10 most important RAF aircraft of the Cold War

[Uncle Fred]

I had never heard of this site until a colleague sent the link. Great pics of RAF aircraft. https://hushkit.net/2021/09/30/10-most-important-british-aircraft-of-the-cold-war/

[Gordy]

I had never heard of this site until a colleague sent the link. Great pics of RAF aircraft. https://hushkit.net/2021/09/30/10-most-important-british-aircraft-of-the-cold-war/
Cool site, got a few hours on the Nimrod.......

[DaveReidUK]

A list of important Cold War aircraft that starts with the Spitfire ...

[Mallan]

Seeing the Vulcan at Farnborough as a small child and then having it with us down south, makes one proud.

[ShyTorque]

Seems that the author "writes off" a number of aircraft types because they didn't see combat. This is unfair - the Cold War was all about deterrence.

[GeeRam]

What a bizarre list.....:confused:

No Lightning, no Buccaneer, no F-4, no Harrier and perhaps most surprisingly, no C-130!!

[ORAC]

No mention of the Javelin when, reputedly, it scored the RAF’s last kill during the Indonesian confrontation. And why no mention of the Strikemaster, extensively used in combat in Cold War theatres such as the Dhofar.

Ignoring the Buccaneer as not being used in combat ignored the use b6 the SAAF against communist insurgencies, unless you consider these as not part of Russian funded Cold War confrontations with Cuba providing much of the manpower support.

The other main omission is the DC3 used extensively, along with other types, in the Berlin airlift during 1948, perhaps one of the most pivotal post-war moments at the start of the Cold War.

[Saintsman]

Was there an unimportant aircraft?

Even a Chipmunk was important to those starting off as pilots.

[1771 DELETE]

Random aircraft photos

[NutLoose]

Each and everyone had their role to play, no matter how small.

Personally I think I would have started the ball rolling by listing those types nuclear weapons capable, from fast jets, bombers and helicopters, because at the end of the day that was the main deterrent that stopped the cold war becoming a hot one, very hot in fact.. then next those aircraft that backed them up.. and work down the line from there.

[Miles Magister]

Well at least they got the right decision for the number 1 :)

[sandiego89]

It was RAF aircraft, thus no Buccaneer....

Of course the list should have gone:
10- Chipmunk
9- Meteor
8- Harrier
7- C-130
6- Canberra
5- Phantom
4- Tornado
3- Nimrod
2- Hunter
1- Vulcan

I agree with the author on excluding the Lightning. Iconic and blistering speed? yes....most important? no. At the risk of folks getting the pitchforks out- over-rated.

[Cat Techie]

Jaguar, from that Tornado actually got a datum to be built. Carried the tactical Nuke deterent in RAFG for ten years. Available in enough numbers to be effective. Hushkit lists always are alternative mind.

[Ken Scott]

It was RAF aircraft, thus no Buccaneer..


I’m pretty sure the RAF operated the Buccaneer for just a bit...!

[MPN11]

A later attack by five Egyptian Spitfires resulted in all five being destroyed, three by ground fire, two by British Spitfires (the last of which remains the most recent victory in air combat by an RAF pilot in an RAF aircraft (https://hushkit.net/2020/01/29/last-flights-and-fights-of-the-legends/)).

Mogwi may wish to comment, although I guess most FI kills weren’t actually shooting back.

[sandiego89]

I’m pretty sure the RAF operated the Buccaneer for just a bit...!

Of course- very negligent of me, but in the waning days of the cold war, and would not include it in the RAF top ten.

MPN, the Sea Harrier was a FAA aircraft, no mater what color coveralls the pilot wore in the cockpit....

[safetypee]

sandiego89,
With pitchfork sharpened.
Most of the cold war (aircraft) was based on deterrence, thus V force.
The Lightning and Javelin were defending the deterrent, and to a limited extent deterred the manned bomber. With improving intermediate range missiles and bombers with standoff missiles, the roles changed, and over time new aircraft came to the fore.
I was trained on the Chipmunk for the cold war, and at the end I flew a Meteor, but neither were key aircraft in the period.
There; no blood spilt.

