Between 1945 and 1960, Great Britain constructed a substantial nuclear-armed bomber force. The creation of this force had ramifications that extended well beyond the confines of military policy. The process played a large part in defining relations with the United States, and the belief that these bombers could replace conventional forces convinced successive British governments that Great Britain could maintain a significant global military role.

These assumptions were developed and reinforced by a continuing discourse about strategy within the British defense establishment. The Royal Air Force was the champion of the bomber force and played a major part in shaping the outcome of this discourse. Drawing on both archives and oral testimony, this book analyzes British strategic discourse and its influence on British foreign policy in the early decades of the Cold War.