I think Riain got part one of the challenge - more funds for the RAF, and the Skybolt not cancelled.
Now, knowing Britain's capabilities at the time, could Kennedy have over-ruled MacNamara and kept the Skybolt working, or (even more interesting), could the US have handed over what they had in data about the Skybolt to the Brits, on the condition they can get them too?
I figure that if the RAF wanted to, they could have kept the V-bombers in service much longer than they did, simply because for 1950s designs they were very advanced. The idea of a Vulcan B.4 as a stealth bomber is an idea I like a lot, and my figuring is that while the Vulcan is the stealthier design, the Victor is the better bombtruck, and even early versions could bust the sound barrier, as what happened accidentally to a Victor crew over Britain in June 1956.
I'm having the idea of the following, figure out how to make it possible if you wish......
History
1958: The Victor enters service, the last of the V-bombers to do so. However, the increasingly effective Soviet SAM network is already causing problems with its mission, as are fast-improving fighter aircraft. This forces Britain to begin working on designs of how to carry stand-off missiles on the V-bombers.
1963: The Skybolt is cancelled by the USA, which angers the RAF, as they know that without it the UK can not keep a credible nuclear deterrent. Kennedy, knowing how annoyed the Brits are and needing their help with the deterrence of the USSR, offers to give the data to the UK if the UK wants to finish the project, on the condition that the Americans can buy the Skybolt. Britain agrees, and the project gets underway.
The Victor and Vulcan fly their first combat missions during the Konfrontasi, attacking Indonesian targets on Borneo, and following an escalation of the war, hitting Indonesian facilities on Java and Sumatra.
1965: The Vickers Valiant exits service due to wing fatigue, which had caused a fatal crash in August 1964.
1967: The Skybolt enters service, outfitting the Vulcan and Victor. At roughly the same time, the Vulcan B.3 and Victor B.3 enter service, both powered by the latest (and last) version of the Rolls-Royce Conway turbofan, the RCo.45, producing 21,200 lbs of thrust. This requires revamped air intakes on both aircraft, but with this done, both are convincing aircraft for the jobs given to them.
1969: The RAF, seeking to keep its position as a major military power worldwide, announces the deployment of squadrons of the bombers to selected stations around the world. 36 Vulcans and 30 Victors are transferred, along with a bunch of Vickers VC.10 tankers, to four bases set up around the world. The Vulcans are deployed to CFB Cold Lake in Canada and Amberley AFB in Australia, and the Victors are deployed to Kadena AB in Japan and AFB Waterkloof in South Africa. This gives the RAF the ability to respond to crises all over the world. The bases are chosen strategically - from Kadena and Cold Lake attacks on the Northern USSR are a possibility, whereas from Amberley the RAF can exert influence over the Pacific and Waterkloof serves the same purpose for Africa.
1970s: The abroad bases prove to useful. Victors from Waterkloof frequently find themselves assisting the RN on the Beira Patrol, though in the aftermath of the escalation of apartheid and the 1976 Soweto riots, the Waterkloof units move back to the UK in 1977, only to return to Africa in 1981, based at Gweru-Thornhill Air Base in Zimbabwe, where they remain until 1988.
The RAF supports Australia's intervention to stop Western Papua New Guinea from being taken over by Indonesia in 1975. A major show of forces by Australia, including its own Mirage III and A-4 Skyhawk fighters and F-111 strike aircraft, as well as RAF Vulcans, and open disapproval by the United States (who Suharto needs the support of), causes Indonesia to back off. A year later, the Victors in Japan, along with US B-52s and F-111s, are part of the show of force to North Korea's killing of two officials in the Korean DMZ in August 1976.
In all of these missions, the Skybolts stayed in the hangars and bunkers, and missions were carried out with conventional munitions.
In 1974, the first Vickers VC.10 bomber is unveiled, as essentially a massive aircraft with eight Skybolts under its wings. The idea is a reasonable success, though it is quickly noted that the V-bombers are more suitable for bombing missions, and the VC.10 Bombers are retired from service in 1986. But the VC.10 and the lengthened Super VC.10 go on to be workhorses of the RAF, serving in roles ranging from aerial tanker and troop transport to ASW and, beginning in 1980, an AEW aircraft.
The Vulcan B.3 is introduced in 1976, with the Victor B.3 entering service in 1978. Both are equipped with removable racks, allowing them to carry considerably bigger still amounts of ordinance. Extensive use of carbon-fibre and titanium is evident in both aircraft. The aircraft carry a brand-new turbofan design, the Rolls-Royce Pegasus 15, which produced a massive 27,500 lbs of thrust, giving these new V-bombers much greater power than their predecessors., allowing for aslightly longer range but a major improvement in their maximum loads. Equipped with GPS, glass cockpits and many other refinements, these aircraft are the best of their breed in the late 1970s.