[Evalu8ter]

Vulcan, Victor (Deterrent and tanking), Phantom, Lightning (Q), C130, Chinook (Tac Lift), Tornado GR1/Harrier (BAI, Strike, CAS), Nimrod (MR) and Canberra (proper MRCA). Covers a broad capability church, and recognises some of those types with South Atlantic salt and Iraqi sand on their wheels……would have liked to include the Chippy and JP which made it all possible but ran out of fingers…..

[langleybaston]

Much as I loved the Harrier in BFG, I did wonder if the CONOPS was feasible in war. Fortunately we never found out. Deterrent again.

[ericferret]

Chipmunk in the cold war

BRIXMIS Chipmunk Over East Berlin | BRIXMIS | AJ (http://www.brixmis.co.uk/photos/brixmis-chipmunk-over-east.html)

[MPN11]

MPN, the Sea Harrier was a FAA aircraft, no mater what color coveralls the pilot wore in the cockpit....Accepted, of course. I thought the RAF Harriers splashed something Rotary? Not exactly Air Combat, but all’s fair in love and war!

Oh, so Air Cdre Geoff Cooper, my one-time boss as AOC MATO, was the last? Before he became Air Correspondent for the Daily Telgraph. Never knew that!
One of the pilots involved in the first incident was Geoff Cooper (from 208 Sqn) who later that year was shot down by the American pilot Chalmers Goodlin, flying an Israeli Spitfire Mk IX. Cooper was found by Bedouin tribesmen and returned to his base. Like the Spitfire, he would later fight in Malaya.

[NutLoose]

https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/raf-cold-war/0/steps/12769

[Shackeng]

Strange that an aircraft that was 40 years in service from the ‘50s, carried a nuclear weapon, and was frequently in contact with potential enemy equipment, gets no mention.

[just another jocky]

Strange that an aircr aft that was 40 years in service from the ‘50s, carried a nuclear weapon, and was frequently in contact with potential enemy equipment, gets no mention.

What aircraft would that be then, Shackeng?

[KPax]

The Pembroke did a good job up the Corridor.

[GeeRam]

Of course- very negligent of me, but in the waning days of the cold war, and would not include it in the RAF top ten.


Waning days of the Cold War - seriously?

If you mean waning days meaning pretty much half of the cold war era then fair enough.....but given the Buccaneer entered RAF service in 1969, and was still in service when the cold war 'ended' when the fall fell down, I'd hardly call that 20+ years as waning days.....

[langleybaston]

I’m pretty sure the RAF operated the Buccaneer for just a bit...!

Absolutely correct of course.

[Mr N Nimrod]

Absolutely correct of course.
he will be pleased you confirmed that

[langleybaston]

he will be pleased you confirmed that

I am delighted with your useful contribution. Always a pleasure to read your posts.

[treadigraph]

Strange that an aircraft that was 40 years in service from the ‘50s, carried a nuclear weapon, and was frequently in contact with potential enemy equipment, gets no mention.
The Chipmunk? Yes, I understand some instructors could be rather volatile in temperament

I'm guessing the Buccaneer is your real suggestion?

[sycamore]

Treadders,you`ll have to do better than that....it`s all in the name,#23

[ORAC]

The problem if launched, would have been reaching the target before the Cold War ended…. :O…

(Accepting it would have been, marginally, faster than the Wasp…)

[NutLoose]

The Chipmunk? Yes, I understand some instructors could be rather volatile in temperament

I'm guessing the Buccaneer is your real suggestion?

Don’t forget the Chippie wasn’t just a trainer, it did some Stirling work in the photo recon come spy in the sky.

[Barksdale Boy]

The Jaguar and Buccaneer seem strange omissions.

[TBM-Legend]

!950's Cold War:
B-29
Sabre
Neptune

[treadigraph]

Treadders,you`ll have to do better than that....it`s all in the name,#23
Shack was mentioned wasn't it? Confess it I must, I had had a wee drinky or two when I posted last night...

[Clyffe Pypard]

Nobody mentioned the Valiant ?

[DuncanDoenitz]

If defence of the Nuclear Deterrent is a criteria, then obviously the RAF's premier, all-British, twin-engined, short-ranged, supersonic interceptor; Bloodhound.

