- Yes!
- No!
This suggestion is mainly focused on giving every nation a more “unique” feel whenever a player earns a nuclear bomb, which would make this event feel even more special, when compared to the current “standardised” nuclear delivery-platforms.
I understand that not every nation had / has historical access to an airplane which was able to carry a nuclear bomb, which is why I would like to slightly delve into “what-if” territory, at least with the matter of the availability of nuclear weapons to certain nations. I am justifying this decision, with the argument, that it is less immersive to play Japan and unlocking a nuclear capable B-29, than it would be to unlock a Japanese plane with a nuclear bomb, at least in my opinion.
I tried to keep the list on the more realistic “what-if” side, so no domestic German or Japanese nuclear bombers and bombs; instead, I am looking at it from a cold-war gone hot perspective, with the potential for certain nations to receive nuclear weapons from the US, rather than going the WW2 alternative history route, since there was no chance any of the axis powers would have managed to develop an operational nuclear weapon during the second world-war. I think it is more likely that those nations would have received nuclear weapons from primarily the US, in an imaginary emergency nuclear-sharing program, if WW3 would have started.
Additionally, I have tried to give every nation planes with comparable performance, however some hold a more significant advantage over others, because of my semi-realism approach. Most nations simply didn’t operate any slow strategic bombers after the war.
Currently, the nuclear bombers ingame are:
B-29 & Tu-4 (BR 6.7 - 7.7)
Canberra B.6 & IL-28 (BR 8.0 - 9.0)
Jaguar A & Su-7BLK (BR 9.3+)
What I envision are already existing vehicles in the game, equipped with the most historically accurate nuclear weapons possible, here is the list with which I want to illustrate what I mean:
Explanation of bracketed text:
- Historical: The plane and bomb were available to that nation and the plane was able to carry said bomb.
- Nuclear sharing program: Same as historical, with the added detail that the bombs were not domestically made, but supplied from a host-country.
- Bomb was never mounted on this airplane: Both the plane and bomb were available to that country, however the bomb was never mounted on that specific plane.
- Bomb was never used in XYZ service / What-if nuclear sharing program: The nation never had this bomb available to it, but had planes capable of mounting said bomb, with the extrapolation, that in the event of a war, a host country could have provided a viable nuclear bomb to be mounted on that country’s airplanes.
- Unknown if mounted on the plane: Said nation has access to nuclear bombs and bombers, but information is lacking if both were combined in the stated configuration.
- What-if XYZ nuclear program: The stated country had at one point planned a nuclear weapons program, which was cancelled, but a “what-if” scenario would see them develop nuclear bombs that would be mounted on existing planes in that country’s inventory.
Now, with that out of the way, here is the list:
USA:
B-29 w/ Mark 6 bomb (BR 6.7 - 7.7) (historical)
B-57B w/ Mark 7 bomb (BR 8.0 - 9.0) (historical)
F-4E w/ B61 bomb (BR 9.3+) (historical)
Germany:
F-84F w/ Mark 7 bomb (BR 6.7 - 7.7) (bomb was never used in German service / what-if nuclear sharing program)
F-104G w/ B61 bomb (BR 8.0 - 9.0) (nuclear sharing program)
Tornado IDS w/ B61 bomb (BR 9.3+) (nuclear sharing program)
USSR:
Tu-4 w/ RDS-4 (historical)
IL-28 w/ RDS-4 (historical)
Su-7BLK w/ RDS-4 (historical)
UK:
Washington B.1 w/ Yellow Sun Mk.1 bomb (BR 6.7 - 7.7) (bomb was never mounted on this airplane)
Canberra B.6 w/ Mark 7 bomb (BR 8.0 - 9.0) (nuclear sharing program)
Tornado Gr.1 w/ WE.177 bomb (BR 9.3+) (historical)
Japan:
F-86F-40 w/ B61 bomb (BR 6.7 - 7.7) (bomb was never used in Japanese service / what-if nuclear sharing program)
F-104G w/ B61 bomb (BR 8.0 - 9.0) (bomb was never used in Japanese service / what-if nuclear sharing program)
F-4EJ w/ B61 bomb (BR 9.3+) (bomb was never used in Japanese service / what-if nuclear sharing program)
China:
Tu-4 w/ CHIC bomb (BR 6.7 - 7.7) (unknown if mounted on the plane)
H-5 w/ CHIC bomb (BR 8.0 - 9.0) (unknown if mounted on the plane)
Q-5 w/ CHIC bomb (BR 9.3+) (unknown if mounted on the plane)
Italy:
F-84F w/ Mark 7 bomb (BR 6.7 - 7.7) (bomb was never used in Italian service / what-if nuclear sharing program)
F-104G w/ B61 bomb (BR 8.0 - 9.0) (nuclear sharing program)
Tornado IDS w/ B61 bomb (BR 9.3+) (nuclear sharing program)
France:
S.O. Vautour 4050 w/ AN-11 bomb (BR 6.7 - 7.7) (historical)
Jaguar A w/ AN-52 bomb (BR 8.0 - 9.0) (historical)
Mirage 2000 w/ AN-52 bomb (BR 9.3+) (historical)
Sweden:
J34 w/ fantasy “KVB1” bomb (BR 6.7 - 7.7) (what-if Swedish nuclear program)
A32A w/ fantasy “KVB1” bomb (BR 8.0 - 9.0) (what-if Swedish nuclear program)
AJ37 w/ fantasy “KVB1” bomb (BR 9.3+) (what-if Swedish nuclear program)
Israel:
Vautour IIA w/ unknown bomb (BR 6.7 - 7.7) (unknown if mounted on the plane)
A-4N w/ unknown bomb (BR 8.0 - 9.0) (unknown if mounted on the plane)
F-16A Netz unknown bomb (BR 9.3+) (unknown if mounted on the plane)
Conclusion:
I believe with a system like this, or similar to this, nuclear bombers would become an even more unique mechanic in the game, with every nation receiving plane-types that they operated, with nuclear weapons of varying degree of realism. This way, at least the planes would fit each nation, which they currently don’t do, even if the bombs themselves remain unrealistic for some, the end-result would be more realistic and interesting, at least in my opinion.
Thanks for reading, if you have any ideas on how to improve this idea, or have something else to say, please feel free to write a comment.
Cheers! 
