Projectile Development Establishment

The Projectile Development Establishment was set up at Fort Halstead, Knockholt, Kent. It was part of the Ministry of Supply.

The first director was Dr A. D. Crow, who had been Director of Ballistic Research at the War Office.

1939 The Projectile Development Establishment was set up to work on the development of 'Unrotated Projectiles' (U.P.) i.e. rockets; a wide variety of weapons was investigated.

1939 At Professor Lindemann's instigation, research was being carried out by the Admiralty into the possibility of filling anti-aircraft shells with small aerial mines attached to a parachute by a long wire. It was then suggested that the mines might be packed with the parachute and wire into a cylindrical container and attached as the head of a U.P. and the resulting apparatus (known as a P.A.C. weapon) was used as a defence against dive bombers from ships.

Another early investigation was into the possibility of making some form of guidance system for a U.P. This project was called the "Spaniel".

The early U.P. weapons used delayed action fuzes but these were unsatisfactory for several reasons, so efforts were made to design a fuze that would cause an explosion only when an enemy aircraft was in range. This was known as a proximity of 'P.E.' fuze and it used a photoelectric cell which would activate a detonator when the shadow of an aircraft fell across it. The design was not entirely satisfactory as the fuze was apt to react to clouds and birds and even to varying intensities of daylight.

1940 The establishment moved to Aberporth in Cardiganshire.

1945 Work on rocket research and development was continued at the renamed Guided Projectile Establishment at Westcott, Buckinghamshire.

1958 renamed the Rocket Propulsion Establishment.

1959 Responsibility passed to the Ministry of Aviation

See Also

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Sources of Information

• [1] National Archives