The Blue Effect. The day the Cold War turned Hot. Part 1.

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The Avro Vulcan Bomber is an Iconic jet-propelled delta wing strategic bomber.  It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1956 until 1984.

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The first Avro Vulcan B.2, XH533, flying at Farnborough, 1958.

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Its delta wingspan was in excess of 30 metres

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The Vulcan B.1, was first delivered to the RAF in 1956. The XH558, shown above, was the first Vulcan B.Mk2 to be delivered to the RAF in 1960. Its original colour on delivery was ‘anti-flash’ white.

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Powered by 4 x Bristol-Siddeley Olympus engines.  It had a cruising speed of Mach .86 and a top speed of Mach .92/3. It could fly to a height of between 45,000 feet/56,000 feet (14,000/17000 metres).

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The Vulcan, as part of the V-Force, was the backbone of the United Kingdom’s airborne nuclear deterrent during much of the Cold War. Originally designed to carry either a single ‘Blue Steel’ nuclear missile or a single free-fall nuclear bomb, its role as a strategic nuclear asset changed in 1970. British Polaris Submarines assumed that role. The Vulcan continued to carry the WE.177B in a tactical nuclear strike role as part of the country’s contribution to NATO. It could also carry a standard bomb load of 21 x 1,000 lb (450kg) iron bombs.

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Avro Vulcan XH558 at Duxford Airshow 2012

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A Vulcan flying over Ascension Island in May 1982. The only combat missions involving the Vulcan bomber took place in 1982, during the Falklands War. The missions, known as the Black Buck raids, involved a flight of 3,889 miles from Ascension Island to Stanley in the Falklands.

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You might recognise this picture from the front cover of my novel, The Blue Effect. A big thank you to XH558 team for allowing me to use the above photograph. 

Cover image (C) of Andrew Brown and the Vulcan to the Sky Trust – image of XH558

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The Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact’s pre-emptive strike against the West, supported by the use of chemical weapons, has left NATO forces stunned. Although reinforcements continue to arrive in theatre from all the NATO member countries, the Allies are pushed back relentlessly. The Eastern Bloc armies throw fresh regiments into the fray, their intention to deliver the killing lunge deep into the West’s retreating armies.

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What are the options open to NATO? Can the West stem the disorderly retreat? Can they gather enough conventional forces to hold? Or will they need to resort to more deadly means?

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Follow the series of gripping events in ‘The Blue Effect’, the third instalment in Harvey Black’s Cold War trilogy.

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Cover image (C) of Andrew Brown and the Vulcan to the Sky Trust – image of XH558

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support in reading the first two novels in the series, it is really appreciated. For the next Post, I will include the maps that can be seen at the beginning of The Blue Effect. This enable readers to print them as reference. HB

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‘The Black Effect’ – Available on Kindle.

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The Black Effect

An economy on the verge of collapse, demands from their allies for funding to continue the expansion of communism, and a conventional Army, Navy and Air Force costing the country 20% of its GDP… The Soviet Union is in trouble. Where should they turn for a solution?

Their answer: the capitalist West. On the 4th July 1984, the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact launched a massive preemptive conventional strike against the West, sending the NATO forces reeling.

Follow Jacko and Bradley and their allies as they fight off the Soviet Union. Can the NATO forces recover and hold their ground? Will the Soviet Union succeed? Or will it end in an outright defeat? Follow the series of gripping events in The Black Effect, the second installment in Harvey Black’s Cold War trilogy.

The first novel in my ‘Cold War’ trilogy, The Red Effect, published by SilverWood Books, is now available. Thoroughly enjoyed writing it, as i do with all my novels. There will be three books in total, covering the hypothetical invasion of West Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany, by the Warsaw Pact in the mid 1980’s. Book 1, ‘The Red Effect’, encompasses part of the intelligence build up leading to the initial Warsaw Pact strike against the NATO forces lined up against them. The purpose of the next few posts is to give the reader some additional background information to enhance their reading experience.

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‘The Red Effect’ by Harvey Black – Available now. The Cold War that became a Hot War.

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