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82-595: Seaslug was intended to engage high-flying targets such as reconnaissance aircraft or bombers before they could launch stand-off weapons. It was only fitted to the Royal Navy's eight County-class destroyers which were designed around the missile system. Seaslug was only fired in anger once as an anti-aircraft missile, from HMS  Antrim during the Falklands War, but missed its target. Later improvements meant that it could also be used against ships and ground targets. It

164-619: A Type 992Q target indicator radar (3 GHz, 1.75 MW peak power, 90 km range); a Type 278 height finding set (80–90 km); a Type 901 missile guidance radar (X band, 70 km range), that in the Sea Slug Mk 2 had a continuous wave signal (but it was still a beam riding designation radar); a Type 904 fire control radar (used in the MRS-3 system, X-band, 50 kW, 35 km range) for surface targeting. The missile had four wrap-around booster motors that separated after launch. After separation,

246-603: A frequency of 2,400 Hz." Seaslug was a high-performance weapon in the 1960s, with a single-shot kill probability of 92%, although other sources give lower kill probabilities: 75% for the Mk 1 and 65% for the Mk 2. The first four ships of the County -class (Batch 1) operated the Seaslug Mk 1, while the final four (Batch 2) were fitted with the ADAWS command and control system which enabled them to carry

328-406: A larger number of small ships with 10 to 20 missiles than one larger one, but attempts to design such a ship resulted in one with room for the weapons but not the crew needed to operate them. In May 1955 a wide variety of plans for designs between the two extremes were compared, ranging from 9,850 tons down to 4,550. After continual comparison and revision, these plans finally gelled around what became

410-627: A meeting of the Defence Research Policy Committee (DRPC) and started a process of pushing through four key missile programs that were intended to enter service in 1957, Seaslug, a longer ranged Army/Air Force surface-to-air missile known as Red Heathen , the Blue Boar television guided glide bomb , and the Red Hawk air-to-air missile . In March 1948 a new report from the DRPC noted there

492-444: A minimum of 5,000 yd (4.6 km). Maximum altitude should be 55,000 ft, but 45,000 would be considered acceptable. A later updated pushed the range to 30,000–60,000 yd (27–55 km) against a 600 kn (1,100 km/h), later 650 kn (1,200 km/h), target. It was assumed the targets would "jink" at 1G, so the missile needed to maneuver at 4G at sea level and 2.5G at 40,000 ft. Additional requirements were

574-602: A new solid fuel rocket had been developed at the Summerfield Research Station which provided the desired range. Continual tests took place over the next four years using both the Clausen Rolling Platform at RAE Aberporth and the Girdle Ness . A final series of tests at sea, which culminated in sixteen successful firings, finally cleared the missile for service in 1961. After more than 250 launches,

656-445: A new design emerged that demanded the speed to keep up with a fleet in combat, have guns limited to self-defence, and carrying a single twin-missile launcher. The designs were continually modified in order to find a suitable arrangement. They started as early as 1953 with a mid-sized cruiser of 15,000 long tons (15,000 t) carrying 60 to 90 missiles and a crew of 900. Admiral Ralph Edwards pointed out it would be more useful to have

738-402: A radio proximity fuze and 200 lb (91 kg) blast warhead. The Mark 1 was a beam rider missile, meaning the target had to be continually illuminated by the directing radar, so the system was limited to engaging only the number of targets that there were radars to track and lock on. The Seaslug Mark 2 was based on the aborted Blue Slug programme to develop an anti-ship missile using

820-612: A reduced version of the Comprehensive Display System (CDS), which was fed by a CDS-link receiver called DPD (Digital Picture Transmission or Translation). The final set for the County ships, actually more a cruiser type than a destroyer, was quite complex: a Type 965 radar for early warning (P-band, 450 kW peak power, range over 175 km), in the County Batch 2 the double antenna AKE-2 had two different frequency settings;

