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90-521: Britain's first naval surface-to-air missile was GWS1 Seaslug , which entered service in 1963. This used beam riding guidance which offered limited accuracy and was useful only against slower targets. The need for a higher performance system was seen even as it entered service. Bristol Aerospace , which had recently introduced the ramjet -powered Bloodhound missile for the RAF, won the ensuing competition with another ramjet design. Compared to Seaslug, Sea Dart

180-449: A ramjet with a small rocket booster launching it up to speed, and an adaptation of the Army's Sightline project, which would later emerge as Rapier . CF.299 was ultimately chosen. A 1966 report estimated that CF.299 would have a two-shot kill probability (Pk) against an AS-2 Kipper missile of 0.8–0.9, whereas Seaslug II would manage only 0.35–0.55. Against a supersonic "Blinder" bomber, Pk

270-404: 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 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

360-731: A Sea Dart missile at an aircraft believed to be an Argentine C-130 Hercules. The missile destroyed the aircraft, which was in fact a British Army helicopter . All four occupants were killed in this "friendly-fire" incident. Finally, on 13 June 1982, an English Electric Canberra flying at 12,000 metres (39,000 ft) en route to bomb British troops near Port Harriet House was destroyed by a Sea Dart fired from Cardiff . In total at least eighteen missiles were launched by Type 42 destroyers, six by Invincible, and two by Bristol . Out of five missiles fired against helicopters or high flying aircraft, four were successful, but only two of nineteen fired at low level aircraft hit: just eleven per cent; however

450-620: 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,

540-491: A background landform or high waves, significantly limiting its capabilities against low-flying strike aircraft. Sea Dart entered service in 1973 on the sole Type 82 destroyer HMS  Bristol before widespread deployment on the Type 42 destroyer commencing with HMS  Sheffield in 1976. The missile system was also fitted to Invincible -class aircraft carriers but was removed during refits between 1998 and 2000 to increase

630-605: 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

720-559: A high-flying aircraft beyond the missile's stated technical envelope and low-flying attack aircraft. The net effect of Sea Dart was to deny the higher altitudes to enemy aircraft. This was important because Argentine aircraft such as the Dassault Mirage III had better straight line performance than the British Aerospace Sea Harriers , which were unlikely to successfully intercept them. The first Sea Dart engagement

810-407: 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

900-503: A matter of insurance", before further upgrading it in 1949 to "top priority". As 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

990-594: A maximum weight of 500 lb (230 kg). In 1945 a new Guided Projectiles Establishment 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

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1080-444: 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

1170-604: 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,

1260-446: 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

1350-480: A number of missiles were fired without guidance to deter low level attacks. Exeter ' s success can be partially attributed to being equipped with the Type 1022 radar, which was designed for the system and provided greater capability than the old Type 965 fitted to the earlier Type 42s. The Type 965 was unable to cope with low level targets as it suffered multiple path crossings and targets became lost in radar clutter from

1440-402: 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

1530-614: 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;

1620-410: 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

1710-737: A suitable radar. The need for such a radar had been raised as a staff requirement in May 1950. In 1955, four radars were considered: A potential route for the Royal Navy to get the SPS-6C was the Mutual Defense Assistance program (MDAP), but by 1954-5 the programme was running down. In addition, it was thought that getting spares for the SPS-6C radar could be a problem, because the United States Navy considered it obsolescent. The Marconi design

1800-810: 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 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

1890-553: 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

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1980-578: 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 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

2070-418: Is capable of engaging targets out to at least 30 nautical miles (35 mi; 56 km) over a wide range of altitudes. It has a secondary capability against small surface vessels, tested against a Brave-class patrol boat , although in surface mode the warhead safety arming unit does not arm, and thus damage inflicted is restricted to the physical impact of the half-ton missile body and the unspent proportion of

2160-529: Is from a twin-arm trainable launcher that is loaded automatically from below decks. The original launcher seen on HMS Bristol was significantly larger than that which appeared on Type 42 and Invincible classes. Initial difficulties with launcher reliability were resolved. Sea Dart was used during the Falklands War (1982) and is credited with seven confirmed kills (plus one British Westland Gazelle helicopter downed by friendly fire ). Kills were made against

