Discovery Channel Vulcans Victors and Cuba

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October the 15th 1962 the first day in a two-week crisis that brought the world closer than it has ever been to all-out nuclear war this was the day that US reconnaissance photographs revealed Russian medium-range missile sites in Cuba if these installations were operational nearly every city in America would be within range of Soviet nuclear attack President Kennedy and his military advisors agonized over the best course of action with US forces ready to invade the island superpower tension reached an all-time high in Britain the V force nuclear deterrence well practice procedures were swinging into action bomber bases were sealed off by armed patrols and put on maximum alert hydrogen bombs were transported to the RAF stations from the top-secret storage facility at folding worth north of Lincoln as the crisis deepened the Vulcan Victor and valiant V bombers were armed and stood combat ready just over 1,000 miles to the east Soviet medium and intermediate ballistic missiles were being prepared for launch reaching a speed of Mach 4 these missiles could strike v bomber bases in as little as 15 minutes Britain's early warning radar would have detected an attack a mere four minutes before UK targets would have been hit to increase their chances of being far enough away from the nuclear blast to survive V bombers were equipped with a mass rapid startup facility where all four engines and electrical avionics would come to life almost instantly by pressing a single button in the cockpit this allow the scramble take off in just under two minutes by Friday October the 26th 1962 air crew were camped in caravans next to their aircraft poised for the alert klaxon in 1945 the New Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee knew full well that the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had changed the world within weeks of the attack Atlee had concluded that in the face of such awesome destructive power the provision of air raid precautions and shelters would be futile the answer he felt to an atomic bomb dropped on London would be dropping an atomic bomb on the enemy's greatest city how Britain was going to acquire the means to retaliate was another question there in the aftermath of World War two the country's economy was stretched to the limits on top of this less than a year later the US Congress passed the McMahon act this forbade the disclosure of nuclear information to any foreign power even former a bomb collaborators Britain and Canada were denied access if Britain was to have defensive atomic weapons it was clear it would have to design test and build them on its own I think it was important that we had our own independent deterrent we were well aware that Russia was just over the horizon Stalin was still there and his avowed intent was in fact to spread communism by January 1947 at Leo authorized the manufacturer of a British bomb without America's industrial know how this was going to be a costly and difficult process added to this would be the expense of developing a whole new generation of jet bombers needed to deliver the British weapon whilst the RAF had squadrons of advanced fighters larger jet aircraft was still years away undaunted the Air Ministry draw up the specifications for a strategic jet bomber it called for a fast high-altitude medium bomber for the purpose of long-range conventional and nuclear strikes three separate British aircraft manufacturers vickers-armstrong a V ro and Handley page undertook the task of designing and building aircraft who would meet these requirements the result would be aircraft that would set new standards in aviation design manufacture and performance the V bombers the first V bomber to be completed as the vickers valiant the comparatively simple design the development process of this aeroplane had been very rapid it bridged the gap between old piston-powered technology and the more revolutionary schemes that Avro and Handley page were working on at the time this suited the defence planners very well as the first British atom bomb was now well on the way the Vickers design team had developed a long-range bomber which incorporated advanced design features including power assisted flight controls and swept-back wings mounted on the shoulder of the fuselage allowing room for a sizeable bomb bay with its maximum ceiling of 54 thousand feet and high speed of 554 miles per hour no defensive armament was considered necessary the valiant made its maiden flight in 1951 and became the RAF first nuclear bomber when Britain's a bombs were brought into service four years later our world status was definitely raised America had the bomb we had the bomb Russia had the bomb and that was really it at the time so it meant we were a big player in the world by this time though the Americans had successfully tested a new type of weapon that took mass destruction to a whole new level the hydrogen bomb a thermonuclear technology it used led to a device hundreds of times more powerful than any atomic bomb President Truman's momentous decision to make the hydrogen bomb rocks the world the news is blacked out behind the Iron Curtain but in the United States headlines from coast to coast carry the president's