902-419: A result of these changes, the program was seen as having two stages, Stage 1 would deliver missiles in the mid-1950s with roughly 20 miles (32 km) range with capability mostly against subsonic targets, and a Stage 2 of the early 1960s would have a greatly extended range on the order of 150 miles (240 km) and able to attack supersonic aircraft. Two test systems emerged from this centralization. The CTV.1

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984-409: A second wave of attacking IAI Dagger fighters. It was unguided because the aircraft was too low to be acquired; the launch was intended to deter the pilot and to remove the exposed missile from the ship because it posed a fire hazard. The first combat use in the surface-to-surface role was during a shore bombardment on 26 May, when HMS  Glamorgan fired Seaslugs at Port Stanley Airport claiming

1066-535: A sub-scale prototype for the larger 24-ft tunnel, but subsequently modified for use as a noise measurement facility. Both Q121 and R133 are now Grade I listed buildings . To the west of the Farnborough site is the 5-metre pressurised low-speed wind tunnel, which was commissioned in the late 1970s. This facility remains in operation by QinetiQ , primarily for the development and testing of aircraft high lift systems. The hero of Nevil Shute 's 1948 novel No Highway

1148-590: A system to allow a missile to keep itself centred within a radar beam, a concept known today as beam riding . The Navy decided to combine the two concepts, using the LRS.1's Type 909 radar with a new missile that differed from Brakemine primarily in requiring longer range and being more robust for shipborne use. In December 1944, GAP put out a Naval Staff Target for a new anti-aircraft weapon, capable of attacking targets at altitudes up to 50,000 ft (15,000 m) and speeds of up to 700 mph (1,100 km/h). This project

1230-553: A very small unboosted warhead with an all-plutonium fissile core tested at Maralinga , which was, in turn, replaced by Gwen — a British version of the US W54 Gnat unboosted warhead of approximate yield 0.5–2 kiloton of TNT-equivalent. The final warhead choice was Tony - a UK version of the W44 Tsetse boosted warhead, but all nuclear options for Seaslug were subsequently abandoned, and no nuclear-armed variant of Seaslug

1312-563: Is (as of 2011) occupied by: The National Aerospace Library (NAL), located in the former Weapon Aerodynamics building (Q134 Building), has a collection of over 2,500 technical reports produced by the RAE. The historic Farnborough factory site houses three major wind tunnels , the 24 ft (7.3 m) low-speed wind tunnel (Q121 Building), constructed during the early 1930s, the No. 2 11 ft 6 in (3.51 m) low-speed wind tunnel (R136 Building) and

1394-584: Is an eccentric " boffin " at Farnborough who predicts metal fatigue in the United Kingdom's new airliner, the fictional "Rutland Reindeer". The Comets failed for just this reason in 1954, although in the case of the Comet I the problem was in the metal structure around the navigation windows, while the point of failure in the Reindeer aircraft was in the structure of the rear empennage/fuselage joints. A film version of

1476-513: The Air Ministry responsible for radar development. Over the next year, first Brakemine and then Stooge were moved to the RAE. In a January 1947 Navy review, the program was given the name Seaslug. This called for a significantly larger weapon than initially envisioned, capable of single-stage vertical launch, a warhead (and guidance) of 200 lb (91 kg) and an all-up weight of 1,800 lb (820 kg). Development continued as before but

1558-620: The County-class destroyer . Test firings of the GAP-based examples, now known as Rocket Test Vehicle 1, or RTV.1, demonstrated beam riding in October 1956. The Navy had set a date of 1957 for a broad modernization of the fleet, so they desired Seaslug to be cleared for service in 1956. To this end, they accepted the use of liquid fuels in spite of the Navy's concerns with these fuels on ships. However, by 1956

1640-411: The F.E.2 (1914) . This last aircraft was the one that went into production and had three main variants, the F.E.2a, F.E.2b, and the F.E.2d. As if this wasn't enough, there is the F.E.2c; this was a generic description rather than a subtype proper, and refers to several one-off conversions of F.E.2b's that experimentally reversed the seating positions of the pilot and the observer. The B.E.1 was basically

