Targets: P.Hennessy, Secret State, 2nd. Ed,2002, P.330 has a 22/10/64 brief for new PM: "it is estimated that the V-force could destroy some 20 major Russian cities". P.333 plots Baltic ingress targets (posters here assisted this). P.211-215 has 2/11/67 Intelligence Appreciation of Soviet targets in UK. J.Baylis/K.Stoddart, The Br.Nuclear Experience: The Roles of Beliefs, Culture and Identity, OUP, 2014,Ap.3, P221 has 5/10/62 Bomber Command targeting memo: the notional National Plan as 15 cities; the SIOP-integrated Plan, 59xThor+39xMBF Mks.2, as:
- “previously”: 57 targets: 48 cities, 6 Air Defence Centres (ADCCs), 3 (LRAF) bomber bases;
- now: 98: 16 cities, 44 “offensive” sites (i.e: airfields), 10 ADCCs, 28 IRBM sites. Next review 7/63. Hennessy,The Prime Minister, 2001, P114 has that “down to 16 cities (due to) improvements (in) air defences”.
By 4/76, when confirming funding for the Chevaline Penetration Enhancement of Polaris, Ministers accepted the Moscow Criterion: its: "“effect does not come (from 1xFBM but) probably (32xwarheads) of 1xSSBN. (It would be hard) to disentangle the system to take on a number of targets at once”. L.Freedman, The Evolution of Nuclear Strategy, Macmillan, 2nd.Ed,1989, P148.
Much of this was laid out 2005-ish in a display at Kew, including a WE177B. We paid for all this: it is ours; nothing of current military novelty.
TSR.2: BE: the pinkos: in 1965 bought 4 SSBNs; 1974 bought their penaids; Jan. 1979: extracted Jimmy Carter's agreement to supply Trident II C4 (Maggie T made it D5). And more besides. A factor in deletion of TSR.2 was the Airships cluttering this tactical Canberra replacement (WE177A small Bang) with Big Bang WE177B and/or a stand-off weapon, to retain a deep "strategic" role post-SSBN. The asset became HI-VALU, so would never have been risked in an opening, iron phase...yet that precision, to find moving targets, was the core of its avionics suite, time and cost. TSR.2 was “an albatross round our necks (Healey) took the decision which would have had to be taken by (Conservative SofS Defence Thorneycroft. MoD was) writing (it) would have (to go) it was just that (Labour) took the opprobrium” B.Jackson/E.Bramall,Chiefs,Brassey,92,P361