rickshaw said:
Actually there were early on plans for a Joint Commonwealth deterrent force, as part of the effort to decentralise the Empire/Commonwealth's nuclear industries and retaliation, as I pointed out several posts ago. This is detailed in
Australia's Bid for the Atomic Bomb by Wayne Reynolds. While it concentrates primarily on the early period (1942-1959) of Australia's efforts to gain access to British nuclear technology, it does mention several times in passing one of the reasons why the RAF was keen for the RAAF to gain access to Canberras.
Richard Broinowski on this webpage, takes the story up and provides more detail about the later period. Further research
found this pdf on Blue Streak, which confirms Spark's contention that Australia was interested beyond being merely a testing range for the weapon. Although, I have to ask what was the point in acquiring a 2,300 nm range IRBM. Even from Darwin, it would only be able to reach as far as the southern tip of Indochina. While Australia's major fear at the time was Indonesian aggression, initially Canberra, then later TSR2 and finally F-111 addressed that, more than adequately addressed that problem (coupled with RAF plans during Konfrontasi to commit most of the V-Bomber force in a conventional role, if that war had gone "hot") IMO.
I must admit in 1960 I was conned by the government canards at the time of cancellation
In following months it became clear that every Government reason given for cancelling the UK LRBM was in simple terms a symphony of barefaced lies and is referred to as such in “Parliament Speak” in debates recorded in Hansard. 1960
May one correct several serious misconceptions that are commonly held about the UK LRBM deterrent and Blue Streak?
First there were originally two parallel programmes planned with a duality of purpose as SOB/SLV/LRBM. Primary and secondary with mix and match systems
First was the English Electric LRBM .with Bristol Delta 3 (RPE Westcott) engines 187,500lbf thrust engines Range circa 5,000 n.miles, conventional monocoque tanks/airframe, Celestial navigator guidance, and the advanced re-entry head aero-shell.
The type of head which was transferred to the other alternative LRBM tasked to de Havilland Propellers because the English Electric tasked Head was the very best solution and was also adopted/adapted to use by the USA for all subsequent missile warheads.
The “weapon re-entry vehicle” plus decoys started with an estimated mass in 1954 of about 7,000lb by 1959 with or without American assistance it was to be a very small fraction of the original estimate.
I was told by (Professor) Ian Smith that the potential performance of Blue Streak as it stood in 1959 was such that it could reach any were in the Soviet Union i.e. in excess of 6,000n.miles in American terms an ICBM. The Guidance issue had not been decided at the point of cancellation but given this fact the substitution of the EE tasked celestial guidance system optimised for the longest ranges seems obvious.
That the RZ2 only needed a turn of a screw to alter and increase the performance setting if needed.
According to Charles Martin the RZ2 was finally tested, passed at 165,000lbf when it was cancelled
(Still got the correspondence)
The engine for the missile round was to have been the RZ13 NOT the RZ12 this saved about a quarter of a ton for similar or better performance and greater range.
How ever Ian Smith stated the Rolls Royce had already started work on an engine for Blue Streak using storable propellants.
To quote from Roy Dommet’s “The Blue Streak Weapon”
“The Australians even considered that it could defend them because, before the 1958 Anglo-American Agreement for Cooperation on the Use of Atomic Energy for Mutual Defence Purposes, there were signs of the UK's nuclear force becoming a Commonwealth one in conjunction with Canada and Australia”
. Digression.
The Bristol Delta 3. 187,500 lbf per chamber. A single chamber exists in the Science Museum store
Bristol contract April 1955; work ceased at Bristol on Delta 3 December 1957
Development work continued at RPE Westcott until 1966
Planned Eight engine cluster 1,500,000 lb thrust for proposed RAF Heavy SLV.
Planned Four engine cluster 750,000 lb thrust for English Electric proposed RAF Standard man rated SLV
The above were alternatives in case of de Havilland failing to produce equivalent successful SOB/SLV family. ( SOB= Sub-Orbital Booster)
The Tanks were planned as conventional monocoque substitute to the Pressurised Balloon “Atlas/BIS” type tasked to De Havilland
The English Electric LRBM was to have been a bigger missile with longer range. Hence the early Vickers V1000 type 1004 Transport or the later Short Britannic/Belfast were expected to carry either this larger weapon or RAF Titan 1 rounds for deployment or practise or trial rounds to Woomera
The irony is that because of a Short or de Havilland design cock-up the smaller Blue Streak (with same specified Ten foot Diameter also common to Atlas and Titan) was never transported by the Short Belfast although both the French and German stages were airlifted to Woomera by a Belfast.
Remember a two Stage Blue Streak was actively looked at, at one point and the possibility of substituting other missiles in the Hard Emplacement (silo) including a solid propellant missile, sorry no details, was looked at.
In the USA there was open speculation 1958 in their press as to where in the Commonwealth the Blue Streak Hard Emplacements (silos) were to be placed.
The V-Force with the V-1000 tanker and the Radio Warfare V-1000 force would have had a very long reach