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Bloodhound News Bloodhound Missile Preservation Group Issue 2 – December 2012 Bloodhound News The Newsletter of the Bloodhound Missile Preservation Group (BMPG) Comment Attendees represented those that served on Bloodhound in the RAF from Welcome to Issue 2 of Bloodhound MKI right through to the end of the News. It’s now a year since I became MKII system in 1991. Many old friends involved in the active preservation of were reunited, new friends made and Bloodhound equipment after realising nostalgia shared by all. Particularly that without some proactive effort welcome at the reunion were ex much of what remains of Bloodhound Ferranti engineers. would continue to deteriorate and ultimately disappear. One year on and Future Bloodhound Events substantial progress has been made. Restoration work has started on our 50 Years of Bloodhound In this Issue th LCP and much more is being achieved 2014 sees the 50 anniversary of as you will read in this newsletter. Bloodhound Force Reunion Bloodhound MKII. To mark the event Future Bloodhound Events the Swiss BL-64 museum are organising Progress has only been made possible BMPG Image a celebration event in the summer of by the contributions of individuals and 2014, date to be announced. The organisations. I thank them as they are BMPG Charitable Status anniversary highlight being eight all enabling us to bring together the Membership of the BMPG missiles on launchers. Please email if main components of a Bloodhound T86 – Life After Bloodhound interested in attending. MKII section. Our restoration goal is to Visit Report - Swiss BL-64 Museum have a missile on its launcher, LCP and 25 Squadron 100th Anniversary T86 all on public display and in a The Last T87 An event is being planned to celebrate covered environment. Central to this LCP Recovery - Cosford the 100 th anniversary of 25 Squadron in task is the restoration of our LCP’s MKII Missile – Part 1 & 2 September 2015. The event is open to simulator for public demonstration of Repatriation of MKII Launchers all who served on 25 with Bloodhound how Bloodhound acquired and engaged LCP Restoration and on the various aircraft types the targets. Particular thanks go to the The Muckleburgh Collection Squadron operated. Let’s get a good Swiss BL-64 (Bloodhound) museum for Mystery Photo Bloodhound contingent at the event. their support and donated equipment .. and Finally Further details will be published when that will now make the simulator known. restoration possible. Bloodhound Force Reunion th The BMPG is a credible organisation 24 October 2012 saw the first BMPG Image Bloodhound reunion in the Park Plaza and undertakes its restoration tasks in The BMPG has a new logo and hotel, Nottingham. This was an a professional manner. This means that accompanying strap line – Defend, informal gathering during the the time has come for us to formalise Protect, Preserve. The logo will be afternoon as agreed during the initial our management, structure and included on all future BMPG BMPG meeting at the Newark Air membership. Details on how this will communication and included on the Museum. be achieved are covered in this web site at the next update. The logo newsletter. has been designed by Visual Impact (www.visibleimpact.co.uk ) who have We are also fortunate in having the kindly donated their expertise, support of Visible Impact, a brand creativity and time to the BMPG. development company, who have created an image for the BMPG. The new BMPG logo is published in this newsletter and will be part of all future public facing web pages, marketing documents and correspondence. Pete Harry Copyright © Bloodhound Missile preservation Group 2012 Page 1 of 5 Bloodhound Missile Preservation Group Issue 2 – December 2012 addresses and these will be managed in Assessment Arial and no In-flight BMPG - Charitable Status accordance with the Data Protection Reference Aerial which has been To continue BMPG’s preservation work Act. replaced with a video camera. it is now necessary to incorporate some formality in our organisation. The first The intent is not to have a membership In 1994 701 was transferred to RSRE step is to adopt a formal footing by fee but, once charitable status has been when all work on Firelight ended at securing charitable status. Becoming a achieved, members may consider Ferranti. 