Blue Streak, RAF Spadeadam
The Spadeadam Rocket Establishment, near Gilsland, was opened in the late 1950s as a test area for the British Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM). 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 British program was cancelled in 1958 after the deployment of American THOR missile sites in eastern England.
The Solway Aviation Museum near Brampton has a display on the Blue Streak project. The engines that powered the Blue Streak Rocket are on display.
Although the Spadeadam site is in regular use, visits by community groups, clubs and other organisations to the historic areas of the site are possible although restricted, as this is an active training area. Public visits are usually only permitted in the evening and on a handful of dates each year.
