Falstaff was a British sounding rocket used during the 1970s as part of the

Chevaline Chevaline () was a system to improve the penetrability of the warheads used by the British Polaris nuclear weapons system. Devised as an answer to the improved Soviet anti-ballistic missile defences around Moscow, the system increased the pro ...

programme to improve the penetrability of the Polaris nuclear missile. It was the largest UK rocket with a solid booster ever launched.

Polaris

The Falstaff was part of the

programme to improve the Polaris programme. The

Penetration Aid A penetration aid (or "penaid") is a device or tactic used to increase an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) warhead's chances of penetrating a target's defenses. These can consist of both ''physical devices'' carried within the ICBM (as p ...

s Carrier (PAC) was capable of maneuvering a Falstaff rocket and dispensing missiles. According to John Pitfield, the PAC was launched in 1969, 1975, 1976 and 1978. Since the Australian government at the time was not in favour of nuclear weapons, the testing of the Falstaff vehicles on Australian soil had the potential to cause embarrassment. The details of over 4000 launches from the Woomera Range are still not fully released. Before the revelation that the Falstaff rockets were part of a nuclear program, anti-nuclear campaigners in Australia had believed that testing ended in 1963.

Design

The Falstaff with the Stonechat Mk 2 booster was long and had a diameter of . It weighed of which was solid propellant. It delivered an average thrust of during 37 seconds. A launch on 1 October 1969 used the Stonechat Mk 1 booster.

Launches

The Falstaff was launched eight times between 1969 and 1979 at Woomera, Australia, seven of which were the Mk 2 variant. There was one failure, on 23 April 1978. All the launches were from the

Woomera Test Range The RAAF Woomera Range Complex (WRC) is a major Australian military and civil aerospace facility and operation located in South Australia, approximately north-west of Adelaide. The WRC is operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), a d ...

in Australia, north-west of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Commemoration

The Falstaff rocket was commemorated in an

event cover Event covers are a type of stamp covers (decorated, stamped and canceled commemorative envelopes) that are created to celebrate an event or note an anniversary. A design (called a "cachet") is generally placed on the left side of the envelope (a ...

that depicted a rocket recognisable as a Falstaff. 5 December 1978 was commemorated in such a way.

References

{{Reflist Experimental rockets Space programme of the United Kingdom Sounding rockets of the United Kingdom