701 was not alone in going to charity will provide: making donations to specific RSRE as two other Firelights were also restoration projects. In future all transferred but it is not known where • Declared aims and objectives for organised events will be funded by from or when. One of the radars is the BMPG (a Constitution) those attending on ‘a pay as you go’ believed to be an ex T86 from North • An organised structure for the basis. A fee will also be charged for any Coates. All three radars were modified management of restoration work requests for correspondence by letter to varying degrees for their work at being undertaken or hard copy of the newsletter to cover RSRE. One modification on 701, carried • A means of generating and costs. The newsletter will only be made out by Ferranti, was the ability to managing funds available to BMPG members and by manually control the aerials and track • Become an entity for commercial request from non-members; it will not targets. activity and communication be put in the public domain as Issue 1 was. To achieve charitable status a Constitution explaining what the BMPG T86 – Life after Bloodhound does and how it is to be run is required. The T86 in RAF service was known as A draft was available at the October the AD10 for the army’s Thunderbird reunion and will be published to all MKII system and the RB68 for Sweden’s who have attended BMPG meetings Bloodhound Mk II. The Ferranti name and anyone else on request. for the radar was Firelight. Firelight was The management of the BMPG has to a versatile tracking radar and be carried out by a board of between transportable - by road! six and ten trustees. Once trustees are The use of Firelight was not restricted in place the inaugural Annual General RSRE eventually disposed of their to Bloodhound and Thunderbird as in Meeting can be held. If you are Firelights at the end of the 1990’s and the 1980’s and 1990’s Ferranti interested in becoming a trustee, but they were obtained by the Newark Air Edinburgh maintained a Firelight and have not already indicated an interest, Museum. One Firelight has since been on occasions loaning it to RSRE. RSRE then please email Pete Harry at transferred to the Norfolk & Suffolk would use the radar for various [email protected]. Your Aviation Museum while two remain at research and ‘project’ work. commitment as a trustee would be to Newark one being used as a store as it attend an initial meeting to adopt the Ferranti’s own development model of no longer has an aerial system. The Constitution followed by one AGM per Firelight was replaced in the mid 1980’s third, Serial No. 701 is in the best year. Direct involvement in specific by one of two Firelight radars in store. condition of all the Firelights that projects is something you can choose The stored Firelights were what remain and is on public display at the to do or not. remained of a Libyan order, cancelled Newark Air Museum. when Colonel Gadhafi came to power. Charitable status will mean that fund Any further information on the origin of One of the stored Firelights, Ser. No. raising is possible and all monies the RSRE Firelights would be welcome. 701, was used by Ferranti for testing, received and spent will be authorised trials and loan to RSRE until 1994. and accounted for, as you would Visit Report - Swiss BL-64 expect. Museum th th Membership of the BMPG On the 19 and 20 September 2012, Pete Harry spent two days as a guest of With acquisition of charitable status the Swiss BL-64 (Bloodhound) museum. there will be a requirement to record The hospitality and the museum itself membership of the BMPG. Initially, were wonderful. those who attended the Newark Meeting and the Reunion at Some background: The Swiss had six Nottingham are considered members Bloodhound sites with a total of nine unless we are notified to the contrary. sections each with eight missiles. Currently, members are communicated Bloodhound along with the Mirage was with through email and this will remain a coordinated defence system for the case but the formal membership The preceding photo is of 701 at Switzerland, defending their airspace to list has to include phone numbers and Ferranti Edinburgh. Note: No Jamming 20,000 metres and beyond its borders. Copyright © Bloodhound Missile preservation Group 2012 Page 2 of 5 Bloodhound Missile Preservation Group Issue 2 – December 2012 All Swiss Bloodhound sites were realised as, whilst the LCP may look a ‘hardened’ with concrete bunkers, The Last T87 bit unkempt, it is was sound. block houses and silos. Thanks go to O.C. No 1 Radio School at RAF Cosford and the group of trainees who assisted on the day. The following photo shows the LCP safely in its new home with the team in a ‘job done’ pose. The Swiss BL-64 museum has what is believed to be the last complete T87. The BL-64 museum is a complete Don’t be misled by the preceding section with eight missiles (four on photograph as inside the concrete launchers at any one time), LCP and block house is a complete “entombed” T87 radar, preserved on its original site T87 with all its cabins in place.
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