1722-744: The Jaguar . Heron later moved to the United States where he worked on the design of the Wright Whirlwind . Other engineers included Major F.M. Green , G.S. Wilkinson, James E. "Jimmy" Ellor, Prof. A.H. Gibson, and A.A. Griffith . Both Ellor and Griffith would later go on to work for Rolls-Royce Limited . In 1918 the Royal Aircraft Factory was once more renamed, becoming the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) to avoid confusion with

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1804-578: The Royal Air Force ( Bloodhound ) and the British Army ( Thunderbird ) were not required. Once the boosters were jettisoned the control surfaces became active. Guidance was by radar beam-riding, the beam to be provided by Type 901 fire-control radar . There were four flight modes: Electrical power when the missile was in flight was provided by a flux switching alternator with a six tooth rotor. "The 1.5 kVA Seaslug generator ran at 24,000 rev/min with

1886-623: The Royal Air Force , which was formed on 1 April 1918, and because it had relinquished its manufacturing role to concentrate on research. During WWII the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment , which had moved from Felixstowe to a safer location at Helensburgh in Scotland, was under the control of the RAE. In 1946 work began to convert RAF Thurleigh into RAE Bedford. Engineers at the Royal Aircraft Establishment invented high strength carbon fibre in 1963. In 1961,

1968-486: The 8 ft × 6 ft (2.4 m × 1.8 m) transonic wind tunnel within R133 Building, which was originally commissioned in the early 1940s as a 10 ft × 7 ft (3.0 m × 2.1 m) high subsonic speed tunnel but converted during the mid-1950s. A smaller 2 ft × 1.5 ft (0.61 m × 0.46 m) transonic tunnel is housed in R133 Building, while R52 Building contains

2050-546: The American Terrier missile was somewhat shorter at 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m), but this required an additional tandem booster which took the overall length to 28 ft 6 in (8.69 m). In 1954, during another review of the Navy's future operations, consideration turned from a "hot war" against the Soviets to a series of "warm wars" in the third world . Among other changes brought about by this review, including

2132-536: The Army Balloon Factory, which was part of the Army School of Ballooning , under the command of Colonel James Templer , relocated from Aldershot to the edge of Farnborough Common in order to have enough space to inflate the new "dirigible balloon" or airship which was then under construction. Templer's place was taken by Colonel John Capper and Templer himself retired in 1908. Besides balloons and airships,

2214-516: The B.E.12 and B.E.12a were indisputable failures. Some of this criticism was prejudiced and ill-informed. Some aviation historians continue to perpetuate the resulting belittling of the important experimental work of the Factory during this period, and the exaggeration of the failings of Factory production types, several of which were described in sensationally derogatory terms. A modern, rather more "pro-factory" point of view, can be found in several of

2296-616: The Chileans would accept a package to upgrade the ships to operate Seadart, but this was not taken up and they were transferred complete with Seaslug. The Chilean ships were later refitted with an extended flight deck in place of the Seaslug launcher. There were two main variants of the Seaslug: The Seaslug Mark 1 was powered by the solid-fuel Foxhound (390 kg fuel) sustainer motor and Gosling (145 kg) booster motors. It had

2378-766: The County-class destroyers were sold to Chile for the Chilean Navy . The system was decommissioned after the rebuild of the four ships purchased by Chile in the early 1990s. County-class destroyer Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.150 via cp1114 cp1114, Varnish XID 444033801 Upstream caches: cp1114 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 06:52:17 GMT Royal Aircraft Establishment The Royal Aircraft Establishment ( RAE )

2460-733: The DRA and other MOD organisations merged to form the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA). The Bedford site was largely shut down in 1994. In 2001 DERA was part-privatised by the MOD, resulting in two separate organisations, the state-owned Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), and the privatised company QinetiQ . The unit used various aircraft such as : Hawker Hunter, English Electric Canberra B.6 WK163 & B.6 WH953, BAC One-Eleven Series 402 XX919, Hawker Siddeley HS.125 XW930, and Douglas Dakota ZA947 . During February 1988

