Experimental 6" rocket?

[red admiral]

An interesting find at RAF Stafford's collection. I'm not exactly sure on the size of the warhead but I think its a 6" one as it seems too small for a 7.2" warhead. Its powered by a trio of 3" RP motors banded together. The curator informed me that it was used for test firings on the Hunter.

Does anyone happen to have any more details?

 

[FarSight]

I have read that brits were developing three-motor rocket with 180 lb warhead called Triplex late in WWII. 1 + 1 = This must be it!

There was supposedly even heavier seven-motor version with 250 lb warhead called Admonitor available later.

 

[red admiral]

Thanks, its nice to have a bit more information on it.

 

[Firefly 2]

For use against more fortified targets and ships?

 

[Jemiba]

"For use against more fortified targets and ships?"

Seems to be a british equivalent to the Tiny Tim, both in size
and warhead weight, which was intended as anti-ship weapon,
but only used in the air-to-ground role, AFAIK.

 

[Firefly 2]

I can see why, Jemiba:

But there is something here that bugs me:

The curator informed me that it was used for test firings on the Hunter.

This device looks like a standard makeshift British design based on the omnipresent 3" rocket motor. But use on the Hunter would mean that it is set after the Uncle Tom and Red Angel projects as depicted in BSP4. It seems like a step back to me.

 

[Jemiba]

Ah, I think, I've missed something ?!

But the US equivalent was quite succesful, I think, and although guided
weapons were coming up slowly, this could have been a good way to deal
with hardened targets. And, perhaps more important, quite a cheap one, as
the 3" rocket motor was "omnipresent", as you wrote by yourself.
And the makeshift appearance could have been overcome with a simple
fairing ... Th russian airforce has unguided rockets in its inventory still
today, AFAIK.

 

[Firefly 2]

To mod: sorry, I keep forgetting.

To Jemiba:

Th russian airforce has unguided rockets in its inventory still
today, AFAIK.

Sure, most airforces still have rocket paniers in their inventory, even if it's just for their attack choppers. Great weapons to sanitise a zone so to speak. The heavy unguided rocket was phased out in favour of the guided air to ground missile and bomb.
It just seemed weird to me that the developent of a heavier and more sophisticated rocket like the Red Angel would predate this rocket.

 

[Jemiba]

The heavy unguided rocket was phased out in favour of the guided air to ground missile and bomb.

The russian S-13 is quite heavy for an unguided rocket, I think, although it's the only
example of such rocket known to me. But such calibres never were widely used

It just seemed weird to me that the developent of a heavier and more sophisticated rocket like the Red Angel would predate this rocket.

"The cheapest is the enemy of the best !" ???

 

[Firefly 2]

The heavy unguided rocket was phased out in favour of the guided air to ground missile and bomb.

The russian S-13 is quite heavy for an unguided rocket, I think, although it's the only
example of such rocket known to me. But such calibres never were widely used

It just seemed weird to me that the developent of a heavier and more sophisticated rocket like the Red Angel would predate this rocket.

"The cheapest is the enemy of the best !" ???

I think the French had something similar. The 100mm SNEB rocket, a bigger version of the ubiquitous 68 mm version.

Au contraire, mon frère, but general lineage in development sujest that a project develops from cheap and simple to expensive and complicated. Hence the bewilderment .

 

[Jemiba]

Well, you're certainly right, that's the way, programs are handled by the industry !

But sometimes, I think, useful developments are cancelled and substituted by
cheap, but unsuitable solutions. Or aircraft are ordered without necessary equipment,
or it is delayed for years, for the sake of a "cheaper" price. That's the way, programs
are handled by some politicians. Just look at the german Eurofighter Typhoon ...

But that's Ot ....

 

[red admiral]

The 12" Uncle Tom weapon has more in common with the Tiny Tim rocket than this 6" one.

Its quite possible that either the curator was wrong and it wasn't used on the Hunter or it was used for something else; separation tests, drag estimation from external loads....etc

 

[roberto_yeager]

There are more examples of big rockets, russian of 240 mm and 340 mm, and I rememeber one from Iran of 333 mm...

1Saludo

 

[red admiral]

I have seen references to the seafang being armed with a weapon very similar to this during its testing phase.

That was a 7.2" weapon. It might be this but I don't think so from looking at the size. The diameter doesn't seem large enough for 7.2" and is probably 5.5-6" but I didn't measure.

 

[GUNDAM123dx]

Seafang with Triplex R.P., 180lbs

(Seafury also got 4 x 180lb rockets. You cloud find it in FlightGlobal or the Seafury FB.11 brochure.)

 

[GUNDAM123dx]

1,060lb Uncle Tom rocket on Mosquito FB.6.

Either under wings or fuselage. But in the report the fuselage method was denied.

 

[John Ernst]

An interesting find at RAF Stafford's collection. I'm not exactly sure on the size of the warhead but I think its a 6" one as it seems too small for a 7.2" warhead. Its powered by a trio of 3" RP motors banded together. The curator informed me that it was used for test firings on the Hunter.

Does anyone happen to have any more details?

 

[John Ernst]

It looks like the 7.2 inch howitzer shell powered by three rocket motors and tested on a Supermarine Seafang as described in Gibson and Turners book: British Secret Projects page 88, and used to develop Uncle Tom.

 

[kitnut617]

I built a scale model of the Triplex shown here, drawing it out in AutoCad, three 3" rocket motors just fit perfectly inside a disc of 7.2" diameter.

 

[YourChair]

There was supposedly even heavier seven-motor version with 250 lb warhead called Admonitor available later.

I know this thread is super old, but I am looking for information on the Admonitor rocket. There is no information available on the internet, and neither Campbell's Naval Weapons nor British Secret Projects have any information on this rocket.
Here is a compilation of the few pieces of information I've found on this rocket:
- Brief mention on some random Welsh pdf (likely wrong):

- brief mention in a US Navy paper on torpedo development

- a few mentions about Admonitor rockets "from Aberporth" (in Wales) being tested
- this one-sentence mention by Campbell about some sort of 620 lb, 10" aircraft rocket that did not enter service



It simply seems like information on this weapon is not available on the internet, so I'm wondering if anyone knows anything else about this rocket? Like how this initial information was even obtained (since a seven-motor rocket having only a 250 lb head seems suspect, seeing as Uncle Tom, which was around 1000 lbs, was a 6-motor design)