2250-419: Is launched using a drop-off Chow solid-fuel booster that accelerates it to the supersonic speed necessary for the operation of the cruise motor, a Rolls-Royce /Bristol Siddeley kerosene -fuelled Odin ramjet . This gives a cruise speed of over Mach 2.5, and unlike many rocket-powered designs, the cruise engine burns for the entire flight, giving excellent terminal manoeuvrability at extreme range. It

2340-477: Is much more capable in the anti-air role. The first-of-class, Daring, entered service in 2009. On 13 April 2012 HMS  Edinburgh fired the last operational Sea Dart missiles. The last two remaining Type 42s, York and Edinburgh completed their careers without the system being operational. A launcher with drill missiles has been preserved and is on display at Explosion! Museum of Naval Firepower , Gosport, Hampshire. Seaslug (missile) Seaslug

2430-520: 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

2520-523: The Red Hawk air-to-air missile . In March 1948 a new report from the DRPC noted there 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

2610-578: 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

2700-472: The Royal Navy had been looking for a general-purpose weapon to arm small ships. After the experience with German glide bombs during the war, the primary concern was the development of a medium-range surface-to-air missile able to shoot down the carrier bombers before they could approach the ships within the range of their glide bombs. As this weapon would take up room normally assigned to a dual-purpose gun ,

2790-553: The Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE), the deliberately oddly-named department of 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,

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2880-517: The 46 litres (10 imp gal; 12 US gal) of kerosene fuel. Guidance is by proportional navigation and a semi-active radar homing system using the nose intake cone and four aerials around the intake as an interferometer aerial, with targets being identified by a Type 1022 surveillance radar (originally radar Type 965) and illuminated by one of a pair of radar Type 909. This allows two targets to be engaged simultaneously in initial versions, with later variants able to engage more. Firing

2970-600: The Admiralty approached Henry Tizard to argue for a more "virile leadership" of the program. Tizard called 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

3060-547: 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

3150-619: 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

3240-530: 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. Type 965 radar The Type 965 radar was VHF ( P band ) long-range aircraft warning radar used by warships of the Royal Navy from the 1960s onwards. The Type 965M , Type 965P , Type 965Q and Type 965R were improved versions;

3330-575: 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 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

3420-655: The Sea Eagle SL, the proposed ship-launched version of Sea Eagle . Guardian was a proposed land-based system of radars, control stations and the Lightweight Sea Dart proposed in the 1980s for use as a land-based air defence system for the Falkland Islands. Neither system was put into production. The Sea Dart-equipped Type 42s were replaced by the larger Type 45 which are armed with the Sea Viper missile system which

3510-550: 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,

3600-550: 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

3690-471: 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

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3780-410: The Type 960, 965M and 965Q used the single bedstead AKE(1) aerial, whilst the Type 965P and 965R used the double bedstead AKE(2) aerial. The 965 is ultimately designed to a May 1950 requirement for a further updated version of the 1945 Type 960 . The 960 provided long-range early warning on small ships, but had a very wide beam at 35° horizontal. In 1954 the idea of a general-purpose frigate with

3870-542: The US RIM-24 Tartar surface-to-air missiles, but the Dutch Navy remained interested in the British design. They envisioned it being used with a new dedicated air-defence ship, controlled by a significantly more powerful radar which the British referred to as the Type 988 "Broomstick". This was a 3D radar with multiple antennas that provided both fast continual scanning as well as multiple independent targeting radars. Both

3960-429: The ability to provide some fighter direction arose, which required a radar with a much narrower beam. Marconi responded with the 965, reducing the beam to 12°. Based on WWII technology, the 965 was subject to considerable radar clutter from waves. The Type 965Q and 965R were improvements on the 965M and 965P respectively, adding a COHO -based moving target indication (MTI) mode to suppress clutter. Designed before

4050-422: 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

4140-523: The area of the flight deck and below-decks stowage associated with the operation of Royal Air Force Harrier GR9 aircraft. In 1982, British Aerospace won a £100m contract to sell the Sea Dart system to China , but this fell through in 1983, with Chinese minister Chen Muhua explaining that China was "not satisfied with the price, technology or production". Sea Dart is a two-stage, 4.4-metre (14 ft) long missile weighing 550 kilograms (1,210 lb). It

