Editing V bomber (section)

==In service==
===First generation===
[[File:Vulcan Bomber MOD 45133331.jpg|thumb|Three Vulcans in flight during 1957, wearing [[anti-flash white]] paint and darkened roundels]]
When the first [[Blue Danube (nuclear weapon)|Blue Danube]] atomic bombs were delivered to the Bomber Command Armaments School at [[RAF Wittering]] on 7 and 11 November 1953,{{sfn|Wynn|1997|p=92}} the RAF had no bombers capable of carrying them.{{sfn|Gowing|Arnold|1974|pp=234–235}}{{sfn|Baylis|1995|p=180}} Sir [[William Penney]] noted that "the RAF has handled aircraft for a long time and can fly Valiants as soon as they come off the production line. But the Royal Air Force has not yet handled atomic weapons, therefore, we must get some bombs to the RAF at the earliest possible moment, so that the handling and servicing can be practised and fully worked out."{{sfn|McLelland|2013|pp=73–74}} The Canberra and Valiant were accorded "super priority" status on 13 March 1952, and in December the Vulcan and Victor also received it.{{sfn|Wynn|1997|pp=101–102}}{{sfn|Brookes|1982|p=39}}

The Valiant went into production as the first V bomber in 1955.{{sfn|Wynn|1997|pp=52–54}} The Valiant entered service in February 1955,{{sfn|Wynn|1997|p=115}} the Vulcan in May 1956 and the Victor in November 1957.<ref name="RAF" /> [[No. 232 Operational Conversion Unit RAF|No. 232 Operational Conversion Unit]] was formed at [[RAF Gaydon]] in June 1955 and aircrew training commenced.{{sfn|Jackson|1981|p=19}} The first Valiant squadron, [[No. 138 Squadron RAF|No. 138 Squadron]], formed at RAF Gaydon in January 1955,{{sfn|Rawlings|1985|pp=189-190}}<ref name="RAF">{{cite web |publisher=Royal Air Force |title=Royal Air Force History, 1950–1959 |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/history_old/line1950-59.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091211053704/http://www.raf.mod.uk/history_old/line1950-59.html |archive-date=11 December 2009}}</ref> followed by [[No. 543 Squadron RAF|No. 543 Squadron]], which was formed at RAF Gaydon on 1 June 1955 before moving to [[RAF Wyton]]. Two more Valiant bases were established at [[RAF Marham]] and [[RAF Honington]] in 1956, and six more squadrons were formed in quick succession: [[No. 214 Squadron RAF|No. 214 Squadron]] at RAF Marham in March, [[No. 207 Squadron RAF|No. 207 Squadron]] at RAF Marham and [[No. 49 Squadron RAF|No. 49 Squadron]] at RAF Wittering in May, [[No. 148 Squadron RAF|No. 148 Squadron]] at RAF Marham in July, [[No. 7 Squadron RAF|No. 7 Squadron]] at RAF Honington in November and finally [[No. 90 Squadron RAF|No. 90 Squadron]] at RAF Honington in January 1957.{{sfn|Jackson|1981|p=24}}

Vulcan XA895 was allocated to [[No. 230 Operational Conversion Unit RAF|No. 230 Operational Conversion Unit]] at [[RAF Waddington]] in January 1957, and Vulcan aircrew training commenced. The first Vulcan squadron, [[No. 83 Squadron RAF|No. 83 Squadron]], was formed at RAF Waddington in May 1957. It initially used aircraft borrowed from No. 230 Operational Conversion Unit until it received its first Vulcan, XA905, on 11 July 1957. It was followed by [[No. 101 Squadron RAF|No. 101 Squadron]], which was formed at [[RAF Finningley]] on 15 October 1957.{{sfn|Jackson|1981|p=51}} A third Vulcan squadron, [[No. 617 Squadron RAF|No. 617 Squadron]], was formed on 1 May 1958 at [[RAF Scampton]], the same base from which it carried out the [[Dambuster Raids]] in May 1943.{{sfn|Jackson|1981|p=54}} No. 232 Operational Conversion Unit took delivery of its first Victor on 29 November 1957.<ref name="RAF"/> The first operational Victor squadron was [[No. 10 Squadron RAF]], which received its first Victor on 9 April 1958 and was formed on 15 April. This was followed by No. 15 Squadron, which was formed on 1 September 1958, and [[No. 57 Squadron RAF|No. 57 Squadron]], which was formed on 1 January 1959.{{sfn|Jackson|1981|p=79}}

