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United Kingdom Aerospace and Weapons Projects Experimental and Test Vehicles 011103 L = length, S = span, W = weight, R = range, Ø = diameter |
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Name |
Description |
Remarks |
Particulars |
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Badger |
RAE test vehicle |
Free flight model used to test waverider configurations at Aberporth. |
L = 2.6ft (0.8m), |
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BET.9 |
Bristol ramjet test vehicle developed from XTV.9. |
Intended for M3 ramjet development for Blue Envoy. Developed from XTV.9. |
N/A |
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Bristol Controlled Recoverable Ramjet Test Vehicle for ramjet development. |
Could be fitted with a variety of test engines in addition to its hack engine. Became XTV.9. |
N/A |
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Test vehicle for Chevaline. |
Also known as Falstaff. Used a Stonechat motor. Biggest solid motor built in the UK. Used for hypersonic research with Oberon test vehicle. |
N/A |
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Bristol Controlled Recoverable Ramjet Test Vehicle originally based on XTV.5. |
Bristol ramjet test vehicle to develop control and recovery aspects of the test vehicle. Two BRJ.2 or BRJ.4 ramjets. |
N/A |
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Bristol Controlled Recoverable Ramjet Test Vehicle based on CRRTV.1. |
Bristol Bobbin ramjet test vehicle to be fitted with BRJ.5, BRJ.601 or NGTE 16" ramjets up to M3.0. |
N/A |
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CRRTV.3 |
Bristol Controlled Recoverable Ramjet Test Vehicle based on Blue Envoy airframe |
To be used to test the 20" M3.0 ramjet. Not proceeded with. |
N/A |
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CTV |
One third scale model of Avro Blue Steel. Control Test Vehicle. |
Not related to the CTV.n series. Used a Jackdaw rocket motor. Exhibited at Farnborough 1958. |
N/A |
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CTV.1 |
Early missile control testbed based on Long Shot. |
Used to develop beam riding and later command guidance at low altitude. |
N/A |
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CTV.4 |
Early missile seeker testbed. |
Used for radar and IR homing trials. |
N/A |
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CTV.5 |
RAE flight-test vehicle. |
Used for high altitude pitch / roll / yaw control development. CTV.5 Series 3 became Skylark. |
N/A |
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D.3 |
English Electric test vehicle for Red Shoes |
Configuration with rectangular wings and triangular tail fins. |
Feb 1952 |
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D.4 |
English Electric test vehicle for Red Shoes |
Solid rocket test vehicle. Configuration with definitive wing shape and triangular tail fins. |
May 1952 |
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D.4S |
English Electric test vehicle for Red Shoes |
Configuration as definitive Red Shoes. |
June 1956 |
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Test vehicle for Chevaline. |
Also known as CQ.941. Used a Stonechat motor. Biggest solid motor built in the UK. Used for hypersonic research with Oberon. |
N/A |
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Flutter Dart |
Armstrong Whitworth test vehicle. |
Rocket boosted winged vehicle to investigate aero-elasticity. |
N/A |
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Fulmar |
Sized between Petrel and Skua. |
Sounding rocket. Not particularly successful. |
N/A |
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GMTV |
Armstrong Whitworth Guided Missile Test Vehicle. |
One of the first GW test vehicles to be made public in 1954. Cruciform delta wings with smaller canard deltas. Four pairs of wrap-around boost motors. |
N/A |
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GPV |
General Purpose test Vehicle. Previously called RTV.2. |
Built by Shorts, 8 x Demon boosters in four pairs, KP.4 engine. Also known as Guided Pilotless Vehicle |
L = 26.5ft (8.1m) Ø = 17.5in (44cm) |
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Green Light |
Test vehicle for visually controlled maritime SAM |
Became Shorts Sea Cat. |
N/A |
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HRV |
Hypersonic Research Vehicle. |
RAE / WRE hypersonic programme. Used Jaguar that became Jabiru test vehicle that became Aeromach. |
N/A |
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Homing Test Vehicle |
Ground launched test vehicle for IR seeker for Firestreak. Tested at Larkhill. |
N/A |
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Hyperion |
Hypersonic test vehicle. |
Test flown to investigate flight at M8 at 100000ft (30478m). |
L = 6.1ft (1.85m) W = 400lb (181kg) |
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Three stage hypersonic Research Vehicle. |
Later name for Jaguar test vehicle. |
N/A |
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Three-stage hypersonic research vehicle. |
Became Jabiru. Part of HRV programme. Used to test components for re-entry vehicles and kinetic heating. Rook first stage, Gosling second and Lobster third stage. Later version used Goldfinch second and Gosling third stage. |
N/A |
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JC.9 |
Heston variable geometry research aircraft. |
Based on work by Barnes Wallis |
N/A |
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JTV.1 |
Ramjet test vehicle |
Two rear-mounted 6in ramjets. Boosted by four pairs of Deacon boost rocket motors. |
N/A |
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Leopard |
RAE two-stage flight-test vehicle based on Jaguar. |
Rook booster, Gosling upper stage. Used for hypersonic research. |
N/A |
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Luton Test Vehicle |
Used for Thunderbird development by English Electric at Luton. |
N/A |
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Lynx |
Mach 4+ test vehicle. |
Boosted by a Raven motor, was instrumented to measure pressure and thermal effects on the mild steel airframe. Three models: 5 + 8 were 75° delta, while 7 was a 60° delta. |
L = 3ft (0.9m) S= 1.5ft (0.45m) |
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MTV |
Motor Test Vehicle. |
Used to test Sea Slug sustainer. |
N/A |