1982: The Falklands War, alunched by an agressive Argentine military junta, leads Britain to create a military response. The first units to deploy here are the 16 Victor B.3 bombers of No. 120 Squadron RAF, based in Zimbabwe, which strike Argentina's attempt to expand the Port Stanley runway on April 27, 1982. These is followed fairly rapidly by numerous raids from Britain, and even one from Amberley in Australia. These raids both unnerve the Argentines and dramatically slow their efforts. Later raids bring on AGM-45 Shrike and AGM-65 Maverick missiles, which make life even more difficult for the Argentines. These raids make Argentina's buildup of the Falklands impossible a fact which the RN grudingly admits after the war.
1984: Research on the Vulcan reveals a surprise which few expected - the Vulcan's radar signature is surpisingly small, hurt only by its air intakes and large tail. This leads to RAF efforts to coat it in anti-radar paint and make other changes. The Vulcan B.3S is the result, which enters service steadily starting in the spring of 1986.
1988: As the Cold War winds down, the RAF orders its overseas squadrons home, though the RAF asks the Canadians and Australians to keep the bases available if they are needed. Both have no objections to this.
1989: As the US' F-117 and B-2 are becoming common knowledge, the RAF begins its own development of a semi-stealth bomber, the Vulcan B.4. Twin tails with a slight angle (12 degrees), re-designed intakes, a non-afterburning version of the Pegasus and many other improvements are made, making the Vulcan B.4 very stealthy - better in fact than any aircraft in the world at the time save the F-117 and B-2. The Vulcan B.4 is unveiled in April 1994, and sees its first combat action in the NATO campaign over Kosovo in 1999.
1991: The Rolling Thunder Raids by the RAF and USAF show again what use the Victors still are. The Victor B.3s of No. 146 Squadron, loaded to the gunwales with 55 1000-pound JDAM bombs, plastered an Iraqi Air Force base near Basra. The JDAMs gave the bombers a massive firepower that could still be accurately targeted.
2009: 24 Vulcan B.4, 30 Vulcan B.3 and 51 Victor B.3 bombers remain in service with the Royal Air Force, acting as both a nuclear deterent and a major way for Britain to flex military muscle. When combined with Britain's handful of Trident missile submarines (built 1982-88), Britain's nuclear arsenal is the third largest in the world, and the country also has the world's third largest strategic bomber force, in both cases training the United States and the Soviet Union/Russia. A proposal for the Victor B.4 is being looked at in order to replace the aging B.3s.
Five Vulcan B.2s were ordered by Argentina in 1980, though they were embargoed before they could be delivered. A similar story was true with South Africa, which ordered eight Victor B.2 bombers in 1975 but were cancelled after the Soweto Riots. The Indian Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force tested the Victor but neither bought it.
Now, knowing Britain's capabilities at the time, could Kennedy have over-ruled MacNamara and kept the Skybolt working, or (even more interesting), could the US have handed over what they had in data about the Skybolt to the Brits, on the condition they can get them too?
I figure that if the RAF wanted to, they could have kept the V-bombers in service much longer than they did, simply because for 1950s designs they were very advanced. The idea of a Vulcan B.4 as a stealth bomber is an idea I like a lot, and my figuring is that while the Vulcan is the stealthier design, the Victor is the better bombtruck, and even early versions could bust the sound barrier, as what happened accidentally to a Victor crew over Britain in June 1956.
I'm having the idea of the following, figure out how to make it possible if you wish......
History
1958: The Victor enters service, the last of the V-bombers to do so. However, the increasingly effective Soviet SAM network is already causing problems with its mission, as are fast-improving fighter aircraft. This forces Britain to begin working on designs of how to carry stand-off missiles on the V-bombers.
1963: The Skybolt is cancelled by the USA, which angers the RAF, as they know that without it the UK can not keep a credible nuclear deterrent. Kennedy, knowing how annoyed the Brits are and needing their help with the deterrence of the USSR, offers to give the data to the UK if the UK wants to finish the project, on the condition that the Americans can buy the Skybolt. Britain agrees, and the project gets underway.
The Victor and Vulcan fly their first combat missions during the Konfrontasi, attacking Indonesian targets on Borneo, and following an escalation of the war, hitting Indonesian facilities on Java and Sumatra.
1965: The Vickers Valiant exits service due to wing fatigue, which had caused a fatal crash in August 1964.
1967: The Skybolt enters service, outfitting the Vulcan and Victor. At roughly the same time, the Vulcan B.3 and Victor B.3 enter service, both powered by the latest (and last) version of the Rolls-Royce Conway turbofan, the RCo.45, producing 21,200 lbs of thrust. This requires revamped air intakes on both aircraft, but with this done, both are convincing aircraft for the jobs given to them.
1969: The RAF, seeking to keep its position as a major military power worldwide, announces the deployment of squadrons of the bombers to selected stations around the world. 36 Vulcans and 30 Victors are transferred, along with a bunch of Vickers VC.10 tankers, to four bases set up around the world. The Vulcans are deployed to CFB Cold Lake in Canada and Amberley AFB in Australia, and the Victors are deployed to Kadena AB in Japan and AFB Waterkloof in South Africa. This gives the RAF the ability to respond to crises all over the world. The bases are chosen strategically - from Kadena and Cold Lake attacks on the Northern USSR are a possibility, whereas from Amberley the RAF can exert influence over the Pacific and Waterkloof serves the same purpose for Africa.
