Before Polaris submarines assumed Britain’s nuclear deterrent, RAF V bombers maintained constant readiness on Quick Reaction Alert. Crews lived beside their aircraft, prepared to launch within minutes ...

Andy Richardson has been engaged in aviation throughout his adult life. Starting in 1960 with an 18-year flying career in the RAF, which included crewing the nuclear-armed Vulcan during the Cold War.

Following the announcement that the Royal Air Force is regaining nuclear weapons, we explore the service’s history using nukes, explaining why they were originally abandoned in 1998. For 43 years, the ...