In the second part of our series looking at the British aerospace industry during Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign, we examine the decade between 1962 and 1972
After the Macmillan government rocked the industry with the cancellation of manned fighters and forced mergers, another decision was forced on it in 1962. The Skybolt crisis would diminish the role of the RAF in favour of the Royal Navy, with obvious ramifications for the industry.
The RAF was responsible for the strategic (nuclear) deterrent, initially with freefall bombs and latterly stand-off weapons carried by conventional bombers. The next step was to be a medium-range ballistic missile, Blue Streak, also controlled by the RAF. The so-called ‘V-force’ — the RAF’s strategic bomber force made up of Vickers Valiants, Avro Vulcans and Handley Page Victors — was expected to be obsolete by 1965. The Blue Steel stand-off weapon had suffered the kind of protracted development typical of advanced British programmes, and entered service in 1963, by which time it was feared that Soviet surface-to-air missiles were already capable of destroying attacking aircraft before they reached the launch point.
Blue Steel was intended to be a two-step programme, with the Mach 1.5, 200-mile M…
