523:. This adopted the PbTe seeker of Mk.2, further improved by cooling it to improve its sensitivity in what became known as the "Violet Banner" seeker. The motor was further upgraded to the new Magpie III. To handle the aerodynamic heating issues, the fins were made of steel rather than aluminum, and featured cut-away sections to keep the rear portions of the surfaces out of the Mach cones, a feature they referred to as "mach tips". Work on Mk.4 was curtailed after 1956 as the RAE decided that the closing speeds of two Mach 2+ aircraft would be so rapid that the missile would have no chance to be launched while still within the range of its seeker.
378:
the fuselage, leaving little room for a warhead. This led to the warhead being moved to the rear of the fuselage where it was wrapped around the rocket nozzle. That left no room for the actuators for the rear-mounted control fins, which were instead operated by nose-mounted actuators via long pushrods. The actuators were powered by compressed air from bottles at the extreme rear, fed forward through long pipes. The air bottles also powered a turbo-alternator for electrical power after launch. In the case of a miss, the missile self-destructed when the alternator slowed down after the air ran out.
31:
620:
303:, both of which entered service the previous year. In comparison to those designs, the Firestreak was larger and almost twice as heavy, carrying a much larger warhead. It had otherwise similar performance in terms of speed and range. It was also a very complex system, with an unusual internal design, requiring the launch aircraft to provide both cooling for its tube-based electronics and heating to prevent various moving parts from freezing prior to launch.
688:
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eliminated the need for cooling the electronics, as well as making the guidance section significantly smaller. This allowed the warhead to be moved from its former position near the tail to the midsection, which also allowed it to grow in size and weight, replacing the former blast-fragmentation type
377:
Blue Jay developed as a fairly conventional-looking missile with cropped delta wings mounted just aft of the midpoint and small rectangular control surfaces in tandem towards the rear. Internally, things were considerably more complex. The tube-based electronics took up most of the forward quarter of
428:
pumped through the missile from bottles in the rear of the launching "shoe". The bottles contained enough ammonia for 15 minutes, so the missile could only be started up during the approach. An air bottle in the fuselage-mounted weapon pack kept the ammonia bottles pressurized before launch. Hot air
586:
that was significantly deadlier. The rear section of the missile was now left empty, allowing the fin actuators to be moved there, removing the complex routing. This still left more room that was used up by replacing the Magpie III with the new Linnet, which offered significantly higher performance
412:
for the warhead. The prodigious 19.3 pounds (8.8 kg) warhead had a 40 feet (12 m) lethal radius and was triggered either by the proximity fuzes or four contact fuses set on the front of the wings. The outer casing of the warhead was designed to fragment into 0.25-ounce (7.1 g) pieces
363:
had progressed to the point of reconsidering the Red Hawk requirement. This too turned out to be too demanding for the seekers of the era, although a more limited tail-aspect design was clearly possible in the short term. This led to another lower-performance specification that was released in 1951
569:
was allowed to continue largely because development was almost complete. This left it with no modern weapon, so Blue Vesta was reactivated in a slightly modified form. In
November 1957, paperwork with the Blue Vesta name on it was considered disclosed and the project was assigned the new name "Red
602:
Never given its own name by the RAF, the new design entered service in 1964 as Red Top. It was faster and had a longer range than
Firestreak, and "was capable of all aspect homing against super-sonic targets." Despite Red Top being intended to replace Firestreak, Firestreak remained in limited
483:
rocket motor or the ammonia coolant) and RAF armourers had to wear some form of CRBN protection to safely mount the missile onto an aircraft. "Unlike modern missiles, ... Firestreak could only be fired outside cloud, and in winter, skies were rarely clear over the UK."
546:
holding the radar receiver antenna. Problems fitting the illuminator antenna to the Sea Vixen ended work on this project. In
November 1957 it was briefly restarted under the name Blue Dolphin as other radar-guided developments ended, but this was never deployed.
429:
from the engine compressor stages connected to the rear of the launch pack and was routed to the missiles. During flight, this kept various moving components warm, warm enough that they would not freeze up during the 13 second flight time.
