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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 0856.PDF
862 FLIGHT BOMBER COMMAND TN the last war Bomber Command's offensive against Germany was conducted -*• without pause, and with steadily mounting weight and efficiency, over a period of more than five years. As the days, months and years slid by, the lessons learned, and new developments, new techniques and new aircraft, were woven into the pattern of attack in a process of continuous evolution and expansion. Britain, happily, was shielded from large-scale enemy attack while her own offen- sive power was built up. Time was on our side; time won by Fighter Command in the Battle of Britain and by Bomber Command in its attacks on Peenemunde and the enemy V-weapon launching sites. At the end of the war the power and efficiency of Bomber Command far exceeded its early capabilities. A million tons of bombs had been dropped. The U.S. Strategic Air Forces, who joined in the offensive with us, dropped an equal amount, making a total of two million tons of bombs. Under this weight of attack Germany's war industry slowly collapsed and with it her ability to continue the fight. All this is a matter of history. The unsurpassed skill, determination and courage of our bomber crews is now indelibly written into the spirit of Bomber Command; but the once-familiar names of Whitley, Hampden, Wellington and Mosquito, and Stirling, Halifax and Lancaster, have given place to Canberra, and Valiant, Vulcan and Victor. The new breed of bombers fly more than twice as fast, twice as high and twice as far as their famous predecessors. The bombs of the last war have given way to nuclear weapons. It is a sobering thought that one modern bomber in a single sortie can unleash as much explosive energy as that contained in all the bombs dropped in the Anglo-American bomber offensive against Ger- many. The destruction inflicted through the years of the last war can now be wrought in a matter of days or even hours. We all hope there will never be a nuclear war. It is unthinkable that this country would ever start one. But should such a war be thrust upon us, the primary British responsibility for instantly retaliating and suppressing it will fall upon Bomber Command. Time will not again be on our side. There will be no opportunity to build up a bomber force, train crews and evolve techniques. We must have ready in peace the instrument we will need in war. Neither must we forget that the enemy, to avoid the consequences of his aggression, may well attempt, by a surprise attack, to destroy our bombers before they can retaliate. Bomber Command must at all times be ready to fulfil its mission at the drop of the hat. That is our task. Our new V-bombers are second to none in the world. As they roll off the production line they are matched with aircrew and technical personnel who are experienced, trained for the job, and of the highest calibre. In their squadrons the aircrew undergo a carefully devised schedule of training to bring them up to, and maintain them at, a very high level of operational efficiency. As they become operationally efficient they are briefed and trained for the specific missions they will execute in war. It is significant that Bomber Command crews and aircraft dropped the weapons and performed many of the ancillary flying tasks in the recent nuclear tests in Australia and the Pacific. Today the Command has a formidable and expanding nuclear potential. In any future global war Bomber Command and the U.S. Strategic Air Forces will act in concert, as they did in the last war. It is to be hoped that our combined strength and determination will deter a potential enemy from committing the supreme act of folly; but should it not. Bomber Command's task will be to "Strike hard, Strike sure"—and on the instant. The Avro Vulcan B.I (below, left) is now in service. New "Flight" photographs of this bomber appear on page 865. From Air Chief Marshal Sir Harry Broadhurst, K.C.B., K.B.E., D.S.O., D.F.C., A.F.C., Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief
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