The handley page victor is a british jet powered strategic bomber developed and produced by handley page which served during the cold war it was the third and final v bomber to be operated by the royal air force raf the other two being the avro vulcan and the vickers valiant the victor had been developed as part of the united kingdom s airborne nuclear deterrent. In november 1946. The carriage of the british nuclear deterrent by bomber aircraft rather than any other method was firmly established during the tenure of lord tedder the first post war cas.
These bombers would have been able to reach and destroy cities like kiev or moscow before american strategic bombers. The british produced three different types of v bombers for the royal air force which were designed and designated to be able to deliver british made nuclear bombs to targets in european russia. The simpler stopgap vickers valiant followed by the more sophisticated avro vulcan and.
The british government actually approved three different designs to serve as the uk s nuclear deterrent. There are a total of 8 british v bombers entries in the military factory. The british v bombers the valiant vulcan and victory formed the lethal nuclear airborne capability of the royal air force during the critical cold war years.
For the next sixteen years it held this role one that was a defining feature of raf operations through the late. 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. Posted on october 18 2019 by msw.
The british nuclear deterrent. The 4 engine jet bomber would enter service in 1958 as the third and last of the british v series of nuclear capable bombers the other 2 members of the club being the avro vulcan and the vickers valiant. On december 24 1952 the british handley page victor strategic bomber made its maiden flight.
Britain s atom bomb programme began with air staff operational requirement or 1001 issued in august 1946. The origin of the vulcan and the other v bombers is linked with early british atomic weapon programme and nuclear deterrent policies. In 1982 the polaris sales agreement was amended to allow the uk to purchase trident ii missiles.
Nuclear capable american aircraft have been based in the uk since 1949 but the last us nuclear weapons were withdrawn in 2006.
British nuclear bomber. The v bombers were the royal air force raf aircraft during the 1950s and 1960s that comprised the united kingdom s strategic nuclear strike force known officially as the v force or bomber command main force the three models of strategic bomber known collectively as the v class were the vickers valiant which first flew in 1951 and entered service in 1955. The avro vulcan which first. The us also supplied the raf and british army of the rhine with nuclear weapons under project e until 1992.
The us also supplied the raf and british army of the rhine with nuclear weapons under project e until 1992. The avro vulcan which first. The v bombers were the royal air force raf aircraft during the 1950s and 1960s that comprised the united kingdom s strategic nuclear strike force known officially as the v force or bomber command main force the three models of strategic bomber known collectively as the v class were the vickers valiant which first flew in 1951 and entered service in 1955.
