534:. 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.
389:
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.
42:
631:
314:, 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.
699:
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677:
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639:
245:
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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
388:
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
439:
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
597:
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
423:
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
374:
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
580:
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
613:
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
494:
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."
557:
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.
440:
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.
614:
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.
601:
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
392:
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
490:
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
476:
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.
1379:
412:. 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
511:
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
321:
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
1389:
1384:
610:. This reduced its sensitivity compared to Violet Banner, lacking its true all-aspect ability, but further simplified the design and eliminated ground handling concerns.
553:'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
526:
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
329:. 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.
519:, 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.
1058:
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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).
891:
861:
346:, which called for an all-aspect seeker that could attack a target from any launch position. When this proved too ambitious for the
397:
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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271:) in the early 1950s, entering service in 1957. It was the first such weapon to enter active service with the
431:, generated significant heat. For this reason, the Firestreak missile undergoing a ground test was cooled by
419:
There were two rows of triangular windows in bands around the forward fuselage, behind which sat the optical
850:
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264:
102:
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included the more powerful Magpie II motor and a PbTe seeker which offered better detection capabilities.
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606:(InSb) design that was cooled with purified air at 3,000 psi (21 MPa) filtered to 3
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947:
Hot Skies Over Yemen, Volume 1: Aerial
Warfare Over the South Arabian Peninsula, 1962-1994
711:
296:
288:
272:
268:
256:
306:"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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420:
413:
401:
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720:
538:
276:
993:
Gibson, Chris (2023). "Firestreak!: Britain's First
Frontlinee Air-to-Air Missile".
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244:
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pursuit weapon, with a field of attack of 20 degrees either side of the target.
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716:
585:
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In contrast to the Mk.4 there were several important changes. The adoption of
322:
1002:
408:"pencil" nose and was cooled to â180 °C (â292.0 °F) to improve the
1294:
1089:
355:
343:
350:, another specification lacking the all-aspect requirement was released as
479:
For launch, the missile seeker was slaved to the launch aircraft's radar (
17:
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1104:
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Firestreak was the result of a series of projects begun with the OR.1056
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1015:(Technical report). British Aircraft Corporation. December 1983.
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The first airborne launch of Blue Jay took place in 1954 from a
317:
An improved version, "Blue Vesta", was developed as part of the
1040:
916:
914:
912:
503:
Two minor Blue Jay variants were studied but not adopted. The
949:. Solihull, UK: Helion & Company Publishing. p. 29.
1031:
404:(PbTe) IR seeker was mounted under an eight-faceted conical
197:
976:
British Secret Projects: Hypersonics, Ramjets and Missiles
452:
Lightning T4 trainer with a dummy Firestreak missile
853:
Air Warfare: an International Encyclopedia, Volume 1
804:
802:
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761:
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370:(RAE), in charge of missile development, felt that
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1380:Cold War air-to-air missiles of the United Kingdom
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541:took over development of the Blue Jay line with
530:, which was later given its own rainbow code,
1052:
932:
920:
903:
8:
1012:BAC 53-(SA)-6 - Lightning F.53 Pilot's Notes
739:More widely known today as a cropped delta.
549:(SARH) system intended to be used with the
1390:Military equipment introduced in the 1950s
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1045:
1037:
846:
844:
842:
840:
838:
29:
1385:Air-to-air missiles of the United Kingdom
757:
732:
522:Looking for an improved weapon for the
255:is a British first-generation, passive
978:. Midland Publishing. pp. 33â35.
974:Gibson, Chris; Buttler, Tony (2007).
626:Map with Firestreak operators in blue
7:
81:United Kingdom, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
829:
817:
793:
776:
424:fired forward in a 50 degree cone.
354:, which briefly entered service as
125:3.19 metres (10 ft 6 in)
25:
1032:The Jet Age Museum - exhibits one
545:, replacing the IR seeker with a
697:
675:
653:
642:Firestreak at RAF Museum Cosford
588:circuits in place of the former
40:
1:
524:Operational Requirement F.155
319:Operational Requirement F.155
368:Royal Aircraft Establishment
358:the year before Firestreak.
1027:The de Havilland Firestreak
427:The electronics, made from
151:annular blast fragmentation
1421:
884:The Last of the Lightnings
856:, pub ABC-CLIO Inc, 2002,
578:English Electric Lightning
565:
375:as OR.1117, and given the
281:English Electric Lightning
149:22.7 kg (50 lb)
133:0.223 m (8.8 in)
1356:
1223:(Sea Ceptor, Land Ceptor)
933:Gibson & Buttler 2007
921:Gibson & Buttler 2007
904:Gibson & Buttler 2007
572:After the fallout of the
168:
117:136 kg (300 lb)
57:Place of origin
39:
574:1957 Defence White Paper
547:semi-active radar homing
141:0.75 m (30 in)
1395:Fire-and-forget weapons
327:Hawker Siddeley Red Top
265:de Havilland Propellers
253:de Havilland Firestreak
164:Infrared proximity fuze
103:de Havilland Propellers
1362: Anglo-Australian
995:The Aviation Historian
643:
635:
627:
551:De Havilland Sea Vixen
457:
285:de Havilland Sea Vixen
263:. It was developed by
248:
1070:of the United Kingdom
690:Royal Saudi Air Force
641:
633:
625:
486:in the Lightning and
451:
410:signal-to-noise ratio
247:
192:4 miles (6.4 km)
945:Cooper, Tom (2017).
