 Flight
was formed, also at RAF Wittering, to coordinate the inert and (later) live
dropping trials of Blue Danube. On 11 October 1956, during Operation Buffalo,
Valiants from 49 Squadron became the first British aircraft to drop a live
atomic bomb, doing so at the Maralinga range in the Australian outback.
In production from 1959, Red Beard was in operational
service by the early 1960s. This was an improved bomb and had a larger yield,
but weighed under a quarter of the weight of Blue Danube. Between May 1957 and
September 1958, Operation Grapple resulted in the successful detonation of a
thermonuclear (hydrogen) bomb at Christmas Island. Britain had become the third
nation, after the USA and the Soviet Union, to detonate a megaton weapon, equal
to more than one million tonnes of TNT The resulting Yellow Sun supplemented
Red Beard, replacing the last of the first generation Blue Danube atomic bombs
in RAF service, and remained the principal free-fall nuclear bomb for the
remainder of the RAF’s guardianship.
In 1945, the latest long-range bomber in service with the
RAF was the Avro Lincoln medium bomber, an antiquated four piston-engine bomber
directly descended from the Avro Lancaster. These were partially replaced in
1951 by eighty-eight Boeing Washingtons lent by the USA under the Mutual
Defence Assistance Programme (MDAP). In January 1947 the Ministry of Supply,
with the delivery of future nuclear weapons in mind, issued order Specification
B.35/46 on behalf of the Air Staff seeking designs for aircraft capable of
carrying a 10,000lb bomb at heights of above 50,000ft, for over 3,500 miles.
The successful designs formed the RAF’s iconic nuclear capable Medium Bomber
Force. The aircraft, the Vickers Valiant, Avro Vulcan and Handley Page Victor,
were more commonly known as the V-Force.
The Valiant entered service in January 1955 with 138
Squadron at RAF Gaydon in Warwickshire, shortly before the formation there of
232 OCU, established to train crews on the new aircraft. The Avro Vulcan
entered service with 230 OCU at RAF Waddington in February 1957 with the first
operational aircraft being delivered across the Waddington airfield to 83
Squadron in July that year. The last of the V-Force, the Victor arrived in
November 1957 at 232 OCU, which by now had switched to the training of Victor
crews, before the first operational Victor squadron was formed as 10 Squadron
at RAF Cottesmore in April 1958.
The V-bombers were the pinnacle of British aeronautical
design. However, with the aircraft’s cabins filled with banks of electronic
equipment, the aircraft were uncomfortable to fly, with cramped cockpits and
navigators and air electronics officers working in the dark rear compartments.
Crews would spend many hours training in this claustrophobic environment.
Initially protected by a high flight ceiling (above 55,000ft
for the Vulcan) and a near supersonic speed, the crews of the V-Force was
confident in their ability to deliver the bomb. By the early 1960s, however,
the deployment of Soviet surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), and the downing of
Gary Powers’s U2 reconnaissance aircraft over the Soviet Union in May 1960,
threatened this confidence. Introduced to 617 Squadron in autumn 1962, the Avro
Blue Steel ‘stand-off’ weapon was a rocket-powered missile launched from Vulcans
and Victors. These missiles, guided by an internal navigation system, could
cruise at Mach 1.8 for up-to 150 miles to the target, enabling the aircraft to
stay beyond the range of the early SAMs. However, further technical advances
raised concerns about the limited range of Blue Steel and despite the proposed
development of a Blue Steel Mark 2 with a range of 1,000 miles, the programme
was abandoned. Blue Steel was in service until 1970. In April 1964 Bomber
Command switched the V-Force from high to an ultra-low altitude attack,
sometimes as low as 100ft, thus under SAM radar cover. The Valiant was unsuited
to low level flying and following the discovery of a resultant metal fatigue in
the wing in August 1964 the aircraft was permanently grounded in January 1965.
In 1957, the UK agreed to host a US-UK jointly operated
missile: the Douglas Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile. Incapable of
striking the Soviet Union from America, the first of sixty Thor missiles were
installed on stations along the east coast of England, becoming operational in
August 1958. They were jointly manned by the RAF who had control of the sites
and the launch of the missiles and the USAF 99th Support Squadron who
controlled access to and the arming of the 1.4MT nuclear warhead.