4230-552: The bomb had insufficient time to complete the number of revolutions required to arm the fuze . In February 1991 during the Persian Gulf War the battleship USS  Missouri was operating in the Persian Gulf . Her battlegroup included a number of escorts, including the Type 42 destroyer HMS  Gloucester . On 24 February, Missouri was fired on by a pair of Silkworm anti-ship missiles. Although one missed completely,

4320-410: 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,

4410-467: The change in priority. The Navy found an unlikely ally in the Army, who were concerned that Red Heathen 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

4500-468: The contacts. The Type 965 radars used radio frequencies that were used by television stations, and therefore caused interference with television (and vice versa) if used near land in Europe. Type 965 was superseded by the Type 1022 radar , which did not have this disadvantage. During 1954-55, reports on most fleet exercises showed that there was an urgent need for radar picket ships . These would require

4590-408: 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

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4680-473: 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

4770-399: 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,

4860-406: 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 ,

4950-530: 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 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

5040-447: 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

5130-467: 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 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

5220-431: The introduction of Doppler filtering , it was not able to detect low-level targets against a background, either landforms or high waves. The lack of a true MTI proved to be a serious problem during the 1982 Falklands War , which ultimately led to the loss of HMS  Coventry where Argentine aircraft could not be seen against the background of the islands. Similarly, the Type 965 could not detect aircraft flying low;

5310-413: The last Exocet air attacks against the British fleet, HMS  Exeter shot down two Skyhawks (out of four), despite their flying only 10–15 metres (33–49 ft) above the sea (theoretically below Sea Dart's minimum engagement altitude of 30 metres (98 ft)). On 6 June Exeter shot down a Learjet 35A being used for reconnaissance at 12,000 metres (39,000 ft). On 6 June 1982, Cardiff fired

5400-493: 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

5490-415: 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

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5580-640: 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

5670-560: The other was engaged and destroyed by a Sea Dart fired by HMS Gloucester after it had flown over the target, while another of the battleship's escorts, the frigate USS  Jarrett , attempted to engage with its Phalanx CIWS , but succeeded only in firing at the chaff launched by Missouri . The Sea Dart was upgraded over the years - notably its electronics - as technology advanced. The following modification standards have been fielded: The Sea Dart Mark 2, GWS 31, (also known as Sea Dart II - not to be confused with Mod 2, above) development

5760-500: 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

5850-458: 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

5940-571: The radar and missiles would be controlled by a new combat direction system being developed by both navies. Ultimately, the Dutch also chose Tartar for their missile component, leaving the Royal Navy as the Sea Dart's only initial user. The Navy dropped their interest in Broomstick and continued development using simpler radars like the Type 965 radar that was already in service. This had the significant disadvantage of not being able to pick out targets against

6030-404: 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, 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

6120-533: The surface of the South Atlantic. This resulted in Sea Dart being unable to lock onto targets at distance obscured by land, or fast-moving low-level targets obscured in ground clutter or sea-returns. The Argentine Navy was well aware of the Sea Dart's capabilities and limitations, having two Type 42s of its own. Consequently, Argentine planes, opting to fly below the Type 965 radar ("sea skimming"), frequently dropped bombs which failed to explode. The arming vane on

6210-457: The two Argentine Navy Super Étendards that caused the loss of HMS  Sheffield were not detected by Type 965R radar when they were flying at 98 feet (30 m), but were shown as contacts by HMS  Glasgow 's Type 965R radar when they popped up to 120 feet (37 m) above sea-level at 45 nautical miles (83 km), though it was the UAA1 radar warning receiver that drew attention to

6300-525: The weapon also needed a secondary anti-ship capability. The secondary anti-ship role was later reduced in importance. Early experiments during the 1950s led to the development of the Seaslug system. Seaslug was useful against first-generation strike aircraft but had limited performance against faster aircraft or anti-ship missiles . Seaslug was also too large to be carried by a frigate -sized ship, leaving smaller ships with little air defence. Some consideration