The UK nuclear strike force became known officially as the V force or Main Force.{{sfn|Wynn|1997|pp=ix, 177}}{{sfn|Brookes|1982|pp=102, 132}} V force assets at the end of 1958 were:{{sfn|Rawlings|1985|p=191}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[No. 7 Squadron RAF|No. 7 Squadron]], [[RAF Honington]], Valiant B.1
* [[No. 10 Squadron RAF|No. 10 Squadron]], [[RAF Cottesmore]], Victor B.1
* [[No. 15 Squadron RAF|No. 15 Squadron]], RAF Cottesmore, Victor B.1
* [[No. 18 Squadron RAF|No. 18 Squadron]], [[RAF Finningley]], Valiant B.1
* [[No. 49 Squadron RAF|No. 49 Squadron]], [[RAF Wittering]], Valiant B.1
* [[No. 83 Squadron RAF|No. 83 Squadron]], [[RAF Waddington]], Vulcan B.1
* [[No. 90 Squadron RAF|No. 90 Squadron]], RAF Honington, Valiant B.1
* [[No. 101 Squadron RAF|No. 101 Squadron]], RAF Finningley, Vulcan B.1
* [[No. 138 Squadron RAF|No. 138 Squadron]], RAF Wittering, Valiant B.1
* [[No. 148 Squadron RAF|No. 148 Squadron]], [[RAF Marham]], Valiant B.1
* [[No. 207 Squadron RAF|No. 207 Squadron]], RAF Marham, Valiant B.1
* [[No. 214 Squadron RAF|No. 214 Squadron]], RAF Marham, Valiant B.1
* [[No. 543 Squadron RAF|No. 543 Squadron]], [[RAF Wyton]], Valiant B.1
* [[No. 617 Squadron RAF|No. 617 Squadron]], [[RAF Scampton]], Vulcan B.1
}}

===Second generation===
The development of effective jet fighters and anti-aircraft missile defences promised to make the [[nuclear deterrent]] delivered from bombers flying at high altitudes increasingly ineffective. While making the V bombers fast enough to avoid them was problematic, improved engines offered the possibility of allowing them to fly higher. Since the [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19]] fighters coming into service in the Soviet Union had a ceiling of {{convert|58725|ft}}, a V bomber could avoid them by flying at over {{convert|60000|ft}}. Two dozen of a new model of the Vulcan, the B.2, with {{convert|17000|lbf|kN|abbr=on|adj=on}} Bristol Olympus 201 engines, a slightly larger wingspan and new electrical and electronic systems were ordered on 25 February 1956. The last 17 aircraft outstanding from the September 1954 order and 8 from the March 1955 order were switched to the B.2, making a total of 49 on order. Another 40 were ordered on 22 January 1958. A pre-production model, XH533, first flew on 19 August 1958, and in a trial on 4 March 1959 it reached {{convert|61500|ft}}. The wings and new engines also increased the range by {{convert|250|to|300|mi}}. The second production B.2, [[Avro Vulcan XH558|XH558]], was delivered to No. 230 Operational Conversion Unit on 1 July 1960. As Vulcan B.2s were received, the B.1s were withdrawn from service and upgraded to B.1A standard through the installation of more electronics. Most of this work was carried out by Armstrong Whitworth.{{sfn|Brookes|1982|pp=85–87}}{{sfn|Jackson|1981|p=58}}

