Exercise Skyshield had its limitations in that the only way to see how a Vulcan would have coped against a MiG-21 was to send one against it, but B2s at height were no sitting ducks, even when the opposition knew they were coming.
Considered the most capable of the three RAF jet bombers that served during the Cold War, the delta‑winged Vulcan combined impressive speed with fighter‑like agility at low altitude, despite its size. Originally designated as the Avro 698, it first flew in August 1952 and officially entered service in February 1957. The Vulcan then served as Britain’s primary nuclear deterrent, configured to carry the Blue Steel standoff missile.
As related by Andrew Brookes in Vulcan Units of the Cold War, the Vulcan’s capabilities as a high‑altitude nuclear bomber were dramatically demonstrated in 1961 during Exercise Skyshield, when it was pitted against North America’s powerful air defenses.
In 1951, the US Air Force asked the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop what Secretary of the Air Force T. K. Finletter called the “Manhattan Project of air defense.” When the study concluded in the summer of 1952, it recommended building an early‑warning radar line across northern Canada to provide three to six hours’ notice of incoming enemy bombers, creating a fully automated, integrated communications network, and deploying improved fighter aircraft and surface‑to‑air missiles for interception.
This process led to the integration of US and Canadian air defense networks under the North American Air Defence Command (NORAD) on May 12, 1958. Directed from Colorado Springs in the Rocky Mountains, NORAD was a justifiable source of pride for both countries. To demonstrate its effectiveness, they planned a large-scale, fully realistic air defense exercise for October 1961 and invited Bomber Command to participate. Headquarters at High Wycombe eagerly accepted, as the drill offered the RAF a valuable chance to evaluate the new Vulcan B2 in conditions that closely resembled actual operations.
Nos. 27 and 83 Sqns sent four jets each, with aircraft from the latter unit being sent to Lossiemouth to attack from the north, while No 27 Sqn went to Kindley AFB, in Bermuda, to penetrate from the south. On Oct. 14, both groups set off. The northerly wave began with USAF B-47s going in at low level from 500 ft upwards, jamming out the ground radars. Behind them came B-52s at 35,000 ft to 42,000 ft, supported by B-57s, while finally at 56,000 ft came No. 83 Sqn’s B-2s in stream. ECM proved so effective that only the first Vulcan heard an F-101 Voodoo lock-on. Although many fighters were scrambled, they concentrated on the B-52s so that by the time the B-2s came in, the interceptors did not have enough fuel left to climb to 56,000 ft for another battle. The RAF bombers penetrated unscathed to land at Stephenville, Newfoundland.
The southern wave also came in ‘using all jamming equipment and passive defense systems’. The No. 27 Sqn jets penetrated on a broad front, but as they approached 50 miles from the coast when the fighters were unleashed, the southernmost Vulcan turned and flew north behind the jamming screen provided by its compatriots. Thus, while the F-102 Delta Daggers concentrated on the three lead aircraft, the fourth jet crept round to the north and sneaked through to land at Plattsburgh AFB, New York.
Skyshield clearly had its shortcomings, since the only real way to know how a Vulcan would perform against a MiG-21 would be to actually send one into combat. Even so, high‑flying B2s were far from easy targets, even when the opposition was fully aware of their approach. The exercise showed that a handful of inventive crews could successfully hold their own against the most advanced air defense system in the world.
Vulcan Units of the Cold War is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.
Photo by U.S. Air Force and Air Historical Branch-RAF
