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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1333.PDF
FLIGHT, 14 September 1961 ROUND THE STANDS . . . Missiles and 437 Left, the Bristol Aerojet flight test vehicle discussed on page 438 ; below, Royal Navy ratings load a Seacat quadruple launcher PERHAPS the most charitable thing that can be said about theUnited Kingdom's accomplishments in the field of space research is that they are reminiscent of an iceberg; there is little to show onthe surface, but a very great deal is going on underneath. At Farn- borough de Havilland's Blue Streak stood like a silver cathedralin a shanty town. Beside it de Havilland Aircraft suggest that the future of this ballistic work-horse as a first-stage space booster is"virtually assured." As discussed in the detailed description of Blue Streak publishedin Flight for August 17, propulsion is provided by a Rolls-Royce RZ.12 installation, comprising a pair of individually controlledRZ.2 engines operating on liquid oxygen and kerosine. Rolls-Royce were able to display a complete RZ.2 Mk 2 engine at Farnborough,the first time that any Rolls-Royce rocket engine has been publicly exhibited. The engine is rated at J 37,0001b thrust at sea level, and"current work will increase this to 150,0001b." After initial trials at the RPE at Westcott, development of the engine has been centredat Spadeadam, and already more than 400 static firings have been accomplished on complete engines. Two models of a possible European three-stage satellite launchingvehicle, using Blue Streak as the first stage, were displayed in the exhibition hall, one by the Ministry of Aviation and one (with thevehicle mounted on its ground launcher) by Hawker Siddeley Aviation. Designs for possible communications and astronomicalsatellites, first shown in model form at the RAE Open Days earlier this year, were again illustrated on the Ministry of Aviation stand. Of all Britain's guided weapons, only Bloodhound 2 has succeededin becoming accepted as standard armament in the service of a neutral foreign nation. Larger and more lethal than Bloodhound1, this new surface-to-air missile is at present in the development- firing stage, and the performance of the new AEI/Ferranti continu-ous-wave guidance system is extremely encouraging. Bristol emphasize the "package deal" which they can offer, which matchesthe requirements of the most demanding customer and may have been instrumental in clinching the big deals with Sweden andSwitzerland. Backed by the resources of HM Government and many hundredsof sub-contractors, the basic Bloodhound team comprises Bristol Aircraft, Bristol Siddeley Engines, Ferranti, AEI, Decca Radar,-EMI (Electronics) and ML Aviation, with the first-named acting as weapon-system manager. The team can supply: missiles, launchers,target-illuminating radars, launcher-control posts, power supplies, handling equipment, servicing, communications, data handling, andtactical-control equipment; installation of all equipment, and com- missioning, including demonstration of integration of the systemwith tactical-control systems; maintenance and servicing equipment (integrated with the customer's existing facilities); training of thecustomer's personnel in operation and maintenance; technical and commercial studies to meet customer requirements; and the provi-sion of field-support teams. "The Army must have the best possible anti-aircraft protection.We believe that Thunderbird 2 answers this requirement better than any other system." So said the Secretary of State for War lastNovember 7. As is the case with Bloodhound 2, no data or illus- trations may yet be published, but it can be said that the principaladvantages of this missile are: continuous-wave guidance, which gives greater range, improved effectiveness against targets at verylow and very high altitudes, and increased resistance to electronic countermeasures; and improvements in the fields of mobility andlogistics, reflected in air-portability of the complete system, auto- matic operation, "self-contained capability of independent opera-tion," greater speed into action, reduced numbers of personnel and vehicles and simplified storage, maintenance and repair. Thunder-bird 2"s development firing programme has been successfully completed, and acceptance trials are due to start in the near future. The forerunner, Thunderbird 1, has now been in service with theRoyal Artillery for two and a half years. Its mobility and flexibility have been amply proved; regiments have been deployed in "manyplaces in the United Kingdom and Europe" in all weathers by day and by night, and batteries are at present being deployed on un-prepared sites under true field conditions. During recent trials the Royal Artillery have achieved about 90 per cent success—a claimwhich probably refers to firings from the range at Ty Croes. A half-scale model of the first joint US/UK ionospheric satellitewas displayed by British Aircraft Corporation, together with items of instrumentation for this satellite which have been designed andbuilt by Bristol Aircraft Ltd. These units comprise an extra-high- tension generator, used in place of dry batteries to provide a stablesupply of about 1,600 volts for proportional gas counter tubes; and the electronic section of an X-ray spectrometer. These were de-veloped for the space research group of University College, London, and the University of Leicester. The Ministry of Aviation space exhibit disclosed that the Skylarkrocket "is now being used to test experiments in aid of the UK/US Scout satellite programme," and that "nearly 40" Skylarks havenow been fired at Woomera. It is generally agreed by alm%t every nation possessing an armythat the greatest single weapomrequirement is for a missile which can be used by infantry with complete effectiveness against anyarmoured vehicle. Vickers-Armstrongs' Vigilant is widely accepted as seeming to be precisely what everyone is looking for; but it hasnow reached the most critical stage in its career, in which everything depends upon the willingness of British Aircraft Corporation to putevery ounce of effort behind it, appreciating that the huge prizes which it could undoubtedly win will have to be striven for. Com-pared with its competitors-of which the French Entac is the most formidable —Vigilant is considerably more advanced in concept.Its inbuilt autopilot, aerodynamic design and other features make it far easier to control, greatly reduce the number of firings needed toacquire and retain proficiency, and enable it to be used at very large angles-off and against targets at very short range-with betteraccuracy at all ranges. It is up to BAC forcibly to demonstrate that these advantages more than compensate for a price-differential of atleast 2:1. This could be done only if actual experience by a customershowed such a claim to be justified; and the British Army have already gained such experience. Vigilant has now completed itsWar Office infantry trials, the main purpose of which was to decide whether or not a wire-guided missile of this type is preferable to theseveral alternative types of possible anti-tank weapon. This has been established beyond any doubt; and, at the same time, Vigilanthas gained for itself an almost universal acceptance as the best such
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