603:
service until the final retirement of the
Lightning in 1988; carrying Red Top required more vertical tail to stabilize the effects of the missile's larger wings, so Firestreak remained in use on older models of the Lightning.
590:
Given the elimination of the ammonia cooling, which was also used by the Violet Banner seeker of the Mk.4, the decision was made to use a simplified seeker that did not require cooling to the same level. This led to a new
381:
The Magpie rocket motor took up only a small portion of the missile fuselage, placed between the actuators and the warhead, roughly centred under the mid-mounted wings. It consisted of 61 pounds (28 kg) of
479:
AI.18 in the Sea Vixen) until lock was achieved and the weapon was launched, leaving the interceptor free to acquire another target. A downside was that the missile was highly toxic (due to either the
465:
entered service in 1957 with the RAF, where it was named
Firestreak. Firestreak was deployed by the Royal Navy and the RAF in August 1958; it was the first effective British air-to-air missile.
1368:
401:. The unusual faceted nose was chosen when a more conventional hemispherical nose proved prone to ice accretion. The seeker was cooled by running filtered air through an ammonia-cooled
500:
had an increased wingspan and reduced performance motor. The derated motor was intended to limit acceleration when launched from supersonic rocket-powered interceptors such as the
310:
project but ended when that project was canceled in 1957. Development restarted as a somewhat simpler version for the
Lightning which was given the name "Red Top". This featured
1378:
1373:
599:. This reduced its sensitivity compared to Violet Banner, lacking its true all-aspect ability, but further simplified the design and eliminated ground handling concerns.
542:'s AI.18 radar with a special continual wave illuminator mode. This was otherwise identical to Mk.4, differing only by replacing its seeker section with a longer
515:
interceptors, in 1955 the Air
Ministry issued OR.1131 for an all-aspect design capability against enemy aircraft traveling at Mach 2. De Havilland responded with
318:. Red Top could not be carried on early versions of the Lightning, and so Firestreak remained in service until 1988, when the last RAF Lightnings retired.
508:, where the additional speed imparted by the Magpie II would have given it a maximum speed so high it would suffer from adverse aerodynamic heating.
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and boosted the typical top speed of the missile from Mach 2.4 to 3.2 whilst almost doubling effective range to 7.5 miles (12.1 km).
880:
850:
335:, which called for an all-aspect seeker that could attack a target from any launch position. When this proved too ambitious for the
386:
that burned for 1.9 seconds, exiting the rear of the missile via a long tailpipe running through the rear section of the missile.
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electronics and greatly simplified internal design. Keeping its code name, it entered service on
Lightning and Sea Vixen as the
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A Firestreak on its trolley. The fuse windows are visible adjacent to the red rubber bands used to protect them.
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260:) in the early 1950s, entering service in 1957. It was the first such weapon to enter active service with the
420:, generated significant heat. For this reason, the Firestreak missile undergoing a ground test was cooled by
408:
There were two rows of triangular windows in bands around the forward fuselage, behind which sat the optical
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253:
91:
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included the more powerful Magpie II motor and a PbTe seeker which offered better detection capabilities.
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595:(InSb) design that was cooled with purified air at 3,000 psi (21 MPa) filtered to 3
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936:
Hot Skies Over Yemen, Volume 1: Aerial
Warfare Over the South Arabian Peninsula, 1962-1994
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261:
257:
245:
295:"Blue Jay", Firestreak was the third heat-seeking missile to enter service, after the US
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led to the cancellation of the F.155 and many other aircraft and missile projects, the
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409:
402:
390:
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527:
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Gibson, Chris (2023). "Firestreak!: Britain's First
Frontlinee Air-to-Air Missile".
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pursuit weapon, with a field of attack of 20 degrees either side of the target.
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705:
574:
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In contrast to the Mk.4 there were several important changes. The adoption of
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991:
397:"pencil" nose and was cooled to â180 °C (â292.0 °F) to improve the
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344:
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339:, another specification lacking the all-aspect requirement was released as
468:
For launch, the missile seeker was slaved to the launch aircraft's radar (
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Firestreak was the result of a series of projects begun with the OR.1056
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1004:(Technical report). British Aircraft Corporation. December 1983.