[Four Turbo]

For those of us on Canberras at the time MRCA stood for 'Must Refurbish Canberras Again'. Carried guns, bombs, nukes, cameras, Elint from 0 to 50.000 feet. All in an aircraft designed at the end of WW2 and active from the beginning to the end of the Cold War. Used by USAF as well as RAF. Top of the list then?

[Sideshow Bob]

If defence of the Nuclear Deterrent is a criteria, then obviously the RAF's premier, all-British, twin-engined, short-ranged, supersonic interceptor; Bloodhound.
Must admit, I did plenty of BFs on Bloodhounds, never did an AF though.

[dctyke]

Wasn’t the Javelin the first to do proper Cold War QRA?

[Miles Magister]

I see a lot of discussion about who was the last RAF pilot to shoot down another aircraft, but was there not a Jaguar shot down by an F4 during a TACEVAL in RAFG during the late 70s or early eighties?

[wiggy]

I see a lot of discussion about who was the last RAF pilot to shoot down another aircraft, but was there not a Jaguar shot down by an F4 during a TACEVAL in RAFG during the late 70s or early eighties?

Yep, May 82…wasn’t me, I wasn’t there, but I knew somebody who was……………..

[Paying Guest]

Yep, wasn't me either, but I was on the TACEVAL team at the time.......

[Shackeng]

What aircraft would that be then, Shackeng?

You’ll never guess. 😎

[SLXOwft]

At any particular point in time the last ten aircraft delivering personnel to 26 Signals Unit RAF Gatow...

Joking partly aside, my not entirely serious list is: Nimrod R1, Nimrod MRx, Shackleton MRx, Canberra PRx, Canberra Bx i.e B2(Project Robin & 51 sqn) & B6(ELINT Mods), Comet 2R, Victor B(SR)2, Vulcan B2 (MRR), Shackleton AEW2, E-3D.

You get the message, all other operational aircraft required to know about where or what they were going to hit if... ,how to reduce the chance of being detected and hit by the other side, what the other side were up to, what was coming towards them, and what had gone (radioactively) bang.

Edit : I overlooked the corridor running Pembrokes and Andovers..

[Herod]

Avro York. Without its contribution to the Airlift there is every possibility that Berlin would have been absorbed into the Soviet sphere. That could have changed the whole cold war, from 1948 onwards.

[Uncle Fred]

Great discussion here. I realize that such lists are prone to serious omissions, especially if the author limited it to a mere ten, thus the suggestions made above help round things out. I see it as an homage to some pretty impressive aircraft.

[Asturias56]

"Avro York. Without its contribution to the Airlift" - TBH I syspect if it hadn't have been there Berlin would still have been supplied by a never ending stream of US freight aircraft

[Shackeng]

And of course not forgetting the Blackburn Beverley, designed for moving heavy loads short distances in the event of a European ground war, (plus para dropping). While waiting for the call to duty it was also used for long haul freighting for which it was completely unsuitable, as I knew only too well.

[Herod]

"Avro York. Without its contribution to the Airlift" - TBH I syspect if it hadn't have been there Berlin would still have been supplied by a never ending stream of US freight aircraft

There was an enormous stream of US aircraft, of course. But they couldn't have kept it up alone. The figures show that the USAF delivered some 1.8 million tons, while the RAF delivered 550,000. Not a bad contribution.

[air pig]

Was there an unimportant aircraft?

Even a Chipmunk was important to those starting off as pilots.

The Chipmunk provided valuable intelligence for BRIXMIS in Berlin, one of which is at BBMF at Coningsby.

[ORAC]

Berlin was runway limited - which is why you can add the Sunderland to the mix….

https://youtu.be/_nHdB1vJNsg

[Herod]

Good piece of film. Gives a good account of the British effort. Of course, the Americans did the lion's share, but then , they had the aircraft.

[NutLoose]

For those of us on Canberras at the time MRCA stood for 'Must Refurbish Canberras Again'. Carried guns, bombs, nukes, cameras, Elint from 0 to 50.000 feet. All in an aircraft designed at the end of WW2 and active from the beginning to the end of the Cold War. Used by USAF as well as RAF. Top of the list then?

And still flying today with NASA, all be it highly modiffied.