1970s: The abroad bases prove to useful. Victors from Waterkloof frequently find themselves assisting the RN on the Beira Patrol, though in the aftermath of the escalation of apartheid and the 1976 Soweto riots, the Waterkloof units move back to the UK in 1977, only to return to Africa in 1981, based at Gweru-Thornhill Air Base in Zimbabwe, where they remain until 1988.
The RAF supports Australia's intervention to stop Western Papua New Guinea from being taken over by Indonesia in 1975. A major show of forces by Australia, including its own Mirage III and A-4 Skyhawk fighters and F-111 strike aircraft, as well as RAF Vulcans, and open disapproval by the United States (who Suharto needs the support of), causes Indonesia to back off. A year later, the Victors in Japan, along with US B-52s and F-111s, are part of the show of force to North Korea's killing of two officials in the Korean DMZ in August 1976.
In all of these missions, the Skybolts stayed in the hangars and bunkers, and missions were carried out with conventional munitions.
In 1974, the first Vickers VC.10 bomber is unveiled, as essentially a massive aircraft with eight Skybolts under its wings. The idea is a reasonable success, though it is quickly noted that the V-bombers are more suitable for bombing missions, and the VC.10 Bombers are retired from service in 1986. But the VC.10 and the lengthened Super VC.10 go on to be workhorses of the RAF, serving in roles ranging from aerial tanker and troop transport to ASW and, beginning in 1980, an AEW aircraft.
The Vulcan B.3 is introduced in 1976, with the Victor B.3 entering service in 1978. Both are equipped with removable racks, allowing them to carry considerably bigger still amounts of ordinance. Extensive use of carbon-fibre and titanium is evident in both aircraft. The aircraft carry a brand-new turbofan design, the Rolls-Royce Pegasus 15, which produced a massive 27,500 lbs of thrust, giving these new V-bombers much greater power than their predecessors., allowing for aslightly longer range but a major improvement in their maximum loads. Equipped with GPS, glass cockpits and many other refinements, these aircraft are the best of their breed in the late 1970s.
1982: The Falklands War, alunched by an agressive Argentine military junta, leads Britain to create a military response. The first units to deploy here are the 16 Victor B.3 bombers of No. 120 Squadron RAF, based in Zimbabwe, which strike Argentina's attempt to expand the Port Stanley runway on April 27, 1982. These is followed fairly rapidly by numerous raids from Britain, and even one from Amberley in Australia. These raids both unnerve the Argentines and dramatically slow their efforts. Later raids bring on AGM-45 Shrike and AGM-65 Maverick missiles, which make life even more difficult for the Argentines. These raids make Argentina's buildup of the Falklands impossible a fact which the RN grudingly admits after the war.
1984: Research on the Vulcan reveals a surprise which few expected - the Vulcan's radar signature is surpisingly small, hurt only by its air intakes and large tail. This leads to RAF efforts to coat it in anti-radar paint and make other changes. The Vulcan B.3S is the result, which enters service steadily starting in the spring of 1986.
1988: As the Cold War winds down, the RAF orders its overseas squadrons home, though the RAF asks the Canadians and Australians to keep the bases available if they are needed. Both have no objections to this.
1989: As the US' F-117 and B-2 are becoming common knowledge, the RAF begins its own development of a semi-stealth bomber, the Vulcan B.4. Twin tails with a slight angle (12 degrees), re-designed intakes, a non-afterburning version of the Pegasus and many other improvements are made, making the Vulcan B.4 very stealthy - better in fact than any aircraft in the world at the time save the F-117 and B-2. The Vulcan B.4 is unveiled in April 1994, and sees its first combat action in the NATO campaign over Kosovo in 1999.
1991: The Rolling Thunder Raids by the RAF and USAF show again what use the Victors still are. The Victor B.3s of No. 146 Squadron, loaded to the gunwales with 55 1000-pound JDAM bombs, plastered an Iraqi Air Force base near Basra. The JDAMs gave the bombers a massive firepower that could still be accurately targeted.
2009: 24 Vulcan B.4, 30 Vulcan B.3 and 51 Victor B.3 bombers remain in service with the Royal Air Force, acting as both a nuclear deterent and a major way for Britain to flex military muscle. When combined with Britain's handful of Trident missile submarines (built 1982-88), Britain's nuclear arsenal is the third largest in the world, and the country also has the world's third largest strategic bomber force, in both cases training the United States and the Soviet Union/Russia. A proposal for the Victor B.4 is being looked at in order to replace the aging B.3s.
Five Vulcan B.2s were ordered by Argentina in 1980, though they were embargoed before they could be delivered. A similar story was true with South Africa, which ordered eight Victor B.2 bombers in 1975 but were cancelled after the Soweto Riots. The Indian Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force tested the Victor but neither bought it.
