C O N T E X T 1 2 2 : N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 1 19 Jon Berry Desperately seeking Sea Slug A Cadw programme has revealed the history of the development, production and test firing sites associated with the cold-war-era Sea Slug guided weapon scheme. Conflict was one of the dominant themes of the 20th century. Since 2003, Cadw, the Welsh Government’s historic environment service, has run a programme to identify, assess and designate 20th century military buildings and structures inWales. Immediately post-war, British government policy assumed that there would be no major conflict during the following decade. This assumption was shattered by the successful detonation of the atomic bomb by the Russians in 1949. This accelerated the UK’s fledgling guided weapon scheme programme, which delivered the Sea Slug,Thunderbird and Bloodhound surface-to-air missiles to the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force respectively.The programme was characterised by vast research and development activity, special trials sites and powerful groups of industrial defence contractors. This was an ultra-secretive industry and there are still significant gaps in our knowledge concerning the completeness of the archaeological record. Many documentary records are still classified. Although of recent date, there has also been very high attrition of the physical evidence. Sea Slug was the Royal Navy’s first guided missile created to meet Stage 1 of the post-war GuidedWeapon Scheme programme. Undertaking an anti-aircraft and Fleet Air protection role, it was designed originally as a ship-based, medium-range, surface-to-air missile system to counter high-flying nuclear-armed bombers before they could release weapons aimed at Royal Navy warships.The missile was carried by eight County class destroyers,which entered service between 1962 and 1970. The missile was developed by a consortium of defence contractors including Armstrong Whitworth, Sperry and GEC, which designed the airframe, flight-control systems and beam-riding radar systems respectively. Vickers developed the integrated ship magazine, handling gear and launcher. Most first-generation missiles had to be fitted with solid-fuel rocket motors to impart a brief but very high thrust to accelerate the missile off the launcher at a high angle of elevation, so that the missile could be gathered and controlled by the associated guidance radar. Sea Slug used four ICI-developed and Bristol-Aerojet-produced Gosling rocket motors, located at the head of the missile and giving it ungainly looks. Sea Slug left development, production and test firing site evidence at three locations inWales.The missile built on LOPGAP (Liquid Oxygen and Petrol Guided Antiaircraft Projectile) developmental work that was undertaken at Ministry of Supply Experimental Establishment A contemporary photograph of the Claussen Rolling Platform floating in the ship-simulation firing platform’s basin at RAE Aberporth. A Sea Slug triple-launcher is on the left and a Type 901 beamriding radar apparatus on the right.
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