V-Force

Britain’s Nuclear Bombers and the Cold War

Jonathan Glancey

$49.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Atlantic Books
14 October 2025

Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000; Military history; Air forces & warfare; Nuclear weapons

As World War II came to an end and America's nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki shocked the world, it became clear that the nascent Cold War would be as different a conflagration from WWII as that war was from WWI. Believing that the UK was extremely vulnerable to nuclear attack, it was quickly determined that only 'the threat of large-scale damage from similar weapons' could prevent a Soviet attack. And, thus, V-Force was born.

Entered into service between 1955 and 1957, the three models of V class bombers that made up Britain's strategic nuclear strike force - the Vickers Valiant, Avro Vulcan and Handley Page Victor - were modern marvels of machinery. Capable of both high- and low-level attack with their slick delta wing designs, and supremely quick despite the massive bomb loads they carried, these aircraft were central tenets of Britain's nuclear weapons development.

Despite a fall as precipitous as their rise when the Royal Navy took over Britain's nuclear deterrent role in 1968, like a phoenix from the ashes, the V bombers enjoyed a second life as conventional bombers: the Valiant gaining fame in the Suez Crisis; the Victors in the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation, and the Vulcans undertook the longest bombing raid in history for Operation Black Buck in the Falklands Campaign of 1982.

V-Force is both an ode to these most resilient and beautiful of British aircraft, and a lens through which to view Britain's Cold War experience.

By: Jonathan Glancey
Imprint: Atlantic Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: Main
Dimensions: Height: 242mm, Width: 164mm, Spine: 32mm
Weight: 1g
ISBN: 9781838957957
ISBN 10: 1838957952
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 14 October 2025
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Jonathan Glancey is well known as the former architecture and design correspondent of the Guardian and Independent newspapers. A frequent broadcaster, his books include Wings Over Water, The Journey Matters, Concorde, Harrier, Giants of Steam, Spitfire, Nagaland, Tornado and The Story of Architecture.

Reviews for V-Force: Britain’s Nuclear Bombers and the Cold War

Impressive... Glancey is an aviation nut who's interested as much in the technical wonder of these planes as he is in the legacy they leave in the public consciousness... Glancey has written an engaging and affectionate account of the V-bombers, not least the figures who made it all possible. * Daily Telegraph *