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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 1636.PDF
British Missiles - 1960 356 FLIGHT, 2 September Seaslug firing at low elevation from trials ship HMS "Girdleness" Seaslug replenishment Bloodhound boost-separation Below, Blue Steel test vehicle SIR W. C. ARMSTRONG WHITWORTH AIRCRAFT LTD (Armaments Whitley, Coventry. Telephone: Tollbar 3271 Division) Seaslug During the past decade, Armstrong Whitworth, assisted by GEC* (guidance) and Sperry (control system), have produced for the Royal Navy a ship-to-air missile system which has now reached a most satisfactory degree of reliability and lethality. The missile has cruciforms of wings and tail controls, and the dimensional envelope into which it fits has been held to a minimum in order that the maximum number of rounds may be accommodated in the ship's magazine. By arranging the four wrap-round boost motors around the forebody it has been possible to dispense with stabilizing fins; maximum transverse dimension (over boosts or wing tips) is 56.6in, and the length is under 20ft. Propulsion is effected by a solid internal motor, and guidance is of the radar beam-riding type. The first ships to use Seaslug will be the "County" class (rated as destroyers, although of over 5,000 tons displacement) which will each mount a twin quarterdeck launcher automatically served by a powered hoist system. A. V. ROE & CO LTD (Weapons Research Division) Woodford, Cheshire. Telephone: Bramhfdl 1620 Blue Steel True to its name in having an airframe largely fabricated in stainless-steel honey- comb, this canard device is officially classed as a stand-off bomb. Carrying a thermonuclear warhead, it is released from beneath a parent aircraft (Vulcan B.2 or Victor B.2) hundreds of miles short of the chosen target. During the outward flight the aircraft and missile cross-check their navigation systems, but after release the Elliott inertial guidance of the Blue Steel steers it to its target independently (while the parent aircraft returns to base). Following the successful com- pletion of flight trials with test vehicles powered by a de Havilland Double Spectre rocket engine, the Blue Steel Mk 1 is now in the flight-test stage from Mk 1 V-bombers at the Weapons Research Establishment in Australia. Powered by a Bristol Siddeley Stentor, operating on HTP and kerosine, the weapon flies at supersonic speed, and can take evasive action and change its course or altitude. Length is 35ft and wing span 13ft. The redesigned Mk 2 was cancelled, but an improved version of Mk 1 is under development. BRISTOL AIRCRAFT LTD Filton, Bristol. Telephone: Bristol 693831 Bloodhound Virtually a pilotless intercepter fighter, powered by twin Bristol Siddeley Thor ramjets burning kerosine fuel, Bloodhound Mk 1 has been developed by Bristol Aircraft and Ferranti Ltd as the standard surface-to-air missile system of the United Kingdom. After many hundreds of test firings, quantity production was started near Cardiff and numerous deliveries have been made to Air Defence Missile Squadrons of RAF Fighter Command. At each base are one or more Fire Units, each comprising 16 launchers (carrying fully armed missiles, complete with warhead and boost motors, and with their tankage topped-up), together with tactical-control and target-illuminating radars, a launch-control post and workshop. As was outlined in our issues of November 7, 1958 and October 23, 1959, the system is linked with the British electronic defence environment to reduce delays to thousandths of a second. The missile has moving wings and a fixed tailplane, and banks in turns like an aeroplane. Orders have been placed by Sweden and Australia, and the forthcoming Bloodhound Mk 2 will have greatly improved lethality, especially against targets flying near the ground. Bristol'/Ferranti Bloodhound Mk 7 with Fighter Command
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