Great Britain. The first British strategic nuclear bomber, the Victor, makes its test flight. Four months earlier, it was the Vulcan’s turn, on August 30th. The first, however, was the Valiant, which was only a temporary solution to fill a time gap. The three models (Valiant, Vulcan, Victor) constitute the British nuclear V-Force. 107 Valiants, 136 Avro Vulcans, and 86 Victors were produced. The Vulcan and Victor projects had been approved in June 1952, in competition with each other, given the importance of nuclear deterrence they represented. The Vulcan was used as a bomber in the Falklands War, while the Victor was converted to a tanker and was used successfully in the Falklands War and the First Gulf War. The Vulcan B-1 was first delivered to the RAF in 1956; Deliveries of the improved B-2 Vulcan began in 1960. The B-2 featured more powerful engines, a larger wing, an improved electrical system and electronic countermeasures, and many were modified to accept the Blue Steel missile. Although the Vulcan was typically armed with nuclear weapons, it could also carry out conventional bombing missions, as it did in Operation Black Buck during the Falklands War between the United Kingdom and Argentina in 1982.