2542-482: The Mediterranean Sea during Allied operations against Italy. These weapons were released outside of anti-aircraft gun range, which meant that naval operations lacking complete air superiority would be open to attack with no effective response from the ships. A solution for long-range anti-aircraft was required. On 16 March 1944 the first meeting of the "Guided Anti-Aircraft Projectile Committee", or GAP Committee,

Seaslug (missile) - Misplaced Pages Continue

2624-595: The Seaslug Mark 1, also known as Guided Weapon System 1, or GWS.1, finally entered service in 1962 on County-class, each fitted with a single twin missile launcher and a complete weapon system with one fire control set and 30 missiles. The Seaslug-armed cruisers were cancelled in 1957. Seaslug needed height, range and bearing information for targets. By 1955 the Royal Navy considered using the Type 984 radar on Seaslug-armed cruisers and destroyers to provide this. During development,

2706-548: The Seaslug Mk 1 was in December 1981 by HMS  London , the final GWS1 (or Batch 1) ship in active service. HMS  Fife was converted to a training ship, and had her Seaslug systems removed, freeing up large spaces for classrooms and was completed in June 1986. Fife and the remaining GWS2 ships were sold to Chile between 1982 and 1987. Initially, the British government had hoped that

2788-471: The Seaslug missile and guidance system. The project was cancelled in favour of the "Green Cheese" missile , a tactical nuclear anti-ship weapon, but other project developments were incorporated into what became the Mark 2. It had improved low altitude performance and a limited anti-ship capability and entered service in 1971. The Mark 2 utilized an improved beam-riding guidance system. and solid-state electronics. It

2870-420: The ability to switch between targets in 6 seconds. The designers ultimately selected a maximum range of 30,000 yards, which included 6,000 yd (5.5 km) of coasting after motor burn-out. This was about 50% better than the contemporary US Terrier design. Hit probability was estimated to be 40% at maximum range, so salvos of three missiles would be fired at once, demanding a three-place launcher. This

2952-410: The cancellation of a future all-gun cruiser class and ending further conversion of WWII-era destroyers to Type 15 frigates , the new environment meant that air cover by carriers could not be guaranteed, and the need for air defence for task-force sized groups became the primary concern. A cut to carrier construction, capping the fleet at four, released funds for missile ship construction. In October 1954,

3034-473: The days as the Army Balloon Factory. These include the airships as well as the Cody and Dunne designs. Subsequent Royal Aircraft Factory type designations are inconsistent and confusing. For instance the " F.E.2 " designation refers to three quite distinct types, with only the same broad layout in common, the F.E.2 (1911), the F.E.2 (1913), and finally the famous wartime two-seat fighter and general-purpose design,

3116-408: The design was further modified and renamed GPV, for General Purpose Test Vehicle. Several liquid rocket motors were tested as part of this program. Early tests demonstrated shifts in the center of gravity that required active damping, which in turn led to the lengthening of the overall fuselage to become the "long round". This version used forward-mounted boosters, which were mounted so their exhaust

3198-463: The designation letters referred to the general layout of the aircraft, derived from a French manufacturer or designer famous for that type: From 1913/4 onwards this was changed to a designation based on the role for which the aircraft was designed: The B.S.1 of 1913 was a one-off anomaly, combining both systems: B lériot (tractor) S cout (fighter). R.T. & T.E. were also used for strictly one-off prototypes. Several aircraft were produced during

3280-445: The designers in the engine department was Samuel Heron , who later went on to invent the sodium-filled poppet valve , instrumental in achieving greater power levels from piston engines. While at the RAF, Heron designed a radial engine that he was not able to build during his time there, however upon leaving the RAF he then went to Siddeley-Deasy where the design, the RAF.8, was developed as

