Avro Blue Steel

[Mossie]

Quite a lot of Whiff potential for Blue Steel.  Operationally, it only entered service on Vulcans & Victors, Valiants had problems with ground clearance although it could have been fitted if required.  The development of Blue Steel took too long & it was largely obsolete by the time it entered service, although there were several attempts to improve it with different powerplants & fuels even before it entered service.  The HTP fuel left something to be desired too, it's difficulty of handling being well known & the fuelling procedure taking 30 minutes.  Only the Mk.1 entered service & had a breif & lack-luster career, although something could have been made of the weapon if proposed variants had been developed.

Variants

Blue Steel Mk.1, powered by HTP fueled Stentor rocket motor, range 100 miles
Blue Steel Low Level powered by a Viper turbojet for launch beneath 1000ft altitude, range 250 miles
Blue Steel Mk.1*, powered by Stentor rocket motor & two solid rocket boosters, range 440 miles
Blue Steel Mk.2, powered by Stentor rocket motor, two solid rocket & four ramjet boosters, range 600 miles
Avro Z.101 Manned Blue Steel.  Intended as a high speed research vehicle similar X-15, the cockpit would have sat in the space taken up by the guidance system, it would have been capable of Mach 3.5.  It would have had a wheeled front undercrarriage, with skid main undercarriage.  There was a stretched version planned for up to Mach 5.5.

Other platforms are possible too, what if Britain bought American bombers, or development had progressed more smoothly, maybe you could have seen Blue Steel mounted on B-47's, B-52's, B-58's?

Simon

[rickshaw]

There are quite a few Blue Steel test examples downunder.  A lot of testing was done at Woomera and as a consequence when the Brits pulled out, they all ended up being sold off as scrap or donated to museums.  I know there is one in the AWM, one at Woomera's open air rocket display, another at the air museum at Port Adelaide and a couple of others around the place.

I wonder?  A piloted Blue Steel?  Perhaps for the Japanese market?  (as he ducks for cover).

[Mossie]

Well, it would have been dropped from a Vulcan in the normal manner, Major Kong would have been proud!

[Doc Yo]

 The Airfix Vulcan comes with a Blue Steel, doesn't it? Is there a resin aftermarket version as well?

[Mossie]

I don't know of a resin Blue Steel, but the Airfix 1/72 Vulcan kit definately comes with one.

In 1/144, Anigrands Vulcan & Victor both come with Blue Steel.  I owned the Welsh Models 1/144 vacform kit for a while before passing it on, pretty sure there was a Blue Steel with it for a cheaper option.

Not sure if the Aeroclub 1/48 kit comes with Blue Steel, I don't think so.

[Weaver]

I always thought it should have been a ramjet: solid rocket booster of half the power and a fraction the duration of the Stentor (because the carrier plane gives it mach 0.9 for "free"), then two kerosene-fuelled ramjets on the wingtips for cruise.

[Mossie]

Looking at the Z.101 in the SP Space book & comparing it to drawings of other variants in BSP Hypersonics & Project Cancelled, it looks like it's based on the Mk.1* with larger wing & canards, slightly different rear end though.

I shall pray to the Gods/Demons* of Whiffery for the deliverance/damnation* of my soul.  Mossie, thou o'curse-ed one.

*Delete as branch of modelling faith & doctrine dictates

[Mossie]

Some more details on the Blue Steel hypersonic research vehicles.  They would all have had the warhead and inertial navigation gear removed which resulted in a considerable weight saving with a corresponding improvement in performance.

Z.99 was a Blue Steel with parachute recovery.
Z.100 was Blue Steel with landing skid, front undercarriage and a parawing for landing.
Z.101/35 was a manned version of Z.100 at the standard Blue Steel length of 35ft. Z.100/38 added a three foot stretch to increase the amount of fuel.

Blue Steel would have been twitchy on landing, it's small wings, lack of flaps and canard laying out all contributing to high landing speed, high incidence and a lack of stability.  The near disatrous accident with X-15 showed that landing could be risky and the Z.101 would have been worse.  To this end, a Rogallo wing (parawing) was proposed to aid landing, similar to that proposed for the Gemini capsule.  It would have been launched from a modified Vulcan at Woomera and recovered to a dry clay pan (probably Lake Carringallana) 300 miles away.  My sources vary, but probably the most reliable is the JBIS Space Chronicle that suggests that the Z.101/35 would have obtained mach 4.4, the Z.101/38 mach 4.6.  I've talked to some of the guys at the Avro heritage centre and they believe that the structure was not capable of speeds over mach 5.  I can't find it now, but I'm pretty sure I read that the nose section would have seperated in an emrgency as there was no room for a bang seat.

Drawing scanned form the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society Space Chronicle, Vol.59 Suppl.2 2006: UK Spaceplanes:


The JBIS Space Chronicle is worth getting if you want more info and there's a fair amount in Bill Rose's BSP Military Space Projects.  Chris Gibson's Vulcan's Hammer covers all manner of Blue Steel projects and although there's only a snippet on the Z.101, it's well worth getting for the wealth of detail on weapons projects.

[Mossie]

Shameless self promotion, I elbowed Duncan out of the way to build a model of the Z.101 manned blue steel, more here:
http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,34932.0.html

[NARSES2]

I said it yesterday and I'll say it again, that looked fantastic on the table, plus there were two guys there who were extremely interested in it 

[Mossie]

Yeah, those were the guys from the Avro Heritage Centre, I started my explanation as if they knew nothing only to find out they knew much more than me!   They took some piccies for their files, one of the guys has emailed me and promised me some more info.  Very freindly guys.

One thing I did while I was at the Cosford show was to go and just look at the Blue Steel they had on display in the Cold War hall and try and imagine it as the Z.101.  There was a MiG-15 nearby wand it's about the same size, so that lent some credibility to it in my eyes.  One thing it showed me was the reason for flatening out the wings, the tips of Blue Steel have anhedral, purely so they can clear the engine fairings on the Vulcan.  Looking in the bomb bay there's no way the Z.101 could have entirely fit the cockpit in place, so I guess they ironed out the wing for aerodynamic benefits and the Z.101 would have sat slightly lower than Blue Steel.