IV.

Post-War Development

In the post-war period, Britain's defence forces became part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In the last months of the war the piston engine was replaced by the jet and the RAF brought its first jet fighter, the Gloster Meteor, into service. The first jet-powered bomber, the Canberra, was introduced in May 1951.

In the 1950s and early 1960s the RAF was engaged in anti-insurgent conflicts related to Britain's withdrawal from the empire, notably in Malaya, Aden, Borneo, and also the abortive Anglo-French operation in Suez following the seizure of the Suez Canal by Egypt in 1956. Bomber Command was given the task of carrying the nation's airborne nuclear deterrent and the V-Force came into being as the means to deliver the United Kingdom's nuclear arsenal. Fighter Command reverted to being a defensive force, but with the capability to act as a strike force if necessary. The V-Force was equipped with fast jet-bombers: the Vickers Valiant, the Handley Page Victor, and the Avro Vulcan. The Royal Navy assumed the strategic nuclear role when the Polaris submarine came into service in 1969. Bomber Command and Fighter Command combined to form Strike Command in 1968.