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MTV/C |
Motor Test Vehicle / Cold |
With guidance but no sustainer. |
N/A |
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MTV/H |
Motor Test Vehicle / Hot |
Acid / Methanol sustainer. |
N/A |
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MTV/ P(L) |
Motor Test Vehicle / Propulsion (Liquid) |
Liquid sustainer |
N/A |
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MTV/ P(S) |
Motor Test Vehicle / Propulsion (Solid) |
Solid sustainer. |
N/A |
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Oberon |
RAE hypersonic wing shape. |
Flown on Falstaff. |
N/A |
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Panther |
RAE flight-test vehicle. |
N/A |
N/A |
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Petrel |
Small supersonic target. |
Used in Sea Dart and Sea Wolf trials. |
N/A |
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Project 12 |
Fairey ATGW test vehicle. |
Use to investigate low speed launch and thrust vector control for Swingfire. |
N/A |
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Project B |
Jindivik subsonic target drone. |
Developed in Australia, entered service. |
N/A |
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Project C |
Pika, manned version of the Jindivik. |
Developed in Australia, entered service. |
N/A |
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Ranger |
RAE test vehicle |
Flown at Aberporth |
L = 4.8ft (1.4m), |
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Napier's 16in RamJet Test Vehicle. Boosted by 4 pairs of rockets. |
Joint project between Napier and NGTE. Used a NRJ.1 engine with a pitot intake. |
N/A |
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RJTV2 |
Napier's Mach 3 RamJet Test Vehicle. Boosted by a pair of rockets. |
Joint project between Napier and NGTE to develop a Mach 3 - 4 ramjet. Had a conical centre body intake. |
N/A |
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RTV.1 |
Rocket Test Vehicle. |
Used for beam riding and servo development. Evolved from LOP/GAP. Used a Lizzie rocket engine. |
N/A |
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RTV.1J |
Rocket Test Vehicle. |
Used to test jet deflection for controlling a vehicle in a vertical launch. Work was later applied to ballistic missile development. |
N/A |
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RTV2 |
SAM guidance development vehicle. |
Used in Bristol Bloodhound and English Electric Thunderbird development. Became GPV. |
L = 26.5ft (8.1m) Ø = 17.5in (44cm) |
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Skua |
Meteorological rocket. |
Used Chick booster. |
N/A |
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Skylark |
Bristol meteorological research rocket. |
Used as a sounding rocket. CTV.5 Series 3 using Cuckoo and Raven boosters. Also proposed as an ABM. |
N/A |
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STV |
Separation Test Vehicle. |
Used in Sea Slug and Fireflash trials. |
N/A |
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Swallow |
Variable geometry research vehicle. |
Followed on from Wild Goose. Based on Barnes Wallis' work at Vickers. Test Flown at Predanack. |
N/A |
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Tiger |
RAE flight-test vehicle. |
Used in Hypersonic research. |
N/A |
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Wild Goose |
Variable geometry research vehicle. |
Based on Barnes Wallis' work at Vickers. Test Flown at Predanack. |
N/A |
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Red Dean Test vehicle. |
Cancelled 1956. |
N/A |
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XBE |
Designation for eXperimental Blue Envoy |
Development rounds for Blue Envoy project. About to begin flight trials when cancelled in 1957. |
L = 26.25ft (8m) S = 16.4ft (5m) W = 4000lb (1815Kg) R = 200miles (322Km) |
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eXperimental Test Vehicles. |
Used in Red Duster development XTV 1 to 5 were for Red Duster XTV 6 to 9 were for Blue Envoy. XTV 11 -17 for Thor ramjet development. XTV20 was for ABM work. |
N/A |
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One quarter scale model of Red Duster. |
Flown on rockets. Carried dummy ramjets and fixed wings. Used to acquire aerodynamic data. |
N/A |
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One third scale model of Red Duster with moving wings. |
Flown on rockets, control power from gas bottles. |
N/A |
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Full scale, but unpowered test vehicle. |
Had moving wings, but dummy ramjets. Used to develop control system. |
N/A |
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Red Duster propulsion test vehicle. |
Used in Bristol Bloodhound development. No wings and as light as possible. Used to test ramjets. |
N/A |
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Red Duster test vehicle with homing system. |
Full-scale vehicle used to test entire system. Replaced by XRD.1 in 1956. |
N/A |
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Development vehicle for Blue Envoy. |
Quarter scale model of Blue Envoy with boosts. Launched on a Gosling tandem boost. |
L = 5.1ft (1.55m), S = 2.3ft (0.69m) |
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Development vehicle for Blue Envoy. |
One sixth scale model of Blue Envoy without boosts or ramjet pods. Launched on a Gosling tandem boost. Used to check aerodynamic drag. |
N/A |
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Development vehicle for Blue Envoy. |
One eighth scale model of Blue Envoy wing sandwiched between two strap-on boosts. Used for flutter tests. |
N/A |
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Bristol ramjet test vehicle. |
Used for M3 ramjet development. Boosted on BRMs, then used Thor-type ramjet to accelerate to development M3 ramjet light up speed. Became BET.9. |
N/A |
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Ramjet test vehicles for Bloodhound 2 with improved BT.3 Thor. |
BS.1009 was improved Thor. |
N/A |
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Hypersonic test vehicle for ABM development. |
Not proceeded with. |
N/A |
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Zulu Squire |
Small rocket vehicle used in Black Knight programme. |
Intended to give ground crews experience in HTP handling and tracking. |
N/A |