"MAYFLIGHT! Mayflight!" Nuclear capable bomber coming into land at RAF Middleton St George – and despite its earth juddering noise, its precise presence has been largely shrouded in secrecy since the Cold War.
A month ago, we told how RAF Middleton St George – now Teesside International Airport – had been one of the “dispersal bases” for Britain’s nuclear bombers in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Just as you should never put all your eggs in one basket, so you should not keep all of your nuclear bombers under one hangar. Therefore Britain’s V Force, made up of Valiant, Vulcan and Victor bombers equipped to carry long range nuclear missiles, had ten main airbases and also another 26 airfields dotted around the country which were ready for them in a case of emergency.