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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 1784.PDF
874 Missiles 1957 . . . FLIGHT, 6 December 1957 A Fairey Fireflash (Blue Sky) Air-to-air. Twin solid boost motors, jettisoned after burn-out (no sustainer). Overall length, 9ft 3.75in; body length, 89.05in; span across wing cruciform, 28.11in; control-surface span, 17.97in; overall height across cruciform of boost fins, 23.63in. Weights and performance data restricted. A Fairey Fireflash beam-riding air-to-air weapon being loaded on to a Hawker Hunter fighter by its ground-handling and lifting trolley. datum established at the launching. As soonas the roll error comes within specified limits the missile centres itself in the coded radarbeam from the launching aircraft, and there- after remains within the beam while the latteris held on the target by the pilot of the fighter. As the radar beam is accurately harmonizedwith the axis of the pilot's gun-sight it follows that the only significant guidance error is thatdue to the aim-wander of the pilot/aircraft combination in tracking the target. Experiencehas shown that this factor is well within accept- able limits and the mean of many hundreds offirings has been less than the lethal distance of the proximiry-fuzed warhead. Developmenttrials were carried out on two-seat Meteors with the missiles carried at the rips of thewings. An underwing pylon has been success- fully employed on the Hunter, and Fireflash isat present in full R.A.F. service with a squad- ron of Swift 7 fighters based at Valley. An unusually full description of the missileitself was published in our issue of August 16. The rear body consists of an extruded andforged tube in a magnesiurn-ziconium alloy, into which is slid a two-rail chassis carryingthe internal equipment. The motors are separated by a twin-piston unit containing0.6 lb of cordite which is ignited when both charges are all-burnt. Control and guidanceequipment includes a 3,000 lb/sq in air bottle, lateral accelerometers, an air-blown gyroassembly (a roll-displacement gyro and two rate gyros), the electronic receiver and powersupply, the aerial assembly and the servo motor which positions the control fins. Design anddevelopment of all this equipment was handled by Fairey's Weapon Division, manufacture of certain items being sub-contracted; two com-panies which should be named are Plessey (receivers) and Ekco (fighter radar).Fairey have over the years built up a most experienced team and a comprehensive rangeof environmental testing facilities with which a complete weapon system can be developed.It is not yet possible, however, to describe the project upon which their efforts are at presentemployed. SHORT BROTHERS AND HARLANDFor nearly six years this company's Precision Engineering Division has maintained a GuidedWeapon Department at Castlereagh, near Bel- fast. Their first assignment was the respon-sibility of developing and manufacturing the valuable GPV (general-purpose vehicle) which,although superficially somewhat similar to the Folland RTV-2, is of later conception and hasperformed sterling service in the development of all aspects of guided-weapon systems (par-ticularly those of the surface-to-air variety) and large numbers of rounds have beendelivered. At the recent S.B.A.C. Show a sec- tioned GPV was displayed, incorporating aradar homing system designed and built by the Guilded Weapons Division of ElliottBrothers (London), Ltd. An accompanying picture shows a GPV actually striking aspherical target suspended from a balloon. Very few details have been revealed con-cerning the SXA.5, but a specially prepared exhibition round has been publicly shown. Inconfiguration the device comprises a cylindrical body with a fattened, square-section mid-por-tion carrying a cruciform of moving wings to provide control in pitch and yaw. At the rear is what seems to be a solid-propellant motorand a cruciform of fixed fins, of the same span as the wing cruciform and indexed at 45 deg.In construction the wings follow aircraft prac- tice, there being a single wrapped-sheet aero-foil riveted to tip and root ribs and along the trailing edge. The fins were each riveted toa cylindrical casting provided with holes to admit air to cool the motor nozzle. Each finhad a mounting for a flare. As exhibited, the device was labelled "roundnumber 225" and it was carried on a pivoted base, locating with the motor outlet and fourfins and leaving the weapon cantilevered at about 45 deg to the horizontal. The officialdescription of the SXA.5 is "a multi-purpose surface-to-air test vehicle." Its configurationis such that the performance must be lower than that of other surface-to-air weapons andit very likely has radio command guidance. It would, therefore, seem to be intended foroperations at relatively short range, possibly including surface-to-surface roles. VICKERS-ARMSTRONGS (AIRCRAFT)This famous aircraft company entered the guided-weapons field seven years ago and theyhave been working on operational weapon systems ever since. During this time they havetackled some challenging problems, and it is most unfortunate that, through no fault oftheir own, none of their products has yet been permitted to reach the production stage. Their first major assignment from theMinistry of Supply was a 1950 development contract for a guided bomb, or air-to-surfaceweapon, intended to be matched to the Valiant and possibly other aircraft. The initial work Below, left, is the only photograph yet cleared for publication of the firing of a Short SXA.5 "multi-purpose surface-to-air test vehicle." The flame from the internal motor can be seen, together with small tracking flares. The two small pictures below depict the impact of a Short-built GPV (with homing radar) upon a small metal sphere suspended from a balloon. Short and Harland SXA.5 Surface-to-air. Unstated means o. propulsion. Overall length, as depicted, 77.2in; body diameter, 9.5in; span of wings, 31in; span of fins, 31in. Weights and per- formance data restricted.
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