Following the introduction in 1962 of Minuteman missiles
capable of being launched from the United States along with the delivery of
Blue Steel to squadrons, Thor, Britain’s only surface-launched ballistic
missile, was withdrawn by August 1963.
The launch of Sputnik by rocket in 1957 highlighted the
potential vulnerability of V-Force bases and Thor sites from a decisive Soviet
missile strike, a fact not lost on the men who worked at the RAF stations or
their families, who lived in nearby accommodation. It was essential that the
V-bombers were airborne quickly, initially within fifteen minutes. From
February 1962, Bomber Command adopted the NATO Quick Reaction Alert (QRA)
system across the V-Force, having at least one armed and fuelled aircraft from
each squadron placed on dispersal, or on Operational Readiness Platforms at the
end of the runways. For the crews on standby, there were invariably long
periods of inactivity. Weekdays could be filled with planning training sorties
or studying target information, but weekends without regular squadron
activities were often dull, with little to do. QRA duty during the Christmas
period was considered particularly tiresome.
For the men of the V-Force and Thor squadrons, life was
marked by regular QRA and exercises. Punctuating the routine, Group HQ or
Bomber Command called simulated scrambles where V-Force and missile crews had
to prove their ability to launch in the required time. Well publicized and
regular practice was essential to show readiness and capability, thus ensuring
the success of the weapon as a deterrent.
By 1962, with the cancellation of the proposed US long-range
Skybolt air-launched cruise missile project and the British Blue Streak MRBM,
Britain was left without a future means of delivering its nuclear weapons. In
August 1962, it was decided that Polaris, the American submarine-launched
missile system, would be provided for use by Royal Navy submarines. In 1968,
the first of these submarines, HMS Resolution, became operational. With the
commissioning of the final Polaris submarine the following year, the RAF lost
its guardianship of Britain’s nuclear deterrent, though it retained tactical
nuclear weapons until 1996.
To ensure that Bomber Command was equipped with an aircraft
that was capable of flying into the Warsaw Pact to drop its weapon the Air
Ministry issued Specification B.35/46, which called for a medium bomber to
Operational Requirement OR.229. The specification required that the competing
manufacturers develop an aircraft that was capable of carrying a 10,000lb bomb
over a range of 1,500 miles from a friendly base anywhere in the world. The
manufacturers were also made aware of the possibility that for much of the
aircraft’s flight it would be tracked by ground based radar thus any aircraft
developed to this specification had to be capable of avoiding destruction by
both air- and ground-based attackers. To satisfy these needs the bomber had to
have a high cruising speed, be manoeuvrable at high speeds and altitudes, have
a high cruising altitude, be capable of carrying sufficient warning devices and
have adequate self defence systems.
The required performance called for a continuous power
output between altitudes of 35,000 and 50,000 feet at a consistent speed of 500
knots. This in turn required that the maximum speed in level flight should be
as high as possible. Further details within the same specification required the
bomber to be able to fly in all weathers and that it should have a still air
range of 3,350 nautical miles at a height of 50,000 feet carrying a 10,000lb
bomb. The total bomb load needed to be 20,000lb maximum that could comprise a
10,000lb or 6,000lb high-explosive bomb, 1,000lb bombs or a single special
bomb. The crew would consist of two pilots, two navigators who would share bomb
aiming and radar operating duties, and a single wireless operator who would
also manage the onboard warning and protective devices. The engine installation
was also quite flexible, although there was a restriction set on the number,
which could be between four and six depending on the power output available at
that time. Navigation equipment had to consist of a long-range direct reckoning
and fixing system using the H2S radar system to help pinpoint specific ground
features while a completely automatic astro navigation system was to be
developed. The radio and radar systems would include the H2S radar with a
navigation and bombing computer, Rebecca/ BABS or the SCS51, which was to be
used in conjunction with the autopilot. Multi-channel UHF and VHF was also
required as were radar-warning devices that had to be capable of detecting the
launch and approach of air- and ground-launched missiles.