3362-471: The destruction of a number of helicopters and a radar installation. A total of eight Seaslug Mk 2 missiles were launched in theatre by the two ships armed with them, including two missiles jettisoned by Glamorgan after she was hit by a land-launched Exocet missile on 12 June. Also during 1982, the Mk2 was used as a trials target for Seadart, but there were reliability problems with both systems. The last firing of

Seaslug (missile) - Misplaced Pages Continue

3444-514: The development of missiles. Research included wind tunnel testing and other aeronautical research, areas which offered rare opportunities for women in STEM fields at this time with examples including Frances Bradfield who worked at the RAE for her entire career from 1919 to her retirement; Muriel Glauert (née Barker) joined in 1918 as a researcher working in aerodynamics and Beatrice Shilling who went on to invent Miss Shilling's orifice , to improve

3526-399: The diameter defined by the missile's wings, so they did not make it any larger in diameter when stored. If one of the boosters did not fire the thrust would be significantly off-axis, a possibility which was later addressed by moving the boosters forward so their exhaust was near the centre of gravity of the missile, allowing the missile's small control surfaces to remain effective. In contrast,

3608-520: The engine performance of RAF Hurricane and Spitfire fighters during the Battle of Britain as part of wider work at the RAE on aircraft engine problems during World War II . Johanna Weber , a German mathematician who joined the RAE after World War II as part of Operation Surgeon to employ German aeronautical researchers and technicians and bring them to the UK, to prevent their technical knowledge falling into

3690-507: The factory also experimented with Samuel Franklin Cody 's war kites and aeroplanes designed both by Cody and J. W. Dunne . In October 1908 Cody made the first aeroplane flight in the United Kingdom at Farnborough. In 1909 Army work on aeroplanes ceased and the Factory was brought under civilian control. Capper was replaced as Superintendent by Mervyn O'Gorman . In 1912 the Balloon Factory

3772-413: The final system would be about 19 ft (5.8 m) long and a twin-launcher would take up about the same room as a twin 5.25-inch gun turret. An April Staff Target called for the system to be able to engage an aircraft flying at 500 mph (800 km/h) at altitudes up to 40,000 ft (12,000 m) with a maximum weight of 500 lb (230 kg). In 1945 a new Guided Projectiles Establishment

3854-405: The firing. For both Mark 1 and Mark 2 Sea Slug there were drill rounds (painted blue) for the purpose of training and display rounds (painted red) which could be loaded onto the launcher for port visits and public relations. In addition, a nuclear-armed variant was planned using a low-yield fission warhead code-named Winkle . Winkle was never built as it was quickly supplanted by Pixie ,

3936-447: The flameout. The missile was made fully controllable about ten seconds after firing, followed by a radio-beacon while it was centered in the radar beam; and armed the infra-red proximity fuze at about 1 km (1,100 yd) from the target, if 'hot', while if 'cold' the missile was detonated by command sent from the ship. The range could be even more than 35,000 yards, especially at high altitude, with head-on supersonic targets. One of

4018-692: The hands of the Soviet occupying forces in Germany. In 1930 the RAE developed the Robot Air Pilot, an autopilot that used a gyro and flight controls that functioned by compressed air. Aircraft that were developed or tested at the RAE included the Hawker Siddeley Harrier and Concorde . In the late fifties and through the sixties work proceeded at the RAE on several rocket projects – all of which were eventually abandoned The former RAE Farnborough site

4100-456: The last Westland Wessex left after 30 years of trials work. Between 1911 and 1918 the Royal Aircraft Factory produced a number of aircraft designs. Most of these were essentially research aircraft, but a few actually went into mass production, especially during the war period. Some orders were met by the factory itself, but the bulk of production was by private British companies, some of which had not previously built aircraft. Up to about 1913

4182-492: The longest shots recorded was made by HMS Antrim against a target over 58,000 yd (33 mi; 53 km) away, with an impact at 34.500 with about 46 seconds flight time. The missile was capable of reaching potentially even higher altitude and longer range than nominally attested: even after the engine flameout (over 40 seconds after launch), it retained very high speeds and one of them even surpassed 85,000 ft (26,000 m) before self-destructing, about one minute after