announcement shortly afterwards the Soviets followed suit it was clear that if Britain wanted a credible independent deterrent it would now need to produce its own h-bomb the British government were determined to be regarded as a serious nuclear player they were also hoping that membership of the h-bomb Club would lead to the future restoration of anglo-american collaboration on nuclear weapons but for the deterrence of the atomic bomb it is certain that Europe would have been colonized like Czechoslovakia and London under bombardment some time ago but probably back in power in the early 50s Winston Churchill authorized scientists at the Aldermaston atomic weapons establishment to set to work in November 1957 the result was ready for testing that month a valiant released a one Megaton thermonuclear device over Christmas island in the South Pacific the valiant was followed into service by the remarkably advanced Avro Vulcan the designer of the Lancaster Roy Chadwick was working on the design of a 100 foot span Delta as early as 1947 inspired by German wartime experiments he envisaged an aeroplane that would have a sufficiently thick wing to house fuel and engines a slight bulge in the midsection would accommodate the cockpit and bombs its delta wing configuration promised significant advantages huge storage capacity in the inboard section of the wing allowing for powerful engines and good handling characteristics at both ends of the speed range in this tunnel speeds up to Mach 1.6 can be reached and average and our building a third wind tunnel for research into Mach numbers as high as 3.5 this was groundbreaking aerodynamics though and before the prototype could be designed a number of experimental one-third scale delta-winged aircraft would have to be test flown it was at this stage early in 1950 that mr. Rowley felt joined the company mr. felt probably knows more about DeltaWing aircraft than any other pilot he began development flights at a crucial stage it was the first time any delta wing aircraft were flown in Britain and it aroused great curiosity which wasn't entirely confined to the aeronautical profession the first volton flew from here piloted by our chief superintendent II was of test-flying Rolly Falk he came out of the building here pointed over to the flight sheds taxied down the wrong way turned it round it all his jokes six six nine eight puts the tower cleared for takeoff kid my halfway down the wrong way it was airborne it was airborne for two and a quarter hours it stopped the whole of Chuck sure the traffic everything ground to a standstill because he'd never seen anything like this at all got us on your outer space he really was terrific it was a terrific day in aviation the remarkable qualities of this design soon became apparent maneuverability was quite amok the great wing area meant for high-altitude the airplane was still extremely maneuverable and when said against fighters of the day such as the light it easily had turned the fighters without any trouble at all he only enforces little wings that are highly loaded and is less able to turn within air of more than 40,000 feet maneuverability to Falcon with other bonds such as the Americans perhaps the b-52 there is just no comparison at all welcome at almost fighter style performance and turn rates which was quite Spartan by the standards of the day it came over the new assembly that's the name of our workshops here at Woodford and he rolled him like a fighter we couldn't believe it in such a massive aircraft have been rolled and he smashed all the glass in the roof of the door certainly and it was like that for a long time all taped up till the roof was redone I've never forgot that and even the crowd that was here and all the workforce thought it was terrific each aircraft is built up from over a hundred thousand separate parts the first production mark ones were delivered in July 1956 this was to be the world's first DeltaWing jet bomber as well as a high degree of maneuverability the Vulcan showed an exceptional rate of climb and descent it could lose 20,000 feet in 90 seconds flat and recover to level flight in only 1,500 feet heavy pointers storage Robocop the cruel five were accommodated in a double deck pressurized compartment pilots sat side by side on ejection seats while the two navigators and air electronics officer faced backwards below and behind them an enduring fault of the Vulcan was that in any emergency the three rear crew would have to clamber through a hatch in the floor few escaped from the accidents during the Vulcans development the third strategic bomber delivered to the RAF was the Handley page Victor as the Handley page Victor takes the air we see a new shape rise in the sky at all speeds near the ground the present winged aircraft controls easily enough to please the most exacting planet notice the dive brakes which on the victor controlled glide path without any change of trim and now the victor turned to land and one of its most important features comes into play with hands off the controls the pilot brings it in on the approach it flattens out and lands without the pilot touching the controls an amazing and almost unbelievable characteristic of this Crescent winged aircraft the wing joined the fuselage well forward allowing the weapons bay to