Six firms responded to the B.35/46 specification: Armstrong
Whitworth, Avro with the Type 698, Bristol with the Type 172 design, English
Electric, Handley Page and Vickers. By August 1947 the Minister of Defence had
decreed that there would be a slowdown in the overall development speed of new
weapons as it was highly unlikely that there would be any major conflict in the
following five years while a further five-year period of grace, with some
rising tension, would exist before any full-scale war erupted. This hiatus
would give all of the country’s aircraft manufacturers time to ponder in depth
the technology surrounding the integration of jet engines, swept wings and high
speed flight. The Chiefs of the Defence Staff were also grateful for this break
as it had proven impossible to determine the number of atomic weapons that
Britain required but their one assurance was that possession of such and the
means to deliver a weapon would act as a deterrent to any future enemies.
Eventually, six tenders were delivered to the Ministry of
Supply in May 1947. That tender from English Electric would resemble a slightly
enlarged Canberra with slightly swept back wings while the Vickers’ proposal
featured an airframe with a long fuselage carried on a high aspect wing with a
26 degree sweep back. These two proposals were quickly discarded as not being
advanced enough for 1957 thus the other four were given greater consideration.
All would feature sweep back, delta wings, crescent and flying wings but all
were too slightly advanced for an Air Ministry that was just accepting the Avro
Lincoln into service. The answer was to pass all of the information to the
Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough for further evaluation and
guidance.
The ongoing process of selection would soon see the more
advanced flying wing designs from Shorts and Armstrong Whitworth rejected even
though they would be lighter than more conventional designs and would offer a
greater maximum altitude. This process of elimination would leave only two
concept designs in front of the group these being the crescent winged Handley
Page HP80 and the delta winged Avro Type 698. As both of these aircraft were
destined to be at the cutting edge of design technology in the 1950s the Bomber
Project Group felt able to recommend that a third less advanced design be
pursued. This would allow the introduction of a large jet bomber into RAF
service at an earlier date than was possible with the other aircraft types. In
fact, this option would be based upon two entirely different aircraft that had
been built to the original specification. The first for consideration would be
the Short SA4 Sperrin while the second aircraft to be presented at a lower
technology level would be the Vickers Valiant. This had been put forward to the
RAF, the MoS and the Advanced Bomber Project Group as the Type 660. This was
recommended by the bomber group as having fewer development problems especially
as the wings would be of reduced sweep back. The guaranteed production time
scale put forward by George Edwards, the chief designer at Vickers, was enough
to convince the RAF and the Air Ministry to issue a new specification, B.9/48,
in April 1948. Construction of the two Valiant prototypes would be undertaken
at the Fox Warren experimental shops for two reasons. The first was for
security reasons, the second was due to Weybridge, the main production works,
being jammed with Viscounts, Valettas and Vikings. The first prototype, WB210,
would undertake its maiden flight on 18 May 1951.
The Vickers Valiant was a four-engined high-winged monoplane
with a mid-mounted tailplane. The power was courtesy of the Rolls-Royce Avon
204/205 series engines that also provided pneumatic and electrical power to the
aircraft systems. While described as a simple aircraft the Valiant featured
some interesting innovations, as not only were the flaps and undercarriage
electrically driven, the main gear units were tandem in design, although each
wheel was mounted on a separate undercarriage leg. The crew were housed in a
pressurized cabin and consisted of two pilots, two navigators and a signaller,
later upgraded to an air electronics operator. Various versions of the Valiant
were delivered, including the B Mk 1 pure bomber variant and the B(PR), a
bomber/photoreconnaissance aircraft that had been considered from the start and
therefore this particular batch of aircraft could accommodate a removable crate
in the bomb-bay, carrying up to eight narrow view/high resolution cameras and
four survey cameras. Also delivered was the B(PR)K1, a
bomber/photo-reconnaissance/tanker aircraft, plus the B(K)1, a bomber/tanker aircraft.
Both tanker variants carried a removable tanker system in the bomb-bay, which
featured fuel tanks and a hose-and-drogue aerial refuelling system.
