The Bristol Ferranti Bloodhound Mk.1 was the first British surface to air missile system to be deployed to counter the Russian threat during the Cold War. The Mk.1 was quickly superseded by the Bloodhound Mk.2, which had an improved response time, and served with eleven RAF squadrons until 1993. For UK air defence large numbers of Bloodhound launchers were installed permanently on RAF stations.

The four Gosling rocket boosters provide similar take-off thrust to Concorde, and the missile can reach twice the speed of sound (Mach 2) in under 3 seconds. When the boosters fall away, two Bristol Thor ramjets take over, giving the missile a speed of Mach 2.2, an altitude of up to 70,000 feet and range of over 60 miles. The onboard radar acquires the target from the ground based launch control, and the missile then alters course in pitch or roll by rotating the two wings together or differentially.

On display are both the Mk.1 and Mk.2 models of the Bristol Ferranti Bloodhound missile, both on their launchers. The exhibit also includes the missile launch control equipment.

WE177 was a British designed and developed parachute-retarded bomb. It was built in three variants, each had a number of pre-set delivery and firing options in order to exploit fully the RAF and Royal Navy low level strike capability against strategic and tactical, hard and soft targets.

Initially WE177 was developed for aircraft such as the TSR-2 and the Buccaneer. However WE177 was deployed from 1966, on RAF Vulcans as part of the UK's strategic nuclear deterrent. From 1971 until withdrawn in 1991, the low yield WE177A also be deployed as a nuclear depth bomb on RN helicopters.

The example on display is a non-operational round, probably used in training. Non-operational rounds were manufactured in steel, rather than the light alloy of the operational round.

Rapier is a mobile short-range air defence missile system, developed by the British Aircraft Corporation at Filton. The system is in service in 13 countries, and was used in the Falklands war. Rapier can be launched from a trailer unit, or from a tracked vehicle, as on display here.

The Tracked Rapier Launcher has a crew of three, and has eight SAM (Surface-To-Air) Rapier missile bins. It was originally designed to the requirements of the Iranian Army in the 1970's, but the order was cancelled when Iran broke ties with the west.

Sea Dart is a ship-launched supersonic, semi-active homing missile for medium range area defence against aircraft missiles. Sea Dart destroyed seven aircraft in the Falklands War, and a Silkworm anti-ship missile in the Gulf War. It has a solid fuel launch rocket, and a Bristol-Siddeley Odin ramjet for cruise. The ship's tracking radar illuminates the target enabling the missile to home onto it at a range of up to 74 km (40 nautical miles).

The concept was initiated in 1961 by Armstrong Whitworth of Coventry, but in 1963 became the responsibility of Hawker Siddeley Dynamics. In 1968 Sea Dart activity went to Hatfield, and in 1983 to BAe's Naval Weapons Division at Filton.

The Petrel is a solid propellant ballistic rocket, and is currently in service with the Royal Navy as a high speed target. Originally conceived in 1967 by Bristol Aerojet in conjunction with the Science Research Council as a low-cost sounding rocket, it is now produced and operated by Meggitt Defence Systems Ltd. Following its first launch as a target in 1979, over 600 successful launches have been carried out.

It is launched from a tube by small high thrust booster motors, which separate after a quarter of a second. The rocket then accelerates for 30 seconds during main motor burn, followed by ballistic trajectory to impact.

The payload bay allows various radar enhancement devices to be fitted to suit the weapon system under test. Petrels portable tube launcher may be used on land or on the deck of a ship.

The Polaris is a submarine-launched ballistic missile, capable of carrying an nuclear warhead. It was designed by Lockheed in the USA, and acquired by the UK in 1963. In the 1970's the British government revealed they were working on a secret Polaris upgrade programme known as Chavaline, which resulted in the Polaris A3TK. The A3TK entered service in 1982, and was replaced by Trident in 1996.

The Collection has on display the nose fairing from a Polaris A3TK missile, and the Polaris Equipment Section, on which is mounted a re-entry body and a fully equipped Penetration Aid Carrier (PAC), and a nose-cone.

The Sea Eagle is a computer controlled "fire and forget" sea skimming missile. The design is the responsibility of BAE Dynamics, which is based at Filton. It is guided to its target by a fully active onboard radar system, and its long range allows a covert approach by the launch aircraft.

The Sea Eagle design was based structurally and aerodynamically on the earlier Martel exhibited nearby, but adapted for longer range - up to 80 miles (130 km) - using a small turbojet instead of rocket power, and operating at only Mach 0.85 instead of Mach 2.

Sea Eagle was introduced on the Buccaneer S Mk.2B after the aircraft were transferred from the Royal Navy to the RAF, and subsequently carried on the RAF Tornado and the Royal Navy Sea Harrier.

This full sized display model is loaned by BAE Systems.

The Seacat went into service in the early 1960s. With a speed of 680 mph, it is used for the defence of warships against low-flying aircraft at up to 3 miles range. It was designed to be optically controlled by an operator using binoculars and a joystick, but later, radar assisted blind firing became possible.

Seacat has been operated by 15 Navies around the world. The land forces of seven countries have used the related Tigercat. In the Royal Navy it is succeeded by the supersonic Seawolf.

Seawolf is a ship-launched supersonic missile for short range defence against aircraft and missiles. The Mk. 25 version was used by the Royal Navy in the Falklands War.

The concept was originated and the control equipment defined at Filton from 1963, while the Blackcap rocket motor casing was developed by Bristol Aerojet at Banwell. The ships surveillance radar detects a target and readies the missile for launch, when a tracking radar gathers the missile and sends control signals to direct it along the line of sight.

The display also includes a quarter scale model of the launcher system developed in the mid-1980s. It was proposed as a cheap and simple conversion to Seawolf, for warships equipped with the subsonic Seacat missile.

This exhibit is a design model for an SRARM (Short Range Anti-Radar Missile) that only ever existed on paper. It has a place in the Collection to remind us that in spite of the fact that not all projects come to fruition, people expended time and effort to progress as far as the proposal stage.

The launcher bin was installed on the Scorpion CVRT (combat vehicle, reconnaissance, tracked) for the British Army. An installation in a Jeep was also designed at Bristol and delivered to the Egyptian Army; this could be dismounted and fired from the ground.

The system required visual contact with the target, typically an enemy tank. In both cases the optical sight could be placed up to 100 metres away from the launcher, at a convenient observation point. The Missile Controller used the optical sight to follow the target, generating command signals which went by connecting cable to the missile control equipment mounted with the launcher. This sent computed signals that steered the missile to the target at a range of up to 4 km.

The Ikara was developed in Australia from the Malkara anti-tank missile. Launched from a small warship, the Ikara would carry a homing torpedo towards its target, and drop it into the sea when within range. It was a faster than using a helicopter to launch the torpedo, and had a range of 11 miles. The Ikara was used by the Australian, Brazilian and Royal Navies. The Bristol Aeroplane Company missile division was responsible for the upkeep of the Royal Navy Ikaras.