Red Top missile colours RAF 1970s

[AltcarBoB]

Can anyone tell me what colours for RAF Red Tops. A Google search brings up several schemes. All over white, white with grey fins lined in red, grey with pale green fins, grey with olive green fins, grey with red fins.

 

Was it up to individual sqds what colours were used.

[stever219]

Typically the weapons would have a natural metal or grey body with white fins in service.  I’ve just done a quick n dirty web-trawl and found a few images showing out-of-Service weapons in a variety of colours.  Red outlines on the fins are actually protective covers which would be removed before flight.  I think some weapons were painted overall Dark Green when the RAF went lo-vis in the mid ‘seventies and to either Dark Sea Grey, Medium Sea Grey or Barley/Camouflage Grey when the air defence greys camouflage was introduced in the early ‘eighties.  It’s possible that some squadrons might have applied unit colours to their Red Tops but, if it happened, it was probably only to inert or training rounds for air display purposes.  Someone is now going to prove me wrong..............

[Jure Miljevic]

Perhaps this thread may help:

Cheers

Jure

[Selwyn]

2 hours ago, stever219 said:

Typically the weapons would have a natural metal or grey body with white fins in service.  I’ve just done a quick n dirty web-trawl and found a few images showing out-of-Service weapons in a variety of colours.  Red outlines on the fins are actually protective covers which would be removed before flight.  I think some weapons were painted overall Dark Green when the RAF went lo-vis in the mid ‘seventies and to either Dark Sea Grey, Medium Sea Grey or Barley/Camouflage Grey when the air defence greys camouflage was introduced in the early ‘eighties.  It’s possible that some squadrons might have applied unit colours to their Red Tops but, if it happened, it was probably only to inert or training rounds for air display purposes.  Someone is now going to prove me wrong..............

Operational red tops were High speed silver with either  white  or green fins with  a yellow band  around the warhead and a brown band around the rocket motor.  There would be no squadron markings as they were centrally held by the Missile site until required for use.  Other colours seen would be either  drill or ballast rounds  or aquisition rounds which could be seen occasionally with no wings fitted. Red markings were as stated before protective strps removed before flight. Inert missiles were painted in similar colours but clearly marked INERT

 

Selwyn

 

[Skip]

26 minutes ago, Selwyn said:

which could be seen occasionally with no wings

If memory serves me well, the fins were removed because they suffered from fatigue. On the Lightning, removal spoiled the aircraft handling quite a bit because the wings, even on the missile, generated a fair amount of lift & so noticeably more aft stck was required for manoeuvring - even at take off speeds.

Skip

[sloegin57]

Most Red Top bodies were described in the Tech Training Notes at Warton as "Silvery Grey" or Anodic Grey.  They were mostly unpainted except for Drill (Dummy) Rounds :-

 

 

Drill missiles, i.e. "Dummy" in RAF and Saudi service usually did not have wings or fins fitted.

 

 

 

 

Operational missile on a diverted Southern Q aircraft, Leuchars, August '80 :- 

 

HTH

 

Dennis

 

 

[tweeky]

Never flew with wings fitted to the Acquisition rounds whilst I was at Binbrook. 

As for QRA the STBD missile had no protective covers fitted at all, The port missile had only the soft plastic/rubbery "Noddy Cap" covering the seeker head this was removed after the engines had started and the cockpit access ladder had been removed.