In 1960 the Lockheed U-2 flown by Gary Powers was shot down
over Russia, which revealed that the SAM threat was greater than first realized
and led the V-Force to train for low-level attacks. Unfortunately, low-level
operations proved too much for the Valiant and on 6 August 1964 there was a
failure of a rear spar in WP217, an OCU aircraft from Gaydon. The aircraft
landed safely back at Gaydon but without a flap due to damage in the rear of
one wing. Later inspection of the aircraft showed the fuselage skin below the
starboard inner wing section had buckled, popping the rivets; the engine door
had cracked and the rivets had been pulled and the skin buckled on the top
surface of the mainplane between the two engines.
Inspection of the entire fleet showed that the wing spars
were suffering from fatigue at between 35 per cent and 75 per cent of the
assessed safe fatigue life, probably due to low-level turbulence. After this
inspection, the aircraft were divided into three categories: Cat A aircraft
continuing to fly, Cat B to fly to a repair base, and Cat C requiring repair
before flying again. The tanker squadrons had the highest proportion of Cat A
aircraft because their role had been mainly at high level. However, in early
1965 the Wilson government decided that the expense of the repairs could not be
justified and the fleet was permanently grounded on 26 January 1965.
Although the Valiant prototype, WP210, had been lost in a
crash in January 1952 Vickers were given a production contract for their new
aircraft. Eventually, a total of 114 aircraft were delivered to equip ten
squadrons with the first delivery taking place in January 1955 to No. 138
Squadron based at Gaydon. By July the squadron had transferred to Wittering and
eventually had a strength of eleven Valiants. Either side of the Suez War in
October 1956 the squadron undertook overseas proving trials designated
Operation Too Right, while Exercise Rejuvenate took place afterwards and tested
the defences of the north-west of Britain. After seven years of operations No.
138 Squadron was disbanded in April 1962. During its existence No. 138 Squadron
had operated the standard version, the B Mk 1, a reconnaissance version of the
B(PR) Mk 1, a combined reconnaissance and tanker version, the B(PR)K Mk, 1, and
the bomber tanker version, the BK Mk, 1. Following No. 138 Squadron came No. 49
Squadron, which reformed at Wittering in May 1956. Soon after formation the
squadron became involved with Operation Buffalo, the dropping of Britain’s
first atomic bombs codenamed Blue Danube. A move to Marham took place in June
1961 with the squadron being declared to Superme Allied Commander Europe
(SACEUR) in 1961 while the unit was declared ready in the operational role in
August 1962. Disbandment took place in May 1965. In common with No. 138
Squadron, No. 49 Squadron would operate the full range of Valiant versions
during its existence.
Honington was the home of No. 7 Squadron when it reformed as
a Valiant unit in October 1956. Although the squadron was involved with the
numerous Bombex (bombing exercise) flights it also undertook various astro
navigation and NBS (Navigation/Bombing System) trials. During June 1958 the
squadron took part in Exercise Full Play. Having flown the full gamut of
Valiant models the squadron would disband in October 1962, although one flight
was retained to represent Bomber Command at the Ugandan independence
celebrations. Just before No. 7 Squadron formed No. 148 Squadron had been
reformed at Marham in July 1956. The squadron would join No. 138 Squadron in
Malta during the Suez Crisis, undertaking bombing attacks on Almaza and Fayid
airfields, each being the recipient of twelve 1,000lb bombs from each of the
participating aircraft. Having returned from active service No. 148 Squadron
became involved in Exercise Green Epoch in February 1957. This exercise was
designed to give the US Navy 6th Fleet and its defences a good workout. Both day
and night attacks were undertaken successfully; the only interception made
during this period was made by a pair of Grumman F9F Cougars. Flag waving was
always part of the Bomber Command scenario thus two Valiants were dispatched to
the Gold Coast in 1957 to take part in independence celebrations, the country
being renamed Ghana at the same time. When NATO required that the V bombers be
declared to SACEUR No. 148 Squadron was declared operational in April 1963. Its
sojourn with NATO was short as the unit was disbanded in April 1965.