6390-494: Was 0.5–0.8, compared to 0.3–0.5 for Seaslug. Additionally, because it flew faster than Seaslug, the total engagement time was shorter, and this meant the battery could salvo more rapidly. Finally, its ability to lead the target , compared to Seaslug's beam riding pursuit course , allowed it to attack targets with much higher crossing speeds. A 1968 study suggested Sea Dart would have the same capability as eight F-4 Phantoms on patrol. By this time, many European navies had chosen

6480-486: 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

6570-519: Was a first-generation surface-to-air missile designed by Armstrong Whitworth (later part of the Hawker Siddeley group) for use by the Royal Navy . Tracing its history as far back as 1943's LOPGAP design, it came into operational service in 1961 and was still in use at the time of the Falklands War in 1982. Seaslug was intended to engage high-flying targets such as reconnaissance aircraft or bombers before they could launch stand-off weapons. It

6660-425: 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

6750-410: Was a very costly, ongoing program. There was some concern that development of a new system should not commence before Seaslug was in service. A review by the Defence Research Policy Committee agreed with the Navy that the new design represented an entirely new class of weapon and that development should be undertaken immediately. Two systems were considered for the role, Bristol's CF.299 design using

6840-475: Was against an Aérospatiale Puma , on 9 May 1982 near Stanley by HMS  Coventry , with the loss of the three men aboard. On 25 May 1982 an Douglas A-4C Skyhawk of Grupo 5 was shot down north of Pebble Island , again by Coventry . The pilot, Capitán Hugo Angel del Valle Palaver, was killed. Later, Coventry shot down another Skyhawk of Grupo 4 while it was returning from a mission to San Carlos Water . Capitán Jorge Osvaldo García successfully ejected but

6930-476: 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 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

7020-505: Was cancelled in 1981. This was intended to allow 'off the rail' manoeuvres with additional controls added to the booster. The Mark 2 was reduced to Advanced Sea Dart, then Enhanced Sea Dart and finally Improved Sea Dart. Lightweight Sea Dart was a version with minimal changes to the missile itself, but based in a new sealed box-launcher. A four-box trainable launcher was developed that allowed it to be mounted to ships as small as 300 tons displacement. The same box and launcher could also support

7110-539: Was chosen and was named Type 965. The Type 965M was introduced in about 1960, and used the original AKE(1) aerial with an improved receiver and feeder. A common aerial was used for transmitting and receiving. This was the single bedstead AKE(1) in the Type 965M, and the double bedstead AKE(2) in the Type 965P. The 965M and 965P were integrated with IFF Mk 10. The radar displayed both to an "office display unit" (monitor unit design 44), and up to six remote plan position indicator (PPI) displays . The receiver of

7200-507: 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

7290-424: 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

7380-422: Was faster, had much greater range, and its semi-active radar homing guidance was much more accurate and allowed attacks against supersonic targets. The system had nine confirmed successful engagements in combat, including six aircraft, a helicopter and two anti-ship missiles . An additional helicopter was shot down in a ' friendly fire ' incident during the Falklands War . From the immediate post-WWII era,

7470-572: 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,

7560-681: Was given to a high-performance gun system for these ships, the DACR (direct-action, close-range), but calculations showed it would be useless against future anti-ship missiles that would manoeuvre on the approach. In October 1960, the Navy launched the Small Ship Integrated Guided Weapon project to fill this need, SIGS for short. This called for a weapon small enough to be carried on a 3,000 ton frigate and able to attack bombers, anti-shipping missiles, and other ships up to frigate size. Seaslug had taken much longer to develop than expected and

7650-573: 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

7740-400: 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

7830-510: Was not recovered. The next Argentine action that day sank Coventry . An unguided Sea Dart was launched in an effort to disrupt the attack but missed, and the destroyer was struck by two iron bombs and sank. The same day a Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard strike fighter sought to attack the British carrier group with Exocet missiles, but instead struck the cargo ship MV  Atlantic Conveyor . Invincible fired six Sea Darts in less than two minutes, but all missed. On 30 May 1982, during

7920-470: 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 was planned that Seaslug's medium-range role was to be supplanted by

8010-492: 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

8100-581: 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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