Modifications were made to the Victor B.1 in 1959. These included the addition of an in-flight refuelling probe, new [[electronic countermeasures]] (ECM) equipment, [[tail-warning radar]], drooped leading edges and a strengthened pressure cabin. This modified version was known as the Victor B.1A. An improved version of the Victor was also programmed with the [[Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire]] 9 engine, an improved version of the Sapphire 7 in the Victor B.1. However, development of the Sapphire 9 was cancelled by the Ministry of Supply in February 1956, and a minor improvement to the Sapphire 7 in March 1956 increased its thrust to {{convert|11000|lbf|kN|abbr=on}}, so it was decided to ship 25 of the next production batch of 33 Victors ordered in May 1955 with the Sapphire 7. The remaining eight, along with 18 more Victors ordered in January 1956, were built as Victor B.2s, with the [[Rolls-Royce Conway]] RCo.11 engines providing {{convert|17250|lbf|kN|abbr=on}}. The new Conway engines required redesigned enlarged intakes to provide the greater airflow required, and the wingspan was extended from {{convert|110|to|120|ft}}. As in the Vulcan, the [[direct current|DC]] electrical system was replaced with an [[alternating current|AC]] one.{{sfn|Brookes|1982|pp=87–89}} The prototype Victor B.2, XH668, first flew on 20 February 1959, but was lost over the Irish Sea on 20 August. The first production B.2, XL188, was delivered on 2 November 1961, and No. 139 Squadron became the first Victor B.2 squadron on 1 February 1962.{{sfn|Jackson|1981|pp=80–83}}

V force assets at the end of 1962 were:{{sfn|Rawlings|1985|p=192}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[No. 9 Squadron RAF|No. 9 Squadron]], [[RAF Coningsby]], Vulcan B.2
* [[No. 10 Squadron RAF|No. 10 Squadron]], RAF Cottesmore, Victor B.1
* [[No. 12 Squadron RAF|No. 12 Squadron]], RAF Coningsby, Vulcan B.2
* [[No. 15 Squadron RAF|No. 15 Squadron]], RAF Cottesmore, Victor B.1
* [[No. 27 Squadron RAF|No. 27 Squadron]], RAF Scampton, Vulcan B.1
* [[No. 35 Squadron RAF|No. 35 Squadron]], RAF Coningsby, Vulcan B.2
* [[No. 44 Squadron RAF|No. 44 Squadron]], RAF Waddington, Vulcan B.1A
* [[No. 50 Squadron RAF|No. 50 Squadron]], RAF Waddington, Vulcan B.1A
* [[No. 55 Squadron RAF|No. 55 Squadron]], RAF Honington, Victor B.1A
* [[No. 57 Squadron RAF|No. 57 Squadron]], RAF Honington, Victor B.1A
* [[No. 83 Squadron RAF|No. 83 Squadron]], RAF Scampton, Vulcan B.1
* [[No. 101 Squadron RAF|No. 101 Squadron]], RAF Waddington, Vulcan B.1A
* [[No. 100 Squadron RAF|No. 100 Squadron]], RAF Wittering, Victor B.2
* [[No. 139 Squadron RAF|No. 139 Squadron]], RAF Wittering, Victor B.2
* [[No. 617 Squadron RAF|No. 617 Squadron]], RAF Scampton, Vulcan B.1
}}
The V Bomber force reached its peak in June 1964, when 50 Valiants, 70 Vulcans and 39 Victors were in service.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/help/glossary-v.htm |title=The Cabinet Papers - Glossary - V |publisher=UK National Archives |access-date=22 July 2018}}</ref> In retrospect, the decision to proceed with three V bombers was questionable. As it turned out, all the roles could have been performed by the Valiant, and its B.2 model was specifically designed for the low-level operations that the V bombers would employ in their later years.{{sfn|McLelland|2013|p=107}} Moreover, the rationale for producing both the Vulcan and the Victor disappeared early on. That for producing the Victor B.2 instead of concentrating on the Vulcan B.2 was especially dubious, and Air Chief Marshal Sir [[Harry Broadhurst]] attributed it to lobbying by Sir [[Frederick Handley Page]], a desire to retain jobs in the aviation industry, and because the government wanted the Rolls-Royce Conway engine produced for the [[Vickers VC10]] airliner.{{sfn|Brookes|1982|pp=98–99}}