PN: definitive list of what actually carried the WE177. Brian Burnell's, site, the books of Soton U's Mountbatten Centre, and elsewhere...try this. WE177B first.
Wilson got in, 10/64 pledged to "no new nuclear weapons". He chopped SSBN No.5, material for whose warheads were in AWRE/ROF's programme, and put them, (16x3), assembled as a variant of WE177 (now renamed WE177A*), in Vulcan 2 to sustain Deterrent credibility until RN took over. But they lingered longer:
9 Sqd/Cottesmore, 9/66-25/2/69: 8
12 Sqd/Cottesmore, 9/66-29/12/67: 8
35 Sqd/Cottesmore, 9/66-14/1/69: 8
44 Sqd/Waddington, 1/7/68**-21/12/82: 8
50 Sqd/Waddington, 1/7/68**-30/6/82: 8
101 Sqd/Waddington, 1/7/68**-4/8/82: 8
27 Sqd/Scampton (bombs held in Waddo SSA***), 1/1/70-31/12/71**: } 8
617 Sqd/Scampton (bombs held in Waddo SSA***), 1/1/71-31/12/81: }
35 Sqd/Scampton (bombs held in Waddo SSA), 16/1/75-28/2/82: 8
9 Sqd/Akrotiri**, 26/2/69-31/12/74: 8
35 Sqd/Akrotiri**, 15/1/69-15/1/75: 8
9 Sqd/Waddington, 24/1/75-9/4/82: 8
36 rounds migrated to UK-based Tornado GR.1:
9 Sqd/Honington, 1/8/82-1/10/86: 12
27 Sqd/Marham, 12/8/83- 1/10/93: 12
617 Sqd/Marham, 16/5/83-31/3/94: 12
(PN has 53: maybe total inventory to sustain 48 serviceable)
(* 11/2/13 to clarify my sloppy phrase, PN #58: WE.177B (450Kt) was presented as a variant (so "no new") of (1963/64 pre-Wilson) WE.177 (0.5-10Kt), which was thus renamed WE.177A. ** amended 11/2/13 per PN #58 *** total becomes 48, 1/1/70)
Last edited by tornadoken; 11th Feb 2013 at 17:19.