Californian Reacts | When Britain Nuked America... Twice!

"Top Secret" often translates to "Embarrassing". - Francis Campagna (original video commenter)

"My Dad worked on the Vulcan in the 50's fitting the electrics and Anti Radar, his favourite story was that because him and his mate were the only ones that could fit inside the fuel tanks to fit sensors they got paid extra lol, He is 85 now and has Dementia so is forgetful but still remembers his time in the RAF, Great Man, Obviously did a good job, well done Dad." - SkyBlueNeil (original video commenter)

How did British Vulcan bombers successfully penetrated US air defenses in the early 1960s to conduct mock nuclear attacks on American cities?

Video Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
1:12 - Full Video Reaction
15:50 - Questions & Thoughts

#RAF #Vulcan #Nuke

[codenamebernie.]

the usa after this contracted the brits to help them sort this out. it also came as a shock to the usa that the british were able to track the stealth bomber and had been for a long time before we told them that we could.

[craigmccullough]

Anyone who has heard the Vulcan roar in life will never forget it.

[Anglo-Brit]

The first Nukes were not made by the U.S alone - The British and U.S were the first to build Nukes but the U.S kinda blocked the U.K untill the British went along and made there own. Enjoyed your reaction, cheers.

[paulwalker]

We're a small country, with the heart of a lion.and the Vulcan was amazing 🇬🇧

[billattercliffe]

Apparently, when the RAF Vulcan asked for landing clearance at Plattsburgh AFB, the controllers had no idea a V bomber was inbound. Would've loved to have been a fly on the wall at that control tower.

[Davey-Boyd]

This is what friends are for. Love from the UK to our cousins across the pond.

[reggriffiths]

They keep talking about the "Special Relationship" between the USA and UK, but the truth is that there is NO special relationship, and I doubt if there ever was one. If there was anything special, it's actually a one-sided affair that had never changed - the UK gives and US takes. Think about it: In WW1 the UK equipped US troops with the Lee-enfield rifle (which the Yanks re-bored for the Springfied ammo. We also supplied all the canvas for tenting etc, plus all the ropes for cargo & scrambling nets. In WW2, the UK provided most of the intelligence gathered, accommodation for their troops, air bases for the aircraft (including 21 that they still have today); we gave them ENIGMA; we provided the bulk of the naval command & escort ships on D-Day, we provided the specialist tanks (the "Funnies"). At the end of both world wars, we had to pay the US for Lease-Lend - a payment that Obama finally brought to a halt. Then we gave them our expertise in the A-Bomb, and followed that with giving them our Harrier VTOL's. We (especially the Anzacs) helped them out in Korea and Vietnam, followed by Desert Storm. We also taught them Commando tactics. So we were always there, giving all the time.
However, when it came to the Falkland War, where was the USA then? Where was the help we could have had? Where indeed was the so-called "Special Relationship"? It never existed, because the US always wants more than it gives.
Incidentally, we also had to pay the US reparation (for 100 years) for their help in WW1 - a bit rich when one considers that they didn't turn up until the last year of the war, and by the time British troops had trained them in trench warfare, there was only a few months left before the Armistice, so the true extent of their fighting participation was no more than six months as opposed to the British 48 months.
You could also consider that the Americans have never won a war on their own, or without some form of allied help, yet because they do have an excessively large military capability, they have this odd idea that they know better then everyone else how wars should be run. In thw words of one of their favourite cartoon characters (D Duck) "Phooey!"

[nicksykes]

The US stacked the deck for Sky Shield 2, slashed the number of bombers from 310 to 125, and bumped the interceptor numbers from 350 to 1800. During the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis there were several flights of Vulcans sat on runways in the UK with engines running on 30sec standby. Incidentally, the service ceiling of the Vulcan was about 63, 000ft. they flew at 56, 000ft cause no Soviet bomber could fly above that. Check out the Vulcan howl, it's been likened to the sound of a tie fighter by Starwars fans. When their high altitude role disappeared, they switched to low level, which is why that one is painted in a camouflage scheme. During one of the Red Flag joint training exercises in Nevada, the defenders intercepted a Vulcan flying at 100ft. What they didn't see was 2 Blackburn Buccaneers flying underneath it! Now those things were seriously low level, they used to joke that Buccaneer pilots got altitude sickness above 50ft. Have a look at "RAF Buccaneers attack HMS Liverpool off Gibraltar". You'll see them buzzing a Royal Navy destroyer at below deck height. In answer to your question, the last Vulcan stopped flying in 2014? The airframe is out of time, and there are no backup flight control safety systems. So the CAA won't grant it a certificate of airworthiness.

[paulfisher]

To add insult to injury, both times the seven aircraft got back home as well....

[RighAlban]

If the folk who invented modern radar have a few tricks up their sleeves, then be glad they're on your side.

[mikedignum]

I find it fascinating that the USAF did the same exercise a year later and the brits kept to the same plan as before...and the Americans did see it coming and plan for it?. The Vulcan was very aerodynamic where as the B-52s were as aerodynamic as a brick.

[SteveTidz]

The British are the best it was easy work lol. The US didn’t even know the brits was there until we requested to land in new York 💯🤣🇬🇧

[wheelie_]

The Vulcan and the Harrier jet's are one of 3 of our best aircrafts. You can not forget the Splitfire of course.

[dirtbikerman]

The last flying vulcan sits at Doncaster Robinhood Airport 5 miles from my house.
It used to fly over my garden daily about 300-400ft roaring over my garden.
It was amazing

[peteotoole]

the most devastating post ww2 bomber ever made ..totally walked through America's most modern defence tech ...and flew home in time for tea and cream scones

[chrislawley]

The Vulcan was beautiful British engineering.I believe on another exercise a UK Nuclear sub evaded defences up The Chesapeake River towards Washington

[stevehilton]

This is not the first time the US has had a slap in the face to bring them back to the realisation that you have to keep complacency at bay.
In the early 80's the British harrier squadrons had a training exercise with the US Aggressor squadron who are known as the top gun fighter squadron that teach fighter pilots to be better.... the top gun top of the line fighters gave little respect for the little harriers.But found it impossible to get a lock on the heat exhaust ( the harrier has no tail emissions as the exhaust system is used as the direction control underneath the aircraft) the end of the exercise the little harriers won the day with a silly score of 10/2 however there is a spin-off from this that could have been the reason why the Argentine air force was ordered not to engage with the harrier and to leave the area upon contact with the aviation world is small and the story of the harrier beating the best top gun squadron in the plus the bravado of Lt/cdr Ward in several interviews on the way to Argentina ( he said it was mostly for the wives of the pilots who had heard 2 out of 3 wouldn't come back to give them a little hope)...
Cdr Sharkey Ward has written about the Falklands and what happened ( worts and all) and it's a brilliant account by a squadron leader and fighter well worth a look

[catherinewilkins]

You have, now met the beautiful Avro Vulcan, the English Electric Lighting is just as spectacular.

[charlestaylor]

From an American point of view keeping it secret was sensible. From a UK point of view we would want the Russians to know that our Vulcans could drop nuclear weapons on Russia.

[BlameThande]

"That would be a sight to see" - yes, it was. I was privileged enough to see the last Vulcan that was kept flying at my hometown of Doncaster until recently - without warning, coming straight over the fields behind a friend's house straight at you. Honestly screws with your perception of size, from a distance it looks like a small sleek fighter and then you realise how big it is as it flies over with that thunder!