Heads up - Britain's Nuclear Bomb - BBC4

[Tankertrashnav]

A late heads up for this programme, screening at 9pm on BBC4 tonight. I understand it includes an interview with Alan Pringle, who was a Valiant co-pilot on Operation Grapple. Alan's claim to fame is that as well as his own scheduled sortie, he had to stand in for another co-pilot who went sick at short notice on the day of his flight. Alant thus became the only man in the RAF who has ever dropped (or is likely to drop) two nuclear weapons. Those of us of a slightly later generation will remember him as a highly experienced Victor captain at Marham. Glad to hear he is still around.

[SPIT]

THANK YOU: I thought it was tomorrow night (I had a touch of the vapours when I found out it wasnt) :oh::oh:

[ninet5]

15 MAY 57

I for one will be watching. In case it doesn't show the first bomb, here is the photo we took from our Shackleton at 10,000 feet.

The colour version was hugely more impressive.

Tim

[MPN11]

Phew ... nearly missed it too. Starting the week on Tuesday scrambled my brain.

[ninet5]

Oh dear, the mention of Operation Grapple trapped me into showing the bomb's predecessor.

Apologies - but it may be news to someone??

Tim

[treadigraph]

Missed it...

On iPlayer here (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b08nz0xh/britains-nuclear-bomb-the-inside-story)...

[Tankertrashnav]

Was pleased to see Alan Pringle looking well, and also Derek Tuthill who is also looking very chipper for his age. I knew him at Marham too

[jolihokistix]

Quote: "BBC iPlayer only works in the UK. Sorry, it’s due to rights issues"

[treadigraph]

Tim, did you know Ken FitzRoy?

[ninet5]

Sadly, no - quite a character?

Tim

[JG54]

Hello Tim, you may recall that I loaned you an old VHS tape with Grapple/ V force footage some time ago - did we ever establish whether the Shack in that colour footage was yours?

I found the prog to be a little misguided in showing us 'Red Snow' which, surely, was a direct copy of the U.S. W28 warhead. Agreed that this and subsequent arrangements were reached as a result of Grapple's ultimate success, yet the weapon itself was not to a British design.

Still, not a bad way to waste an hour.

All the best,

Frank

[Pontius Navigator]

JG, we were not actually shown Red Snow at all. RS, or Unit 10,000, was IIRC a 1,200lbs physics package installed in a Yellow Sun 2 which we were shown.

As an aside, Mrs PN recalls nursing Lord Penny and what a lovely chap he was.

[Whinging Tinny]

Quote: "BBC iPlayer only works in the UK. Sorry, it’s due to rights issues"

Use a VPN with a UK stream and your problem will be solved.....:ok:

[jolihokistix]

Thanks Tinny, I'll play with that idea!

[JG54]

PN: The physics package is seen through the perspex cut outs in the YS casing and expressly referred to as 'Red Snow' by the chap then on screen, so we do, in fact, see 'Red Snow' - but not in its naked, uncased form. :ok:

No mention is made of YS itself, nor of the earlier (albeit non - fusion) 'high capacity' weapon - 'Green Grass' (also using the YS casing and previously, a developed 'Blue Danube' casing known as 'Violet Club').

The various works of Lorna Arnold are recommended reading for those wishing a deeper insight in to Britain's nuclear weapons programme.

[Pontius Navigator]

JG, thank you, I missed that inference. He mentioned the shape of the nose, shame he didn't show the graze cable and cutters behind it as they were crude in the extreme but functional.

[chevvron]

When I arrived at Farnborough in '74, Transport Flight was commanded by Sqdn Ldr 'Tiff' O'Connor who I was told had dropped an 'atom bomb' from a Valiant during tests.

[Yellow Sun]

If I remember correctly, it was also the first weapon to use piezo electric crystals.

YS

[Pontius Navigator]

YS, you remind me of that other device, initially the Explosive Motor which then metamorphosed into Motor, Piston Gas.

[JG54]

Chevvron: The then Flight Lieutenant Sinclair 'Tiff' O'Connor, 49 Squadron, dropped two live rounds in the Grapple Z series.

First came shot 'Flagpole', with a yield of 1.2 megatons (also the first 'blind' radar drop) and then shot 'Halliard 1', a unique, three - stage, semi - hardened weapon yielding 800 kilotons. Both were fusion weapons, so strictly, hydrogen bombs.

[deltahotel]

Interesting, but I'd liked to have seen more. deltahotel snr was in one of the sampling Canberras for the Aug 58 balloon suspended test.