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4264-415: The main motor ignited to power the missile to the target. The booster motors were positioned at the side of the missile, but this unusual arrangement with the motor nozzles both angled outwards at 22.5° and 22.5° to the left, the missile entered a gentle roll at launch, evening out differences in the thrusts of the boosters. This meant that large stabilising fins as used on contemporary missiles in service with

4346-638: The more capable Mk 2 version. A proposal to refit the Batch 1 ships with ADAWS was dropped in 1968. During the Falklands War Seaslug was only launched once against an aircraft target, by HMS  Antrim , and without success. On 21 May 1982 in Falkland Sound , the Antrim which had already had an unexploded 1,000 lb bomb pass through the Seaslug magazine, fired a single missile (some sources say two) at one of

4428-500: The previous Mk 1. The boosters gave a total of about 60 tons-force, with 186 kg (410 lb) fuel for each one (145 kg in the Mk 1), accelerating it to over Mach 2. When they separated because the extreme drag made by the rings all around the missile, the solid fuel sustainer Deerhound started to burn its 440 kg (970 lb) of propellant (390 kg for the Mk 1) and gave about 1,820 kg/s (241,000 lb/min) for 38 seconds. The slender missile remained at over Mach 2-2.5 until

4510-458: The projected weight of the radar doubled, to the point where it could still potentially be mounted on cruisers, but was rejected for destroyers because it would have meant sacrificing their 4.5 in gun armament. The gun armament was regarded as essential for the navy's wider role outside the hot war mission. The solution adopted with the first batch of the County-class destroyers was to network them with ships carrying Type 984. The destroyers were given

4592-419: The prototype for the early B.E.2 but the B.E.2c was almost a completely new aeroplane, with very little common with the earlier B.E.2 types apart from engine and fuselage. On the other hand, the B.E.3 to the B.E.7 were all effectively working prototypes for the B.E.8 and were all very similar in design, with progressive minor modifications of the kind that many aircraft undergo during a production run. The B.E.8a

4674-501: The remaining 4 ft × 3 ft (1.22 m × 0.91 m) low turbulence wind tunnel. R52 Building had previously housed two early 10 ft x 7 ft low-speed tunnels in separate bays, which were replaced by the No. 1 11.5' and 4ft x 3ft tunnels respectively. The former remains in operation at the University of Southampton. R52 building also previously contained a 5 ft (1.5 m) open jet low-speed tunnel, originally built as

4756-548: The volumes of War Planes of the First World War , by J.M. Bruce—MacDonald, London, 1965. The Superintendents of the School of Ballooning were James Templer (1878–1906) and John Capper (1906 – 1909). The following have served as Superintendents of the Royal Aircraft Factory / Establishment: After the end of the First World War, the design and development of aircraft types ended – although work continued on general research and

4838-631: The world's first grooved runway for reduced aquaplaning was constructed. In 1965, a US delegation visited to view the new surfacing practice and initiated a study by the FAA and NASA . On 1 May 1988 the RAE was renamed the Royal Aerospace Establishment. On 1 April 1991 the RAE was merged into the Defence Research Agency (DRA), the MOD 's new research organisation. Then, on 1 April 1995

4920-553: The wreck, in some cases, not even the engine. At the time of the " Fokker Scourge " in 1915, there was a press campaign against the standardisation of Royal Aircraft Factory types in the Royal Flying Corps , allegedly in favour of superior designs available from the design departments of private British firms. This slowly gained currency, especially because of the undeniable fact that the B.E.2c and B.E.2e were kept in production and in service long after they were obsolete and that

