RAF Spadeadam Greymare Hill Site

United Kingdom / England / Haltwhistle /
 military, closed / former military
Spadeadam was opened in the late 1950s as a test area for the British Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) code named "Blue Streak".The research program was split between Rolls Royce and Dehavilland (later Hawker Siddley). Dehavilland were responsible for the airframe and Rolls Royce for the RZ 2 rocket engines. The first rocket firing took place in August 1959, but by this time the Fixed Site Ballistic Missile (FSBM) was being phased out.

The rocket firing stands at Greymare Hill were large enough to accommodate a full Blue Streak missile. These derelict concrete launch pads are still there today but without their steel upper gantries.

www.raf.mod.uk/rafspadeadam/aboutus/history.cfm
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Streak_missile
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   55°3'41"N   2°35'36"W
This article was last modified 5 years ago