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The first airborne launch of Blue Jay took place in 1954 from a
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An improved version, "Blue Vesta", was developed as part of the
1029:
905:
903:
901:
492:
Two minor Blue Jay variants were studied but not adopted. The
938:. Solihull, UK: Helion & Company Publishing. p. 29.
1020:
393:(PbTe) IR seeker was mounted under an eight-faceted conical
186:
965:
British Secret Projects: Hypersonics, Ramjets and Missiles
441:
Lightning T4 trainer with a dummy Firestreak missile
842:
Air Warfare: an International Encyclopedia, Volume 1
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791:
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1274:
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359:(RAE), in charge of missile development, felt that
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1369:Cold War air-to-air missiles of the United Kingdom
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530:took over development of the Blue Jay line with
519:, which was later given its own rainbow code,
1041:
921:
909:
892:
8:
1001:BAC 53-(SA)-6 - Lightning F.53 Pilot's Notes
728:More widely known today as a cropped delta.
538:(SARH) system intended to be used with the
1379:Military equipment introduced in the 1950s
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1034:
1026:
835:
833:
831:
829:
827:
18:
1374:Air-to-air missiles of the United Kingdom
746:
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511:Looking for an improved weapon for the
244:is a British first-generation, passive
967:. Midland Publishing. pp. 33â35.
963:Gibson, Chris; Buttler, Tony (2007).
615:Map with Firestreak operators in blue
7:
70:United Kingdom, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
818:
806:
782:
765:
413:fired forward in a 50 degree cone.
343:, which briefly entered service as
114:3.19 metres (10 ft 6 in)
14:
1021:The Jet Age Museum - exhibits one
534:, replacing the IR seeker with a
686:
664:
642:
631:Firestreak at RAF Museum Cosford
577:circuits in place of the former
29:
1:
513:Operational Requirement F.155
308:Operational Requirement F.155
357:Royal Aircraft Establishment
347:the year before Firestreak.
1016:The de Havilland Firestreak
416:The electronics, made from
140:annular blast fragmentation
1410:
873:The Last of the Lightnings
845:, pub ABC-CLIO Inc, 2002,
567:English Electric Lightning
554:
364:as OR.1117, and given the
270:English Electric Lightning
138:22.7 kg (50 lb)
122:0.223 m (8.8 in)
1345:
1212:(Sea Ceptor, Land Ceptor)
922:Gibson & Buttler 2007
910:Gibson & Buttler 2007
893:Gibson & Buttler 2007
561:After the fallout of the
157:
106:136 kg (300 lb)
46:Place of origin
28:
563:1957 Defence White Paper
536:semi-active radar homing
130:0.75 m (30 in)
1384:Fire-and-forget weapons
316:Hawker Siddeley Red Top
254:de Havilland Propellers
242:de Havilland Firestreak
153:Infrared proximity fuze
92:de Havilland Propellers
1351: Anglo-Australian
984:The Aviation Historian
632:
624:
616:
540:De Havilland Sea Vixen
446:
274:de Havilland Sea Vixen
252:. It was developed by
237:
1059:of the United Kingdom
679:Royal Saudi Air Force
630:
622:
614:
475:in the Lightning and
440:
399:signal-to-noise ratio
236:
181:4 miles (6.4 km)
934:Cooper, Tom (2017).
584:expanding-rod system
526:In August 1956, the
291:Developed under the
203:Rear-aspect infrared
502:Saunders-Roe SR.177
461:- being destroyed.