5002-532: Was a 17 kn (31 km/h) vessel that would provide direct cover over seagoing convoys, while the 12 kn (22 km/h) Coastal Convoy Escort would do the same closer to shore. At that time it was believed that aircraft carriers would be able to provide adequate cover over convoys or fleets in the ocean, so attention turned to the Coastal Convoy Escort. Beginning in May 1953 a Beachy Head-class repair ship

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5084-549: Was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), before finally losing its identity in mergers with other institutions. The British Army Balloon Factory was established on Farnborough Common in the early 1900s. By 1912 it had come under civilian control and was the Royal Aircraft Factory ( RAF ) In 1918 it

5166-424: Was a small unpowered Brakemine-like system devoted to the development of the guidance systems, launched using three RP-3 rocket motors and controlled through the coast phase. A series of CTV designs followed, providing ever-increasing amounts of telemetry for the guidance and control systems work. GAP became a purely research-oriented system, RTV.1 (rocket test vehicle), as opposed to a prototype missile design, and

5248-447: Was at least as different from the B.E.8 as the B.E.7 was. The S.E.4a had nothing in common at all with the S.E.4, while the S.E.5a was simply a late production S.E.5 with a more powerful engine. Several early RAF designs were officially "reconstructions" of existing aircraft because the Factory did not initially have official authority to build aircraft to their own design. In most cases, the type in question used no parts whatever from

5330-495: Was briefly known as LOPGAP, short for "Liquid Oxygen and Petrol Guided Anti-aircraft Projectile", but soon moved from petrol to methanol which made the "LOP" inaccurate. The Fairey Aviation Company was at this time working on a missile project for the Ministry of Supply, Stooge . Stooge was more like an armed drone aircraft than a missile. It was flown to a location in front of the target and then cruised toward it until its warhead

5412-506: Was converted into a prototype escort ship, HMS  Girdle Ness , to test this fitting. For this role, the densest possible storage was required, so the initial design of a single booster rocket at the base end of the missile. This led to a very long design, as was the case for most contemporary designs, this was abandoned in favour of four smaller boosters wrapped around the fuselage, giving shorter overall length of about 20 ft (6.1 m). The boosters were positioned so they lay within

5494-424: Was ever deployed. The County-class destroyers were specifically built to carry Seaslug and its associated control equipment. The magazine was positioned amidships and missiles were assembled in a central gallery forward of the magazine before being passed to the launcher on the quarterdeck. The handling arrangements were designed with a nuclear-war environment in mind and were therefore entirely under cover. Some of

5576-571: Was fired from RAF Aberporth out over Cardigan Bay in Wales. The desire to reclaim the RTVs as well led to the opening of a parallel launch facility at the RAAF Woomera Range Complex and a program that led development of supersonic parachutes. As RTV testing continued, the decision was made to build a larger version, RTV.2, which would be more typical of a production missile. During early testing,

5658-412: Was held. The Admiralty Signals Establishment (ASE), in charge of the Navy's radar development, was working on new radars featuring radar lock-on that allowed them to accurately track aircraft at long range. This was part of the LRS.1 fire-control system that allowed large dual-purpose guns to attack bombers at long range. A contemporary British Army project at Cossors, Brakemine , was working on

5740-571: Was just in front of the mid-mounted wings. As experimental work progressed, the Ministry of Supply began forming an industry team to build production systems. In 1949 this gave rise to the 'Project 502' group from industry, with Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft and Sperry in March and GEC in September. The 29 July 1949 update of the Staff Target called for a maximum range of 30,000 yd (27 km) and

5822-399: Was later reduced back to a twin-launcher when it was realized accessing the missile in the middle launcher would make maintenance difficult. When the deployment of the Seaslug was first being considered, three classes of custom missile-firing ships were considered. The Task Force Ship would be capable of 30 kn (56 km/h) and would tasked with fleet air defence. The Ocean Convoy Escort

5904-487: Was not enough manpower for all four projects, and put Seaslug at the bottom of the priority list, claiming air attack would be less likely than submarine in the event of war. They suggested the much longer ranged Red Heathen was more important in the short term. The Admiralty was of another opinion on the matter and argued against the change in priority. The Navy found an unlikely ally in the Army, who were concerned that Red Heathen

