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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 0851.PDF
The Admiralty have authorized publication of this drawing of HMS "Devonshire," the first guided-missile ship of the Royal Navy. Brief details were published in last week's issue; standard displacement is 5,000 tons (although the four ships of this class are rated as destroyers) and overall length is 520ft. The key is as follows: 1, twin launcher for AW A Seaslug missile; 2, CPO's mess; 3, Westland Wessex ASW helicopter; 4. crew dining hall; 5, guidance radar for beam-riding Seaslug; 6, main missile store; 7, quadruple launcher for Short Seacat close-range missiles; 8, ASW homing-torpedo tubes; 9, life rafts; 10, enclosed bridge; 11, radar-controlled twin 4.5in guns; 12, gas-turbine room; 13, gearing room; 14, boiler room; 15, after-turbine room; 16, fuel tanks. The entire ship is air-conditioned historians and sociologists on the lessons of the past are as worthy of ahearing as are those of contemporary specialists in science and technology. What will almost certainly turn out to be a complete revolution in humanaffairs and progress cannot be ignored by this country. It is appreciated that the UK cannot hope to compete on equal termswith the USA and the USSR. To assume, however, that we can there- fore play no significant part at all would be a betrayal of our nationalfuture. By itself, the installation of British instruments in American satellites is not, in this context, regarded as constituting "a significantpart." Leaving aside the ultimate implications that space exploration will have for the future of mankind, astronautics presents the most severechallenge to applied science and technology. Any nation that makes major contributions to it will derive considerable benefits. Of the relevant non-technical considerations, that most often men-tioned is national prestige. Less-developed countries will tend in future to judge the leading nations at least partly on the basis of theirachievements in space. Such judgments will inevitably be reflected in their purchases of technical equipment of all kinds. Should the beliefdevelop that Great Britain is lagging in this most important branch of technology, our Status is likely to be undermined at international confer-ences when relevant problems come up for discussion. No-one could deny that Russia's success in space has established her as one of thetwo most advanced countries in science and engineering. Already this has had a marked effect on her position in international trade. Allied to this question is that of internal morale. This is inseparablefrom the general sense of national achievement, the stimulus to tech- nology, and the encouragement of new industries with new products.Astronautics will play a role here at least equal to that of aviation during the past fifty years. Apart from the above general considerations, there are important andspecific military and civil developments which can be foreseen for the fairly near future. These include the use of satellites for military reconnaissance, bom-bardment, early-warning, navigation, weather research and radio com- munications. The strategic and commercial importance of the last-mentioned application, in view of our Commonwealth communications requirement and its associated industry, should need no emphasis. Thesame might be said of possible future developments in rocket-propslled transport vehicles, capable of reaching the Antipodes within a few hours.On the military side, the development of any of these devices by a poten- tial enemy would surely call for defensive means to be at our disposal. It is believed that a significant British contribution could be made foran annual expenditure rising within five years to about £20m, and being maintained thereafter at about this level. The corresponding deploy-ment of technical manpower would rise to about 1,000 graduate scientists and engineers (drawn from a wide variety of disciplines), with support-ing technicians, industrial labour and facilities. This would satisfy the requirements of the programme outlined at the beginning of thismemorandum. These figures assume the continuance of effort on relevant defence projects. If these were curtailed, the budgets specificallyfor space would need to be greater—as, in that event, they presumably could be. A very important consideration is the fact that astronauticalprojects could enable national techniques and skills to be maintained, against the possibility of any unfortunate future n?ed to reverse dis-armament policies. Conclusion It is respectfully submitted that an early statement of Government policy, along the lines here advocated, should be made. This should courageously state the long-term objectives, and guarantee reasonable continuity in the effort involved; without the last proviso, workers of an adequate calibre will not be attracted into it. It is thought that much of the world, especially the Common- wealth and Europe, is awaiting such a lead from us. If some such pronouncement is not soon made, there is a grave danger of accelerating the growing tendency for British research and development in the fields of applied science and technology to be associated almost entirely with unadventurous, short-term objec- tives of immediate military, commercial, and economic importance. If this state of affairs obtains, then the achievements of our scientists and engineers will become as limited as their objectives, and eventually there will be an inevitable decline in both the level of British applied science and technology and in the morale of the people involved. Sea trials with the Short Seacat ship-to-air missile are shortly to begin,from HMS Decoy. During a demonstration of engineering feasibility at White Sands onJune 10, a Nike-Hercules intercepted and destroyed a Corporal ballistic missile. The West German government hastily denied last week that they haveany interest in strategic missiles (although the West German army is being equipped with TM-76B Mace). Previously it had been suggestedthat the Bundsswehr was interested in acquiring Polaris. The US Defense Department stated on June 12 that it plans tolaunch Project Banshee next Spring, to learn more about space as a military environment. One of the experiments will be the detonationof 5001b of conventional explosive 24 miles above southern New Mexico; a balloon will be used for this purpose. According to the London Daily Express the United States will notpermit Britain to offer Blue Streak as a first-stage for European co-opera- tive space projects, owing to the fact that secret information from theAtlas ICBM programme was used to assist the development of the British LRBM. The US Air Force have permitted Avco's Lycoming Division to release this photograph of Titan ICBM re-entry vehicles in final inspection, at their plant in Stratford, Connecticut. Avco make both the RVX-3 and RVX-4 cones seen here, and the similar operational Mk 4 cone
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