424:, and in-flight by
395:arsenic trisulphide
227:fixed-wing aircraft
1349:
1347: Anglo-French
1276:Surface-to-surface
862:Gibson 2007, p. 35
797:Gibson 2007, p. 34
756:Gibson 2007, p. 33
633:
625:
617:
451:de Havilland Venom
447:
366:Ministry of Supply
250:air-to-air missile
238:
75:Production history
41:Air-to-air missile
16:Air-to-air missile
1356:
1355:
974:978-1-85780-258-0
945:978-1-912174-23-2
875:, pub PSL, 1996,
840:Boyne, Walter J,
593:indium antimonide
579:thermionic valves
557:Red Top (missile)
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657:Kuwait Air Force
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369:rainbow codename
361:infrared seeking
337:state of the art
333:Red Hawk missile
301:AIM-9 Sidewinder
268:, equipping the
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169:solid fuel motor
33:
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821:, pp. 8â9.
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410:proximity fuzes
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286:fire and forget
278:Gloster Javelin
262:Royal Air Force
258:Hawker Siddeley
248:(heat seeking)
246:infrared homing
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215:Control surface
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59:In service
54:Service history
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86:
82:
78:
73:
69:
65:
61:
57:
52:
48:
44:
40:
36:
32:
27:
20:
1394:Rainbow code
1389:De Havilland
1337:Green Cheese
1167:Storm Shadow
1083:
1000:
983:
964:
957:Bibliography
935:
929:
917:
888:
872:
871:Black, Ian,
867:
858:
841:
814:
802:
785:, p. 8.
768:, p. 7.
761:
724:
672:Saudi Arabia
601:
589:
572:
560:
531:
525:
520:
516:
510:
497:
493:
491:
488:Improvements
480:
467:
462:
455:target drone
448:
418:vacuum tubes
415:
407:
388:
380:
376:
371:
355:In 1951 the
354:
340:
330:
305:
297:AIM-4 Falcon
293:rainbow code
290:
241:
239:
166:
88:Manufacturer
67:Used by
1327:Blue Streak
1266:Thunderbird
443:drill round
322:Development
282:rear-aspect
280:. It was a
175:Operational
23:Firestreak
1363:Categories
1332:Blue Water
1322:Blue Steel
1256:Starstreak
1200:Bloodhound
1084:Firestreak
1066:Air-to-air
736:References
706:Royal Navy
521:Blue Vesta
264:(RAF) and
147:Detonation
1284:Swingfire
1251:Starburst
1241:Sea Viper
1172:Sea Venom
1157:Sea Eagle
1142:Brimstone
1137:Blue Boar
1079:Fireflash
992:2051-1930
741:Citations
607:Operators
345:Fireflash
149:mechanism
62:1957â1988
1299:Vigilant
1261:Tigercat
1246:Sea Wolf
1231:Sea Dart
1205:Blowpipe
1162:Sea Skua
1114:Skyflash
1099:Red Hebe
1094:Red Dean
819:BAC 1983
807:BAC 1983
783:BAC 1983
766:BAC 1983
582:with an
506:Avro 720
470:Ferranti
372:Blue Jay
351:Blue Jay
341:Blue Sky
327:Red Hawk
223:platform
209:Steering
197:Guidance
127:Wingspan
119:Diameter
80:Designed
1314:Nuclear
1294:UB.109T
1289:Malkara
1236:Seaslug
1216:Javelin
1177:SPEAR 3
1152:Martlet
1104:Red Top
883:, p141.
551:Red Top
473:AIRPASS
433:Service
426:ammonia
384:cordite
256:(later
135:Warhead
1226:Seacat
1221:Rapier
1182:Tychon
1147:Martel
1089:Meteor
1074:ASRAAM
990:
971:
942:
879:
849:
691:
669:
650:Kuwait
647:
570:Top".
481:Magpie
453:, the
445:(1964)
422:Arcton
221:Launch
211:system
199:system
191:Mach 3
167:Magpie
163:Engine
111:Length
1132:ALARM
853:p267.
716:Notes
177:range
1304:NLAW
1210:CAMM
988:ISSN
969:ISBN
940:ISBN
877:ISBN
847:ISBN
504:and
457:- a
389:The
299:and
276:and
240:The
103:Mass
83:1951
38:Type
477:GEC
1365::
900:^
826:^
790:^
773:^
749:^
708:,
597:Ξm
405:.
374:.
284:,
272:,
1049:e
1042:t
1035:v
994:.
977:.
948:.
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