be completely unobstructed this took up most of the fuselage and was almost twice the size of the Vulcans as an alternative to the projected 10,000 pound nuclear weapon it could carry 35 1000 pound bombs as opposed to the Vulcans 21 the Handley page design team had also used some revolutionary construction methods most of the structure utilized the new technique of bonding two sheets on either side of a metal honeycomb core this metal sandwich was extremely strong and light it also gave very smooth external surfaces reducing drag the victor became the largest aircraft in the world to break the sound barrier like the Avro Vulcan the victor was found to be capable of performance and aerobatics that belied its size at Farnborough it performed slow rolls and bloops avro and Hadley page always thought they'd be a fly off between the Vulcan and the victor this led to intense competition between the two companies both aeronautical firms could ill afford to lose the production contract although the Vulcan and Victor were totally different aircraft the RAF was never able to choose between them and both aircraft went on to have long and distinguished careers in the service with V bombers coming on stream in significant numbers Harold Macmillan became the first fully thermo nuclear armed prime minister the early 60s were to be an extremely dangerous period for the whole planet for the first time the collective US and Soviet nuclear arsenal had the explosive potential to wipe out life on Earth and the events that could trigger this nuclear Armageddon seem to be occurring with increasing frequency the RAF was rapidly approaching the peak in its potency each bomber carried a single h-bomb with the yield of one Megaton the equivalent amount of TNT loaded on a goods train traveling at 50 miles per hour would take six hours to pass by Bomber Command with its force of 140 aircraft now had the potential striking power of millions of World War two Lancaster's what wasn't fully appreciated by the British defense clamors though was the pace of technological advance that Soviets would achieve in their missile design and construction unexpectedly rapid breakthroughs in solid rocket motors and the development of miniaturized components for guidance systems and warheads were beginning to make the V Forces freefall bomb system look increasingly out-of-date and most worryingly of all the numbers of surface-to-air missiles that could reach high-altitude bombers were rising all the time it was clear the V Force would have to modify its tactics if it was going to continue to be able to penetrate these defences an air launched missile that could be fired at the target from a safer range looked like an answer in the late 50s work started on a standoff bomb project codenamed blue steel this weapon to be carried by Vulcans and victors could be launched 100 miles away from the target at 35 feet long it was as large as a fighter and would require considerable modification to both aircraft when launched its advanced onboard computer that was impervious to enemy jami would fly the missile on a predetermined flight path to the aiming point within a specified range the second rocket engine would fire increasing the projectile speed to Mach 3 once over the target the engine would cut and blue steel with its one Megaton warhead would descend and detonate meanwhile the Americans with their massive force of b-52s had the same need on January 5th a major milestone was marked with the rollout of the first production b-52h this model bomber is being factory produced as a sky bolt carrier the us solution was the more ambitious air-launched system sky bolt this weapon was intended to have a range of 1150 miles that would allow a bomber to fire the missile without even entering enemy airspace with the British h-bomb tests and McMillan's tenacious diplomacy the Americans were persuaded to resume the special relationship between the two nations and several Vulcans were adapted to take the new u.s. weapon with Skybolt being significantly smaller than blue steel Vulcans will be able to carry one missile under each wing the Skybolt program though was to be dogged with technical problems and failing to perform in tests was finally cancelled by US Congress in 1962 with blue steel still being perfected the looming Cuban crisis would test the V Force to its limits the recent success of Sputnik had stepped up the pace of superpower missile development and the arms race in general the nuclear test program of both nations was proceeding at a frantic pace leading to international fears about the effect of this saber-rattling against this volatile background the Soviets shot down an American u-2 spy plane in may 1960 the following year in response to the West's refusing to withdraw their Armed Forces from Berlin the Warsaw Pact built the Berlin Wall the readiness of the V force was constantly tested when we were scrambled there were occasions that we didn't know whether it's the real thing or not very often we would be asleep and came the call over the tannery and we would sprint for the aircraft and the aircraft was always prepared carefully by us before we went in other words you all your straps were laid out you had your helmet plugged in and ready to go and you had a strict drill which we practice a lot to get on board in the right order start the engine bottles open and away in the autumn of 1961 the Soviets shattered a recently agreed testing moratorium with the detonation of a monster h-bomb to this day it's colossal yield of 57 megatons has never been exceeded in response the Americans immediately resumed their testing program with an extensive series of high profile thermonuclear shots the uneasy peace between East and West had never looked so shaky far worse was still to come though on Monday October the 15th 1962 an American u2 photographed ss4 nuclear missile launching sites in Cuba a mere 90 miles from the coast of Florida President Kennedy was informed the following morning and assembled his military advisors most of them recommended an airstrike to take out the Cuban bases followed by an invasion Kennedy immediately mobilized a vast army of men and materiel the invasion plan called for the largest drop of paratroopers since d-day a Strategic Air commands fleet of well over a thousand b-52 and b-47 bombers stood at DEFCON 2 the highest military alert short of all-out war an eighth of these bombers were armed and in the air at full times prepared to drop nuclear weapons on targets in Cuba and the Soviet Union pre launch procedures were underway for the 172 intercontinental ballistic missiles ranged against the Russians more than 100 thousand combat ready infantrymen were deployed to ports along the east coast and a huge Navy fleet moments away from battle stations was steaming through the international waters of the Caribbean the American war machine was at its highest state of readiness only awaiting the go signal from the White House the Pentagon estimated that 18 and a half thousand Americans would be killed or wounded in the first 10 days of the battle this influenced Kennedy's decision to forgo an airstrike instead the Americans imposed a blockade encircling the island the dangerousness of the situation was exacerbated by primitive international telecommunications Khrushchev was unable to gain instant contact with his commanders in Cuba commanders that unbeknown to the Americans controlled tactical nuclear weapons that they were authorized to use if US forces invaded the famous hotline directly linking the two superpower leaders was still a year away preventing the possibility of direct dialogue between them the line between London and Washington though was in frequent use as the Prime Minister urged the Americans to exercise restraint this is the destructive power we pray God we will never be called upon to hurl at any nation but should it become necessary let us not hesitate because it is foreign to our nature to use the power which has been given us Harold Macmillan as he reflected later was about to have the worst few days of his life events that would come back to him as recurring nightmares in later years he was in charge of Britain's thermonuclear bombers and ordered them to alert condition three fully armed and at 15-minute readiness he was determined not to give the order to go to condition two this would have meant the disbursement of the H bomb armed V Force two bases all over the British Isles and act it was thought that would send out dangerous signals about Britain's preparations for an attack as the crisis approached its climax during the last weekend in October contingency arrangements were made to transport McMillan and his War Cabinet away from London to turnstile this was the codename given to the top secret World War three bunker 250 feet below caution in will chip the special train would whisk ministers and military top brass away from Paddington Station on the Western Main Line just before bath the train would branch off into a tunnel that led straight to an underground station in the bunker after a short walk along tunnels cut through the limestone the War Cabinet would enter the operations room it is from here with Soviet missiles only minutes away that the prime minister would have ordered alert condition one this called for the annihilation of thirty to forty Soviet cities with an assumed casualty figure of at least 16 million big cities like Moscow and Leningrad would get two or three H bombs each so for fondo on the face as the v-bombers climbed eastward at full power their crews would each have an all too vivid idea of what was about to happen to their families and ground staff on the bomber bases that left behind an hour after takeoff the v-bombers would be at fifty six thousand feet over the Baltic approaching their start lines the designated position and time for the start of the attack it's important that all the attacks are coordinated you don't want to be going through somebody else's bomb blast for instance so they have to be coordinated I think we'd all been very frightened that's a sure but nevertheless I'm sure we would have done it from here they would fly carefully pre-planned routes and tried to avoid Soviet defenses for the longest possible time at predetermined positions over Soviet territory radar-jamming electronic countermeasures would be activated the ECM was very advanced for the time the previous year the V bombers had easily got through American defenses in a NATO training exercise it worked by emitting radio interference or noise designed to jam Soviet radar at that time the Soviets