RAF RETURNS TO NUCLEAR

Nearly 30 years after giving them up, the RAF is poised to reacquire air-dropped nuclear weapons

- WORDS STUART HADAWAY

The first successful static test of a British atomic bomb, in October 1952, was conducted underwater, but it was always intended that the final weapons would be airdropped by the Royal Air Force.

In October 1956, a Vickers Valiant dropped an atomic weapon, and less than a year later a Valiant dropped a hydrogen, or nuclear, bomb during Operation Grapple. By this time the development of a fleet of bombers (the so-called 'V Bombers' - Valiant, Avro Vulcan and Handley Page Victor) and suitable standoff delivery systems were all well under way.

These aircraft and their nuclear weapons became 'V Force': Britain's nuclear deterrent. They were intended to provide a reactive wave of attacks on the Soviet Union (or other enemies) who had already launched an attack on Britain or NATO. In what was later dubbed 'Mutually Assured Destruction', they provided the ultimate deterrent to an aggressor - the certain knowledge that they too would be destroyed. V Force reached 22 squadrons of aircraft by 1962, while from 1958 to 1963 they were supplemented by 20 squadrons of Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles. Ground-based but operated by the RAF, the Thor was a difficult weapon. They were relatively short-ranged, took time to ready for use, and the warheads were owned by the Americans. A US officer had to be present and approve any launch, making their use as a rapid-reaction retaliatory system quite limited (although Thor control panels could allegedly be 'hot-wired' in an emergency to bypass the double-key system).