Cold War Britain & The Bomb (124)

In Britain and the Bomb Bill Nuttall considers Britain's national journey from Empire to Europe and the transition of British nuclear weapons from the Royal Air Force to the Royal Navy. If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written reviews in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help the podcast grow. It costs money and time to produce this podcast so I’m asking listeners to contribute $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Thanks to latest Patreons including Chris Pearson, Dave Parry, John Rafferty, This is Rammy, John Helsinki Scott G, Graham Horlock and Mister Giles. Back to today’s episode, the story pivots around a single day in April 1965. The recently-established Labour government very publicly cancelled the much-vaunted TSR2 nuclear strike bomber, causing dismay among aviation enthusiasts. The passing decades have done little to diminish the controversy and a pervasive sense of nostalgic melancholy about a lost Britain.  We welcome Bill Nuttall to our Cold War conversation… There’s further information on this episode in our show notes, which can also be found as a link in your podcast app.https://coldwarconversations.com/episode124/ If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media. If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook. Thankyou very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye. Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations 0:00 Introduction and overview of the episode 0:37 Bill Nuttall's role in the German Democratic Republic and discussion on "Britain and the Bomb" 2:04 Sponsor: Request for listener support and acknowledgment of patrons 2:31 The cancellation of TSR2 nuclear strike bomber: Insights and Context 7:01 Deep dive into the advanced features and significance of the TSR2 aircraft 12:23 Impact of Duncan Sandy's white paper on the Air Force and industrial policy 15:48 Consequences of Gary Powers incident and the development of standoff missiles 21:28 The Cold War as a technological chess game: Strategic decisions and technological advancements 26:17 Change in UK government and its impact on nuclear decision making 31:53 Understanding nuclear deterrence, Britain's debate, and defense of Moscow 35:17 The impact of technology cancellations on Britain's national image and identity 39:06 Closing remarks and podcast outro Chapters powered by PodcastAI✨ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices