Overview
Britain's desire to stay at the leading edge in the design and development of modern jet powered aircraft was born in the later stages of World War II. The RAF sent requests to the leading aircraft manufacturers for a variety of specifications, amongst which was one for a long-range heavy bomber. Three designs were accepted and eventually went into production these became the V-Bomber Force. The first to enter service was the Vikers Valliant, a high swept-wing four engine aircraft. This type was used to test-drop Britain's frist H-Bomb in the Christmas Islands and then was tasked with delivering our deterrent during the early years of the Cold War. It saw action in a non-nuclear role during the Suez Crisis and then on to serve as a flight refueling tanker until withdrawn with metal fatigue problems. The delta-wing Avro Vulcan then carried our latest nuclear weapon until the Royal Navy took over the deterrent task with the Polaris submarine fleet. This aircraft entertained rapt audiences at air displays around the world as its powerful engines, later to power Concorde, allowed this large bomber to fly like a fighter, Its most famous and only wartime service came during the Falklands Conflict for which it is now legendary for bombing Port Stanley, having flown thousands of miles with countless air-to-air refueling link-ups en route. The crescent-winged Handley Page Victor was the most durable of the trio and continued in service as a tanker into the twenty-first century. In practice it was probably the most successful of the three designs. It flew higher and faster than the Vulcan and Valliant and was remarkably robust even into old age. This book contains the world famous colour profiles created by Dave Windle of all three types in different operational modes, configurations and colour schemes. Martin Bowman has written detailed descriptions and photographs to create the perfect enthusiasts reference. 30 colour profiles & 30 phots
Reviews
"""...very detailed descriptions of the squadrons that flew each aircraft and their missions.""-- ""IPMS/USA"" ""Looking for a handy handbook on Britain's legendary V-Bombers? Get V-Bombers: Vulcan, Valiant and Victor - seventh installment in Pen & Sword's growing ""Flight Craft"" series. Revised and enhanced from the 2009 edition, contents commence with notes on design, development, deployment and disposition of all three RAF designs. Personal anecdotes and remembrances accompany historical summaries. And text recaps combat service and variants - experimental and operational. Thirty-four gorgeous color profiles - terrific project inspiration - by co-author Dave Windle follow. And coverage concludes with a superb section on Vulcan, Valiant and Victor plastic scale models. The build-ups are excellent! Color and B&W photos further season the account. And tables recap V-Bomber production & serial blocks and units. It all ends, appropriately, in elegy. ""Never again,"" authors lament, will Britain ""conceive, design and build not one but ... three entirely British manufactured military aircraft powered by British-made engines and armed with British weaponry in any one generation."" Amen. Robustly recommended!""-- ""Cybermodeler"""
...very detailed descriptions of the squadrons that flew each aircraft and their missions. -- IPMS/USA Looking for a handy handbook on Britain's legendary V-Bombers? Get V-Bombers: Vulcan, Valiant and Victor - seventh installment in Pen & Sword's growing Flight Craft series. Revised and enhanced from the 2009 edition, contents commence with notes on design, development, deployment and disposition of all three RAF designs. Personal anecdotes and remembrances accompany historical summaries. And text recaps combat service and variants - experimental and operational. Thirty-four gorgeous color profiles - terrific project inspiration - by co-author Dave Windle follow. And coverage concludes with a superb section on Vulcan, Valiant and Victor plastic scale models. The build-ups are excellent! Color and B&W photos further season the account. And tables recap V-Bomber production & serial blocks and units. It all ends, appropriately, in elegy. Never again, authors lament, will Britain conceive, design and build not one but ... three entirely British manufactured military aircraft powered by British-made engines and armed with British weaponry in any one generation. Amen. Robustly recommended! -- Cybermodeler
Looking for a handy handbook on Britain's legendary V-Bombers? Get V-Bombers: Vulcan, Valiant and Victor - seventh installment in Pen & Sword's growing Flight Craft series. Revised and enhanced from the 2009 edition, contents commence with notes on design, development, deployment and disposition of all three RAF designs. Personal anecdotes and remembrances accompany historical summaries. And text recaps combat service and variants - experimental and operational. Thirty-four gorgeous color profiles - terrific project inspiration - by co-author Dave Windle follow. And coverage concludes with a superb section on Vulcan, Valiant and Victor plastic scale models. The build-ups are excellent! Color and B&W photos further season the account. And tables recap V-Bomber production & serial blocks and units. It all ends, appropriately, in elegy. Never again, authors lament, will Britain conceive, design and build not one but ... three entirely British manufactured military aircraft powered by British-made engines and armed with British weaponry in any one generation. Amen. Robustly recommended! --Cybermodeler ...very detailed descriptions of the squadrons that flew each aircraft and their missions. --IPMS/USA
Author Information
Martin Bowman is one of Britain's leading aviation authors and has written a great deal of books focussing on aspects of Second World War aviation history. He lives in Norwich in Norfolk. He is the author of many Pen and Sword Aviation titles, including all releases in the exhaustive Air War D-Day and Air War Market Garden series. Dave Windle has gained the reputation of being Britain's most skilful creator of aircraft profiles. He draws upon his service with the RAF to maintain complete accuracy. Lives near Aberdeen. Martin Bowman is one of Britain's foremost aviation historians and has written many books and articles. He lives in Norwich.
