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V-Force: Britain’s Nuclear Bombers and the Cold War
'Impressive... Glancey has written an engaging and affectionate account of the V-bombers, not least the figures who made it all possible.' Telegraph
THE THREE VERY DIFFERENT models of V class bomber comprising Britain's strategic nuclear strike force - Vickers Valiant, Avro Vulcan and Handley Page Victor - marked a radical change in post-war bomber design. From the time they first entered service between 1955 and 1957, these charismatic, high-flying jets stole the public imagination. Theirs, though, was a terrible beauty. In 1956, over the South Australian desert, Valiant WZ366 was the first British aircraft to drop an operational atomic bomb.
The V-bombers were Britain's premier Cold War aircraft. But frictions in Anglo-American relations alongside
developments in radar and surface-to-air missiles led to the Royal Navy taking over Britain's nuclear deterrent role in 1968. Despite this, the V-bombers enjoyed a second life in conventional roles, most notably when Vulcans undertook the longest bombing raids in history in the 1982 Falklands War.
V-Force sets these formidable, haunting aircraft in the story of the development of twentieth-century weapons of mass destruction, military rivalries and international politics. It is both an extraordinary ode to the V-bombers and a unique lens through which to view Britain's Cold War experience.
THE THREE VERY DIFFERENT models of V class bomber comprising Britain's strategic nuclear strike force - Vickers Valiant, Avro Vulcan and Handley Page Victor - marked a radical change in post-war bomber design. From the time they first entered service between 1955 and 1957, these charismatic, high-flying jets stole the public imagination. Theirs, though, was a terrible beauty. In 1956, over the South Australian desert, Valiant WZ366 was the first British aircraft to drop an operational atomic bomb.
The V-bombers were Britain's premier Cold War aircraft. But frictions in Anglo-American relations alongside
developments in radar and surface-to-air missiles led to the Royal Navy taking over Britain's nuclear deterrent role in 1968. Despite this, the V-bombers enjoyed a second life in conventional roles, most notably when Vulcans undertook the longest bombing raids in history in the 1982 Falklands War.
V-Force sets these formidable, haunting aircraft in the story of the development of twentieth-century weapons of mass destruction, military rivalries and international politics. It is both an extraordinary ode to the V-bombers and a unique lens through which to view Britain's Cold War experience.
352 pages, Hardcover
Published August 7, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 22, 2025
A reasonable potted history of the three V bombers padded out with a lot of contextual but less interesting stuff about US, Russian and French aircraft. You get the impression that Jonathan had a lot of interesting comments to make about the Cold War, aircraft development, restoration projects, politics etc and this was his way of getting them published. The style is overly descriptive and this far from his best work.
November 20, 2025
A great representation of a fantastic plane.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews