Bloodhound Anti-Aircraft Missile

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Bristol Bloodhound anti-aircraft missile, Mark 1

Manufacturer	Bristol Aeroplane Company
Production years	1958 – 1964
Production location	Cardiff

The development of guided missiles was a very high priority in post-war Britain, for they were intended to counter Soviet bomber aircraft attacking the United Kingdom with nuclear weapons. In its fully-developed form, the Bloodhound anti-aircraft missile could climb to over 50,000 feet in under two minutes, and destroy incoming aircraft almost 30 miles from Britain’s shores.

The Bristol Bloodhound missile was developed from 1949, led by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, with much help from government research establishments. It entered service in 1958. Bloodhound protected the airfields and bases that were home to the RAF’s V-bomber force, which carried Britain’s nuclear deterrent.

The Mark 1 Bloodhound continued in service until it was replaced from 1964 by an upgraded Mark 2 version. Throughout its life, the Bloodhound was capable of a remarkable performance. Within twenty-five feet of its launch, it would reach the speed of sound, 1160 km per hour. It would accelerate within three seconds to Mach 2.2 – approximately 2700 km per hour. The missile was also adopted by Sweden and Switzerland.

1 How it works
2 Development, manufacture and operations
3 Memories
4 Images
5 In the Science Museum
6 Related Links

[edit] How it works

The basic mechanism of propulsion requires oxygen, fuel (Carbon), a spark and an outlet. Fuel is contained at a controlled temperature and pressure within a specially designed chamber. When the fuel is mixed with oxygen and ignited a combustion reaction occurs, resulting in Carbon Dioxide and other gases depending on the fuel used. The resultant gases occupy a greater volume, however the volume of the chamber remains constant, the result of which is increased pressure. The gas then escapes out of the outlet which results in the rocket experiencing a force in accordance with Newton's laws (F = m*a; each action results in an equal, opposite reaction). The product of the acceleration and mass of the gas leaving the rocket is equivalent to the magnitude of the product of the acceleration and mass of the rocket.

The Bloodhound is not strictly a rocket. A rocket carries its own oxygen or oxidiser. Four jettisoned solid-fuel rocket boosters launched the Bloodhound, then the missile’s own two air-breathing ramjets took over. The British Army had a similar ground-to-air missile called Thunderbird (English Electric) but in this case the missile did have its own solid-fuel sustainer rocket motor after booster jettison. (The Army rejected liquid fuels because of difficulty of handling in the field.)

[edit] Development, manufacture and operations

“Bloodhound was developed by three industrial teams: Bristol (missile and launcher), which I led, Ferranti Wythenshawe (guidance and launch control), led by Norman Searby, and Rolls Royce Bristol (ramjets), led by Robin Jamieson. Our initial brief was to develop a second-generation air defence system. Despite the many problems of ramjet flight development we had a first generation system (Bloodhound 1) ready before the other contractors who had started before us.

Sweden and Australia also acquired it. The profits from its manufacture saved the Bristol plant from bankruptcy, enabling it to join the British Aircraft Corporation, but as a junior partner. It immediately became Corporation policy to eliminate the Bristol Guided Weapons team. Two attempts to do this were foiled, but the team’s future remained in doubt.

At Ferranti the radar for a second-generation weapon system was already working, so we put second-generation guidance in a Bloodhound 1. When launched it destroyed the target aircraft by a direct hit. No other contractor had reached this stage, so a longer range Bloodhound 2 was born for the Royal Air Force.

Exceptionally for a defence project it was developed on time and within budget. Bloodhound 2 was road and air transportable, and later in its life it saw service in other threatened parts of the world, including Germany, Cyprus (where I visited it) and Singapore.

Manufacture at Cardiff and Wythenshawe was profitable because the missile and its equipment had been designed for economic manufacture. The Bristol profits funded the development of the BAC 111 aircraft. The teams were not well rewarded for this. At Bristol the main leading staff were either eliminated or dispersed. At Ferranti the Ministry of Defence spotted large manufacturing profits and refused the company any further guided weapons contracts. However, weapons system expertise won through this history and is still active at Bristol at this time.” - David Farrar

[edit] Memories

I remember a scale model of a Bloodhound, complete with Land Rover, trailer, dog handler and dog (remarkably well-behaved Alsatian). They came with the Airfix construction kit of the Hercules C-130 transport plane - one of the easier models to make because the parts were so big. The plane I suspended from my bedroom ceiling with missile, trailer, car, human and dog rattling around inside. They kept falling out, though, as the Hercules’ tail ramp wouldn’t stay shut. All eventually perished, alongside the aircraft, in a particularly unpleasant air crash and conflagration in the back garden.

— Doug Millard

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