595:expanding-rod system
537:In August 1956, the
302:Developed under the
214:Rear-aspect infrared
513:Saunders-Roe SR.177
472:- being destroyed.
435:, and in-flight by
406:arsenic trisulphide
238:fixed-wing aircraft
1360:
1358: Anglo-French
1287:Surface-to-surface
873:Gibson 2007, p. 35
808:Gibson 2007, p. 34
767:Gibson 2007, p. 33
644:
636:
628:
462:de Havilland Venom
458:
377:Ministry of Supply
261:air-to-air missile
249:
86:Production history
52:Air-to-air missile
27:Air-to-air missile
1367:
1366:
985:978-1-85780-258-0
956:978-1-912174-23-2
886:, pub PSL, 1996,
851:Boyne, Walter J,
604:indium antimonide
590:thermionic valves
568:Red Top (missile)
242:
241:
16:(Redirected from
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668:Kuwait Air Force
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380:rainbow codename
372:infrared seeking
348:state of the art
344:Red Hawk missile
312:AIM-9 Sidewinder
279:, equipping the
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180:solid fuel motor
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832:, pp. 8â9.
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297:fire and forget
289:Gloster Javelin
273:Royal Air Force
269:Hawker Siddeley
259:(heat seeking)
257:infrared homing
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70:In service
65:Service history
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892:1-85260-541-3
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148:
144:
140:
136:
132:
128:
124:
120:
116:
112:
107:
104:
101:
97:
93:
89:
84:
80:
76:
72:
68:
63:
59:
55:
51:
47:
43:
38:
31:
19:
1405:Rainbow code
1400:De Havilland
1348:Green Cheese
1178:Storm Shadow
1094:
1011:
994:
975:
968:Bibliography
946:
940:
928:
899:
883:
882:Black, Ian,
878:
869:
852:
825:
813:
796:, p. 8.
779:, p. 7.
772:
735:
683:Saudi Arabia
612:
600:
583:
571:
542:
536:
531:
527:
521:
508:
504:
502:
499:Improvements
491:
478:
473:
466:target drone
459:
429:vacuum tubes
426:
418:
399:
391:
387:
382:
366:In 1951 the
365:
351:
341:
316:
308:AIM-4 Falcon
304:rainbow code
301:
252:
250:
177:
99:Manufacturer
78:Used by
1338:Blue Streak
1277:Thunderbird
454:drill round
333:Development
293:rear-aspect
291:. It was a
186:Operational
34:Firestreak
1374:Categories
1343:Blue Water
1333:Blue Steel
1267:Starstreak
1211:Bloodhound
1095:Firestreak
1077:Air-to-air
747:References
717:Royal Navy
532:Blue Vesta
275:(RAF) and
158:Detonation
18:Firestreak
1295:Swingfire
1262:Starburst
1252:Sea Viper
1183:Sea Venom
1168:Sea Eagle
1153:Brimstone
1148:Blue Boar
1090:Fireflash
1003:2051-1930
752:Citations
618:Operators
356:Fireflash
160:mechanism
73:1957â1988
1310:Vigilant
1272:Tigercat
1257:Sea Wolf
1242:Sea Dart
1216:Blowpipe
1173:Sea Skua
1125:Skyflash
1110:Red Hebe
1105:Red Dean
830:BAC 1983
818:BAC 1983
794:BAC 1983
777:BAC 1983
593:with an
517:Avro 720
481:Ferranti
383:Blue Jay
362:Blue Jay
352:Blue Sky
338:Red Hawk
234:platform
220:Steering
208:Guidance
138:Wingspan
130:Diameter
91:Designed
1325:Nuclear
1305:UB.109T
1300:Malkara
1247:Seaslug
1227:Javelin
1188:SPEAR 3
1163:Martlet
1115:Red Top
894:, p141.
562:Red Top
484:AIRPASS
444:Service
437:ammonia
395:cordite
267:(later
146:Warhead
1237:Seacat
1232:Rapier
1193:Tychon
1158:Martel
1100:Meteor
1085:ASRAAM
1001:
982:
953:
890:
860:
702:
680:
661:Kuwait
658:
581:Top".
492:Magpie
464:, the
456:(1964)
433:Arcton
232:Launch
222:system
210:system
202:Mach 3
178:Magpie
174:Engine
122:Length
1143:ALARM
864:p267.
727:Notes
188:range
1315:NLAW
1221:CAMM
999:ISSN
980:ISBN
951:ISBN
888:ISBN
858:ISBN
515:and
468:- a
400:The
310:and
287:and
251:The
114:Mass
94:1951
49:Type
488:GEC
1376::
911:^
837:^
801:^
784:^
760:^
719:,
608:Ξm
416:.
385:.
295:,
283:,
1060:e
1053:t
1046:v
1005:.
988:.
959:.
20:)
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