Blue Steel missile

Blue Steel, an air-to-surface strategic missile, was a powered by a liquid-fuelled Stentor rocket motor, which had a large chamber for climb and a small chamber for cruise. It travelled at up to Mach 1.6, with a maximum range of approximately 200 miles, and was designed to be the main weapon carried by the RAF's V-Bomber force in the 1960s. The missile was 35ft long, and had a span of 13ft. Originally a 200 kiloton fission warhead was planned, but this was later changed to a thermonuclear warhead with a yield in the order of 1 megaton, and utilized an inertial navigation system. (Component parts: missile, trolley)

During the immediate post-war years and at a time of polarising international relations, subsequently called "the Cold War", Great Britain began to develop (and later to manufacture) nuclear weapons in order to strength her defensive capability against an increasing Russian military threat to European security. The strategic doctrine, of the "independent nuclear deterrent" was postulated whereby Great Britain, either alone or with the United States Air Force bombers would inflict "massive retaliation" on the Soviet Union in response any Russian conventional or nuclear attack. The first generation delivery systems designed and manufactured to carry British nuclear weapons were the RAF V-Bombers, the Vickers Valiant, Avro Vulcan and Handley Page Victor, which would fly at high-altitude and drop free-fall atomic and nuclear bombs on their targets. The Soviet Union responded to the Western threat by building up its anti-aircraft defence systems, primarily composed of radar-directed jet interceptors, artillery and surface-to-air missiles. To maintain the credibility of the nuclear deterrent by enhancing the effectiveness of the strategic jet bomber, both Great Britain the United States began work on air-to-surface stand-off missiles. Thus bombers equipped with such weapons would not have to penetrate deeply into sophisticated defence networks in order to destroy prime targets. The Blue Steel missile considerably strengthened the RAF's nuclear delivery capability, with development beginning in 1956, and it entered service in 1962, with full operational status being achieved during 1963. The "V" bombers maintained the British nuclear deterrent until Polaris became available in the late 1960s, and Blue Steel was gradually phased out by 1970.

During the immediate post-war years and at a time of polarising international relations, subsequently called "the Cold War", Great Britain began to develop (and later to manufacture) nuclear weapons in order to strengthen her defensive capability against an increasing Russian military threat to European security. The strategic doctrine, of the "independent nuclear deterrent" was postulated whereby Great Britain, either alone or with the United States Air Force bombers would inflict "massive retaliation" on the Soviet Union in response any Russian conventional or nuclear attack. The first generation delivery systems designed and manufactured to carry British nuclear weapons were the RAF V-Bombers, the Vickers Valiant, Avro Vulcan and Handley Page Victor, which would fly at high-altitude and drop free-fall atomic and nuclear bombs on their targets. The Soviet Union responded to the Western threat by building up its anti-aircraft defence systems, primarily composed of radar-directed jet interceptors, artillery and surface-to-air missiles. To maintain the credibility of the nuclear deterrent by enhancing the effectiveness of the strategic jet bomber, both Great Britain the United States began work on air-to-surface stand-off missiles. Thus bombers equipped with such weapons would not have to penetrate deeply into sophisticated defence networks in order to destroy prime targets. The Blue Steel missile considerably strengthened the RAF's nuclear delivery capability, with development beginning in 1956, and it entered service in 1962, with full operational status being achieved during 1963. The "V" bombers maintained the British nuclear deterrent until Polaris became available in the late 1960s, and Blue Steel was gradually phased out by 1970.