placed great emphasis on controlling their fighter operations rigidly from the ground their pilots were instructed where to go when to change height and when to fire so blacking of the ground radar stations was an effective defensive tactic Soviet controllers would attempt to position a fighter no more than five miles behind the bomber allowing the pilot to make visual contact for VHF channels we use to communicate with fighter aircraft V bombers were equipped with a jammer that transmitted a high-pitched screech on those frequencies in spite of these defenses some fighters would inevitably get through the V bomber crews then had to rely on maneuvers to try to avoid being shot down the Vulcan in particular was very adapted this in the very thin air at high altitude its large wings were still extremely efficient allowing it to out turn any attacking fighter if air-to-air missiles were fired the final resort will be to release bundles of tiny foil strips this would confuse the fighters radar guidance system those V bombers that survived fighter intersection would then enter missile controlled sectors with blue Steel's still not ready the Bombers were equipped only with three ford yellow sun h bombs and would have to fly all the way to their targets right through these SAM zones crews were briefed on the location of most surface-to-air missile sites but there would have been too many to avoid them all radar detection equipment onboard the aircraft would indicate when radars were scanning in their direction when these signals were detected the air electronics officer would try to jam the mesial radar and feed it false targets while the pilot conducted evasive maneuvers the main Soviets are misael needed 60 seconds of unjammed data to lock on the V bombers that successfully penetrated these defenses would now have split up to fly towards their respective targets at 60 miles from weapons release navigation and bombing computers would be updated by the radar operator who would now be able to see the aiming point on his screen when we got near our target we'd start our bombing run on this specific heading it would be a raid outrun the bomb aimer would then take over on the autopilot and we'd zip down all these blinds over every window in the aircraft so that we wouldn't get blinded by the flash two miles short of the target bond doors would automatically open the city directly below was about to befall the terrible fate experienced by London Manchester and Glasgow a couple of hours before you in an instant the temperature at Ground Zero would have risen to 1 million degrees centigrade a crater of a mile wide and 150 feet deep would have been gouged out underneath the two-mile wide fireball all structures and anybody in them would have been vaporized and buildings seven miles from the center of the burst would have been reduced to rubble by the blast wave the bomber had just over one minute to get clear the escape maneuver employed was aerobatic to slacker turn would be useless as all anti-blast measures required the aircraft to be tail on to the explosion after this crews were expected to try to get home they were even given return routes that were every bit as detailed as the outbound legs it was never planned to be a well made mission the object was always to get back to base if possible because we might have to be rearmed and might have to make a second strike had this unthinkable scenario ever become a reality however there would have been little or nothing for the bomber crews to return to we were well aware of the effects that our weapons would have on the targets and also the effect that the enemy's weapons would have back home and certainly we were fairly pessimistic about having anywhere to land when we came back or even having our country to come back to but it you get used to all sorts of things by lunchtime Sunday the 29th of October 1962 the world stepped back from the brink of a nuclear holocaust Khrushchev promised that the missile bases in Cuba would be dismantled in return the Americans assured the Soviets that they would not invade the island in a further deal u.s. medium-range missiles stationed in Turkey only 150 miles from the Soviet border were discretely removed with that the most dangerous episode in the history of humankind had come to an end I think that the V force really did help to keep the peace I don't think anyone can deny that the deterrent worked the tripwire philosophy um where if Russia attacked we would go all out I think was a big deterrent at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis the RAF Bomber Command had aircraft at the cutting edge of technology operated by a highly trained elite fully capable of penetrating Soviet defenses Britain's close proximity to the USSR meant V's V bombers would have been in the first retaliatory strikes on Russian targets fortunately for the world Khrushchev back down over Cuba at the eleventh hour perhaps the presence of the V force played some part in his decision

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Channel: Paul Swain

Views: 124,797

Rating: 4.7702351 out of 5

Keywords: Vulcan bomber. Woodford

Id: 0Lwyv_RXR_A

Channel Id: undefined

Length: 43min 49sec (2629 seconds)

Published: Sat May 30 2015

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