Red Dean
Encyclopedia
The Red Dean was an air-to-air missile
developed by the United Kingdom
in the 1950s but cancelled before development was complete. It was a large radar
-guided missile
using pulse-Doppler radar
against enemy bombers.
. Following problems with increasing size and weight as the design progressed, not to mention cost overruns and problems with the seeking head, Folland felt unable to continue the work and the Ministry of Supply
passed it to Vickers
in 1953.
The Vickers version of Red Dean was no more fortunate. It continued to suffer from numerous development problems, not the least of which was that ongoing issues with the active radar seeker (for which the designers GEC were pilloried on numerous grounds) caused a size and weight spiral. This in turn detracted grossly from the flight performance, which was dismal for such a large missile. Poor seeker performance in turn demanded a large warhead, which exacerbated the weight problems, while design limitations inherent in the light alloy structure made it unsuitable for use on highly supersonic interceptors.
The "thin wing" Gloster Javelin
development was cancelled in 1956 and Red Dean went with it, despite a major redesign and abandonment of the requirement for autonomous active homing. The limitations on supersonic carriage still remained, and the planned new generation of Mach 2.5 interceptors would need something better.
Examples of Red Dean are held at the Royal Air Force Museum, Cosford, and the South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum, Doncaster.
Air-to-air missile
An air-to-air missile is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled...
developed by the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the 1950s but cancelled before development was complete. It was a large radar
Missile guidance
Missile guidance refers to a variety of methods of guiding a missile or a guided bomb to its intended target. The missile's target accuracy is a critical factor for its effectiveness...
-guided missile
Guided Missile
Guided Missile is a London based independent record label set up by Paul Kearney in 1994.Guided Missile has always focused on 'the underground', preferring to put out a steady flow of releases and developing the numerous GM events around London and beyond....
using pulse-Doppler radar
Pulse-doppler radar
Pulse-Doppler is a 4D radar system capable of detecting both target 3D location as well as measuring radial velocity . It uses the Doppler effect to avoid overloading computers and operators as well as to reduce power consumption...
against enemy bombers.
History
The Red Dean project was split off from the Red Hawk missile project in 1951 as a 700 lb missile to be developed by FollandFolland
Folland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturing company which was active between 1937 and 1963.-History:British Marine Aircraft Ltd was formed in February 1936 to produce Sikorsky S-42-A flying boats under licence in the UK. The company built a factory on the western side of the Hamble...
. Following problems with increasing size and weight as the design progressed, not to mention cost overruns and problems with the seeking head, Folland felt unable to continue the work and the Ministry of Supply
Ministry of Supply
The Ministry of Supply was a department of the UK Government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. There was, however, a separate ministry responsible for aircraft production and the Admiralty retained...
passed it to Vickers
Vickers
Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 1999.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...
in 1953.
The Vickers version of Red Dean was no more fortunate. It continued to suffer from numerous development problems, not the least of which was that ongoing issues with the active radar seeker (for which the designers GEC were pilloried on numerous grounds) caused a size and weight spiral. This in turn detracted grossly from the flight performance, which was dismal for such a large missile. Poor seeker performance in turn demanded a large warhead, which exacerbated the weight problems, while design limitations inherent in the light alloy structure made it unsuitable for use on highly supersonic interceptors.
The "thin wing" Gloster Javelin
Gloster Javelin
The Gloster Javelin was an "all-weather" interceptor aircraft that served with Britain's Royal Air Force in the late 1950s and most of the 1960s...
development was cancelled in 1956 and Red Dean went with it, despite a major redesign and abandonment of the requirement for autonomous active homing. The limitations on supersonic carriage still remained, and the planned new generation of Mach 2.5 interceptors would need something better.
- Length: 16 ft (4.9 m)
- Weight: 1,330 lb (603 kg)
- Warhead: 100 lb high explosive.
- Speed: Mach 2.2
- Maximum altitude: 50,000 ft
- Range: 4 miles.
Examples of Red Dean are held at the Royal Air Force Museum, Cosford, and the South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum, Doncaster.