[Asturias56]

I'm sure the UK treasury will be writing memos as we speak saying it was grossly overdesigned.

[Herod]

Not overdesigned. Just designed by skilled people who knew what they were doing.

[ShyTorque]

I’ve often wondered……who footed the bill for the Berlin Airlift?

[ORAC]

From Wiki:

The cost of the Airlift was shared between the US, UK, and Germany. Estimated costs range from approximately US$224 million[96] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Blockade#cite_note-102) to over US$500 million (equivalent to approximately $2.44 billion to $5.44 billion now).[97] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Blockade#cite_note-inflation-US-103)[93] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Blockade#cite_note-nationalcoldwarexhibition.org-99)[98] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Blockade#cite_note-104)

[MAINJAFAD]

And of course not forgetting the Blackburn Beverley, designed for moving heavy loads short distances in the event of a European ground war, (plus para dropping). While waiting for the call to duty it was also used for long haul freighting for which it was completely unsuitable, as I knew only too well.

The Beverley Hillbilly does make a Hushkit top ten list...The worst 10 British Aircraft one.

[Peter Carter]

Of course- very negligent of me, but in the waning days of the cold war, and would not include it in the RAF top ten.

In the mid-70s when I was flying the Buccaneer from Laarbruch, it didn't feel to me that the cold war was waning.....

[Dominator2]

Peter Carter
In the mid-70s when I was flying the Buccaneer from Laarbruch, it didn't feel to me that the cold war was waning

I totally agree, for those of us who served in 2ATAF and 4ATAF in the 1970s and early 80s the Cold War was very real. It is very annoying for those who were born or served after that period to voice an opinion on something they do NOT understand.

For my part it was enhancing the Low Level Air Defences within 2ATAF in the F4 Phantom, behind the Hawk Belt and below the Nikes. Not necessarily as glamorous as carrying a Nuke, however, an essential part of The Deterrent.

[MPN11]

Although never privileged to serve in RAFG, I was well aware at the time of what they were ALL doing and facing over there.

I think I still vote for the original MRCA … Canberra.

[langleybaston]

Peter Carter


I totally agree, for those of us who served in 2ATAF and 4ATAF in the 1970s and early 80s the Cold War was very real. It is very annoying for those who were born or served after that period to voice an opinion on something they do NOT understand.

For my part it was enhancing the Low Level Air Defences within 2ATAF in the F4 Phantom, behind the Hawk Belt and below the Nikes. Not necessarily as glamorous as carrying a Nuke, however, an essential part of The Deterrent.

Total agreement. I volunteered for both tours [Gutersloh and JHQ]. Not only was it real, but the families, especially "wives of" were also under some strain when matters became tense. I was a civilian, but I have always thought that the service men and women should have had more recognition. They won the Cold War.
OK, the cars and petrol were cheap, the drink was cheap, the social life and camaraderie were good, but there was always an over-arching "what if". Well done and thank you.

[Ninthace]

On my first tour in RAFG at Gütersloh, if you were on one of the outlying patches such as Harsewinkel, it was reckoned it was easy to tell if a call out was real or exercise. If base was still there, by the time the car with the hooter on it got to the patch and you then got in to work, it was an exercise.

[Old-Duffer]

I must leap to the defence of the Beverley!!

I accept it would never be top of a list of the best aircraft but it performed well in what it was asked to do, particularly in Borneo and such places. During the Brunei Revolt a Beverley made an opposed landing and disgorged a company of infantry straight into a fire fight and then took off using the remaining length of the strip. The troops had flown in from Labuan standing up in the lower hold and only secured by some rope across the ramp, as the clam shell doors had been taken off.

The story of how one staggered into the air some 7000 lbs over its gross AUW at Labuan and then was forced to fly all the way around the north Sabah coast ‘cause it couldn’t climb over the hills, I shall keep for another day – suffice to say never trust the weight of the freight the army are giving you!!

Old Duffer

[ExAscoteer2]

The Beverley? Oh please!

Considering it entered service in 1957 and served a mere 10 years, whereas the C-130 enterd service in 1956 and is still in service.

I know which one I would choose!

[Herod]

One Beverley written off through enemy action. Habilayn, 1967.

