V-Bombers: Britain’s Nuclear Frontline

Much has been written about the V-bombers the Valiant, Victor and Vulcan but virtually nothing has been said about their strategic nuclear strike role. How would Britain’s small force of subsonic bombers have retaliated following a Soviet attack? Would they have succeeded in visiting thermonuclear catastrophe on their Soviet targets? V-Bombers: Britain’s Nuclear Frontline is the first detailed account of the operational capability and credibility of Britain’s airborne nuclear deterrent during the peak years of the Cold War. This book is the product of six years of research by the author, Dr Tony Redding. It includes a great deal of fresh material on V-force weapons, war mission, targeting, vulnerabilities and tactics for attacking targets within Soviet Russia. Over 70 V-force aircrew and ground crew were interviewed and over 300 operational research reports and other official documents were reviewed. This book demonstrates how the V-bombers retained a unilateral capacity to destroy the largest cities in the Soviet Union until the handover of the strategic nuclear deterrent to the Polaris submarines in 1969. It concludes that a small force of surviving V-bombers could have unleashed the explosive power of all Allied bombs dropped on Germany in six years of war, but in the space of the first two hours of World War 3. A sobering thought and a fascinating and necessary read for all those interested in this period of history. AUTHOR: Dr Tony Redding is a military historian and author with a particular interest in RAF Bomber Command. Following the publication of two books on Bomber Command in World War 2, Dr Redding began a detailed research programme on the British airborne nuclear deterrent, leading to a PhD from Kings College London (War Studies) and this last book, on the operational capability of the V-bomber force during the Cold War. Tony has lectured and broadcast widely on Bomber Command and other military subjects. He is also a founder member of the Chindit Society.

Format: Hardback
Pages: 256
Imprint: Grub Street
Publication date: 22/01/2024