5986-512: Was planned that Seaslug's medium-range role was to be supplanted by a very long-range missile known as Blue Envoy , but this was passed over in favour of a new medium-range system, Sea Dart . Sea Dart entered service in 1973 on the Type 82 destroyers and replaced Seaslug during the 1980s as the County-class destroyers were removed from service. In 1943, the German Luftwaffe began the use of anti-shipping missiles and guided bombs in

6068-492: Was powered by the Deerhound sustainer motor, with Retriever boosters. Control was by a modified Type 901M radar and it had an improved infra-red proximity fuze and a continuous-rod warhead with a smaller, 56 lb (25 kg), explosive charge (RDX-TNT) and an unfold diameter of about 70 feet (10 mm steel rods were used) The capabilities of the new Sea Slug Mk 2, an almost 2.5 ton missile, were much improved compared to

6150-573: Was renamed Royal Aircraft Establishment to prevent confusion with the newly created Royal Air Force. The first site was at Farnborough Airfield ("RAE Farnborough") in Hampshire to which was added a second site RAE Bedford ( Bedfordshire ) in 1946. On 1 May 1988 it was renamed the Royal Aerospace Establishment ( RAE ) before merging with other research entities to become part of the new Defence Research Agency in 1991. In 1904–1906

6232-566: Was renamed the Royal Aircraft Factory (RAF). Its first new designer was Geoffrey de Havilland who later founded his own company. Later colleagues included John Kenworthy who became chief engineer and designer at the Austin Motor Company in 1918 and who went on to found the Redwing Aircraft Co in 1930 and Henry Folland – later chief designer at Gloster Aircraft Company , and founder of his own company Folland Aircraft . One of

6314-677: Was set up under the Controller of Supplies (Air) and in 1946 development of all ongoing missile projects moved to the Royal Aircraft Establishment 's (RAE) new Controlled Weapons Department, soon to become the Guided Weapons Department. They began considering the beam riding concept in partnership with the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE), the deliberately oddly-named department of

6396-502: Was significantly hampered by the post-war exodus of engineering talent. Shortly after the new definition was produced, this project also moved to the RAE. Efforts by the Navy to change the name from Seaslug to the more ominous-sounding "Triumph" failed. Development slowed, and in July 1947 the Admiralty approached Henry Tizard to argue for a more "virile leadership" of the program. Tizard called

6478-452: Was slowed by the Air Ministry who were opposed to the project as it might take resources away from jet fighter production and a lack of urgency on the part of both the Admiralty and Ministry of Supply . A March 1945 report called for the first test launches of LOPGAP from converted QF 3.7-inch air-aircraft gun mounts within two months. The same mounts had also been used, with different modifications, for Stooge and Brakemine. They predicted

6560-441: Was too difficult to move to in a single step and suggested that Seaslug might be the basis for a more immediate medium-range weapon that could be used both on land and sea. The DPRC also began to have concerns about accurately guiding Red Heathen at its desired 100,000 yd (91 km) maximum range. In September 1948 they agreed to develop Seaslug "as a matter of insurance", before further upgrading it in 1949 to "top priority". As

6642-409: Was triggered by the operator. It was designed primarily to defeat kamikaze attacks at short range. Its low speed and manual guidance meant it was not useful for interceptions outside the immediate area of the ship, and thus did not meet the need for a longer-ranged missile capable of dealing with stand-off weapons. Accordingly, Fairey was ordered to stop work on Stooge in favour of LOPGAP. Development

6724-579: Was used primarily as a platform for testing the rocket motors. The GAP/RTV.1 efforts would be directed at the Stage 1 design, which would essentially be the Seaslug requirement. The relatively small CTV could safely be launched at the Larkhill Range, part of the Royal School of Artillery . It was equipped with a parachute that allowed it to be recovered. This was not possible for the much longer-ranged RTV, which

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