[Blossy]

I remember a Beverley at Habilayn being started by a Bedford truck pulling a long rope which was wrapped around the props. Never seen such a sight before - or since!!

[NRU74]

I remember a Beverley at Habilayn being started by a Bedford truck pulling a long rope which was wrapped around the props. Never seen such a sight before - or since!!

We were once at Doula in Cameroun due to go to Kinshasa (and didn't have a Bedford truck) but had a duff starter motor on the number four. It was very difficult to explain to the Tower that we would taxy on three and start the number four windmilling on the roll and if it didn't start we'd abort and return.

[Herod]

NRU74. Happened a few times at Habilayn. They didn't try to take-off though. Fast run down the runway, windmill start, then return for pax/freight.

Apologies for thread drift. It seems we need more than ten aircraft on the list.

[langleybaston]

Digression continues ....
I only once did a route forecast for a Beverley [actually several of}. This was at RAF Nicosia c. 1962. A major night paradrop in a Cyprus exercise area. It was my first "1000 bomber" brief, attended by the staish [Mickey Martin, of Dambuster fame], a brigadier or two, and an intimidating and demanding congregation. I was the youngest and most junior forecaster on the island, which was probably why the job fell to me.
As the Beverleys took off in the dusk, clamshell doors removed and some sort of interior lighting on, it was a fascinating sight from the Tower stairs. One hand gripped the rail, the other had fingers crossed.
Fortunately very little injury, and most of the dropped loads survived the fall. I really can see them now, climbing slowly out to the west. In retrospect a much more senior and experienced man should have done the job.
PS I think Hastings were also involved but they left no memory.

[Video Mixdown]

OK, the cars and petrol were cheap, the drink was cheap, the social life and camaraderie were good, but there was always an over-arching "what if". Well done and thank you.
My own little homage to all those hours I spent in a Laarbruch HAS.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/873x605/image001_203d3be13d8cf1d20df47db21d44d600cb94c892.jpg

[Chugalug2]

PS I think Hastings were also involved but they left no memory.

Perhaps not, but they too shared in the Berlin Airlift (coal was being excavated from their innards on Major Servicings long after) and they were the mainstay of the RAF MRT fleet throughout their service life. Like the Beverley they supported the repelling of Indonesian incursions in Borneo during Confrontation. Ungainly looking on the ground, it was tail wheeled at the Army's insistence in order to hang underslung loads between the mainwheels (mercifully a short-lived requirement) but once airborne and tidied up they could outperform most of their contemporary competition in payload and range.

Cold War Top 10? More like the Corporation Dust-Cart, but the front line would have struggled without it.

[Old-Duffer]

I only intended to counter the negative views of the Beverley, not to suggest that it would make any 'Top 10'.

In Singapore, 66 Sqn Belvederes, decided that as a bit of fun they would hold a guest night in the back of (the flying longhouse) and this they duly did, although it was a bit cramped and everything slid down the back because of the angle (originally to accommodate a torpedo) - they didn't try to fly it but parked it so that the food was served from the kitchen in one of the hangars. Not to be outdone 34 Sqn (Beverleys) went one better and put a proper dining table in the hold and held a dinner whilst flying around. I don't think anybody tried it with a Belfast but you could have a summer ball in the back of a C17!!
O-D

[Barksdale Boy]

The role of the Hastings in the Cold War should not be underestimated in that they were used to train generations of nav radars.

[Wetstart Dryrun]

Somebody old told me the Beverley was the box the Hastings came in

[Shackeng]

I did many hours in Bev’s, easy to clock up at 120kts cruise, often watching trains pass us in the same direction with enough headwind.

[roadsman]

On the 23rd June 1967 my late father M Nav John Lennard was part of a crew that undertook what was believed to be the longest ever Beverley flight. 13 Hours 40 minutes From Seletar to Gan. The captain of the aircraft was Wing Commander Harry Guile, OC 34 Sqn. The leg was part of a trip to the Cocos Keeling islands.. Its not known how much freight was being carried!