Honington was home to two other units, Nos 90 and 199
Squadrons. No. 90 Squadron was reformed in January 1957 with the majority of
its aircraft coming straight off the production line. After a period of working
up the squadron undertook a tour of the Far East in March 1958, calling at
Singapore, the Philippines and South Vietnam. After the majority of aircraft
had wended their way home a single machine, XD862, carried on to Australia and
New Zealand returning to Britain soon afterwards. Two aircraft were dispatched
to Marshalls of Cambridge in April 1958 for RATOG and water methanol equipment
fitment and trials. By 1962 the squadron had become a flight refuelling unit in
April 1962, although it was disbanded three years later. Also based at
Honington was No. 199 Squadron, which had been engaged in ECM work since 1952,
although after the move to Honington the Canberras were joined by Valiants that
were fitted with American-provided ECM equipment that included the APT-7 and
APT-16A jammers plus APR-9 and APR-4 search receivers. The aircraft were also
fitted with chaff dispensers. All of the Valiants flown by C Flight of No. 199
Squadron were disbanded in December 1958 although within two days, on 17
December, the flight was used to form the core of No. 18 Squadron. This new
unit would decamp to Finningley and would remain operational until disbandment
in April 1963.
In 1956 two further units would form at Marham to operate
the Valiant, all major versions being flown. The first would be No. 214
Squadron, which reformed in January. By October the unit was based in Malta to
undertake bombing raids in support of the Suez crisis. Attacks were undertaken
against El Adem, Almazara and Abu Sueir, all of which received their fair share
of 1,000lb bombs. Further raids were carried out against Kasfrit, Huckstep
Barracks and El Agami. During 1958 No. 214 Squadron became involved in the
trials for the proposed in-flight refuelling system for which purpose a
dispensing system was fitted in the bomb-bay. The unit took over this role
permanently in 1962 and continued in this role until the Valiants were grounded
in 1965. No. 207 Squadron would reform at Marham in April 1956. After working
up the unit would take part in bombing raids against Egyptian targets during
the Suez Crisis. Targets attacked by the Valiants of No. 207 Squadron included
Kabrit, Kasfareet and El Agami. Upon its return to Britain No. 207 Squadron
took part in Exercise Red Pivot, during which the Valiants undertook mock
attacks against the US Navy 6th Fleet. No. 207 Squadron took part in the 1960
Annual Bomber Command Competition, in the process winning the Laurence Minot
and Armament Officers’ Trophies. The following year the squadron won the Medium
Bomber Squadron Efficiency Trophy. During 1958 the squadron would transfer,
along with the other Valiant units, to the low-level role operating as low as
100 feet on some occasions. The unit would receive the American Mk 43 nuclear
weapons in 1962 after which it was declared to NATO remaining available to them
until disbandment in 1965.
The final operational unit to fly the Valiant was No. 543
Squadron, which reformed in September 1956 at Gaydon, although by November the
squadron had transferred to Wyton. During 1958 the unit took part in Operation
Record Book and Exercise Freshwind. In common with the other squadrons No. 543
Squadron would lose its Valiants in 1965, although the unit would remain active
as it received Handley Page Victor SR2s as replacements. Other units would also
fly Valiants at various times, including No. 2 Air Trials Unit, which operated
a lone aircraft, WP206, to undertake trials of the Blue Steel standoff weapon
inertial guidance platform. This unit was finally disbanded in 1960 with the
Valiant being dispatched to Australia to join the Blue Steel trials unit. The
Bomber Command Development Unit based at Gaydon also operated some Valiants
between February 1955 and March 1956. During this period the allocated aircraft
undertook intensive flying trials aimed at revealing any persistent defects
that needed rectifying before the aircraft entered service. Supporting the
flying units was No. 232 Operational Conversion Unit, also based at Gaydon. The
unit was formed in February 1955 and charged with providing trained crews to
the Valiant fleet as well as standards checking. The OCU lost its aircraft in
1965, although the number plate would later be used by the Victor OCU. The
final unit to operate the Valiant was No. 1321 Flight whose job was to
undertake trials involved in Blue Danube. The aircraft assigned to these trials
was WP201, the third prototype, and the dropping trials of the inert Blue
Danube were undertaken on behalf of the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment
acting in concert with the Royal Aircraft Establishment. The flight was
disbanded in March 1956, the trials being taken over by No. 138 Squadron, also
based at Wittering.
