FJJP, Proletariat was asking about V Force weapons policy, not current. I doubt that Nuke rules from the ‘60s would be of any interest to today’s bad guys, whoever they might be these days.
Anyway, Flat Vet was very much at the sharp end and he’s given the expected answer.
“Under the intricate rules governing nukes, "live" weapons could be loaded but they could not be taxied, let alone flown, without authority from the "top".
Aircraft did taxi with live weapons aboard but only those on QRA, and only during an exercise EDOM. (Thanks to Flat Vat for the Biblical reference on EDOM. I didn’t know that.)
Certainly, I don’t recall anything other than training weapons ever being loaded on non QRA aircraft apart, of course, from one October evening in ’69!
For some good photographs of 60’s weapons see;
Guy Bartlett’s site; Excellent site.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/mongso...s_page_all.htm
Andy Leitch (ex-Vulcan pilot and great site!)
http://www.avrovulcan.org.uk/nukes/index.htm
One of the first weapons was a very tight fit in a Vulcan bomb bay. Painted a fetching shade of pale green it was encased (I think) in concrete. With QRA aircraft, to pressurise the HF Comm Antenna Coupler in the base of the fin the only way to get there was to grab anything you could in the roof of the bomb bay and gradually pull yourself along the top of the bomb. Once you’d go to the back end of the bomb bay there was enough room to do what was needed and then reverse the process.
This was not a rapid activity and I did sometimes wonder, if the ‘real-thing’ had been called halfway through the process, I’d have had the honour of preceding Dr Strangelove’s mad general by some years. Childhood memories of mum, and “make sure you change your underwear regularly. You never know………”.
I’m waiting, with others no doubt, to hear from aircrew on their memories of The Friday Evening October ’69.