[sycamore]

roadsman, interesting trip as to the routing..If they went direct,it would have been across Indonesia,and as `Confrontation` was `ending` it would have required a lot of `Diplomatic negotiations`,.Distance is approx 1900 nm,and possible prevailing headwinds of about 10-12 kts needed a G/S of about 140kts,plus fuel for `Island holding`..
If they went North to avoid Indonesian airspace,then it would have been approx.2000+nm,and a G/S of 150 kts required..Might have required a `top-up`,splash-and-dash at `Butterworth`....
I know that oil could be transferred internally to the engines,but could one transfer oil or fuel from the Hold upstairs to the tanks...?
Perhaps `Shackman can elaborate...?
I managed to `blag` a co-pilot trip at AAEE in 1969,working the `engine-room`/throttles,calling out rad-alt height, when doing a 30-35000lb ULLA drop on Salisbury Plain whilst the Captain was trying to maintain 10-15 foot `wheel-height over the undulating range..it was believed to be the heaviest ULLA ever dropped at the time....

[Herod]

Sycamore; I think confrontation had settled down by then. The official peace treaty was Aug '66. I was training at Tern Hill, and slated to join 230 after completion. As it turned out, I joined 230 at Odiham in Nov '66. A very "short tour" of a few weeks before someone decided there were too many pilots, and I ended up converting to Wessex and setting off to Khormaksar.

[Lancman]

ShackEng makes a very valid point, while the obvious threat to the U.K. came from the east and the UK defences were mainly orientated in that direction there was a less obvious but very potent threat lurking in the deep waters of the North Atlantic not so far to the west. It was vitally important that the Soviet nuclear missile submarine fleet was tracked, and occasionally deterred, at all times day and night fair weather and foul. This the Shackleton did for years and years, at low level.

[Shackeng]

ShackEng makes a very valid point, while the obvious threat to the U.K. came from the east and the UK defences were mainly orientated in that direction there was a less obvious but very potent threat lurking in the deep waters of the North Atlantic not so far to the west. It was vitally important that the Soviet nuclear missile submarine fleet was tracked, and occasionally deterred, at all times day and night fair weather and foul. This the Shackleton did for years and years, at low level.

Ah yes, I remember it well, anything up to 16-18 hour trips at low level with only one F/E.

Sycamore, the Bev carried an overload oil tank of 120 imperial gallons which was transferred when required by a hand operated wobble pump, in the inner ‘dog kennel’ aft of the flight deck, in flight. There was no facility to top up the overload tank in flight. IIRC the Centaurus engine had permitted oil consumption of 8 gallons per hour, and it’s oil tank held, normally, 25 gallons but could be overfilled, if memory serves, to about 32 gallons. I was a flying spanner, before the days of crew chiefs, on Bevs in those days, and must have pumped hundreds of gallons of cold 100U(?) oil in flight. I was on 53 Sqn.at Abingdon in the late ‘50’s, and one of our supply runs was Abingdon - Orange(Marseille) - Idris - Kano, night stopping at Idris and Kano. Thence a shuttle to Mamfe in the Cameroon’s where an RAF Rgt. Detachment operated with, again If I recall correctly, either single or twin Pioneers from the grass jungle strip, which was an interesting approach and landing for the Bev.
Due to its servicing schedule, it required a ‘Primary Star’ inspection at Idris, which amongst other items required all 144 spark plugs to be replaced. I normally completed the inspection just in time to get airborne the following morning.

[Shackeng]

My apologies to all fir thread drift, put it down to senility.

[Finningley Boy]

The Jaguar and Buccaneer seem strange omissions.
It would perhaps be easier to list those which needn't have turned up, but I can't think of any. If the 10 have to meet the prerequisite of frontline operational requirement, then its still very difficult to pick 10 which were more important. You could argue that of the three V-Bombers, the Valiant played an interim role prior to the Vulcan and Victor. Then how about the mark 2 versions of the latter two anyway? The Harrier, Buccaneer and Phantom were very important for revising the RAF's tactical roles, especially in Germany. The Lightning provided the much needed quick response to the growing threat of long range strike by the Soviets TU-16 Badgers in the early 1960s. Imagine if Duncan Sandys had his way entirely? Imagine trying to shadow and identify a Soviet TU-16/20/95 with a Bloodhound?!?!?!?:uhoh:

FB