Missile Firing (1961)

Royal Artillery Guided Weapons Range at South Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland.



M/S of men in protective suits and helmets walking over to a fuel tank on a lorry; one of the men fixes a fuel pipe to the tank; the other end of the hose is attached to a large missile on a truck.



Various shots as soldiers remove the missile from the truck with a crane and attach the war head; a man is seen making final adjustments to the mechanics inside the weapon. Commentator says the missile is 45 ft long and weighs 5 tons.



The fuel tanker drives off, followed by the men in protective suits. Commentator explains that the fuelling operation is so dangerous it is done in two stages: we see the decontaminated protective suits being put on by a second group of men; the head man seems to check the others for any visible signs of contamination. Various shots as they fit the fuel hoses onto the missile.



Mix into M/S of the missile being raised into position as a soldier nearby presses some buttons on a large remote control set. M/S of the missile in a vertical position against the sky; mix into M/S of the missile base on a launching pad in a field. Behind some sandbags in a shelter we see two soldiers with a control box; one is on the phone saying the countdown (natural sound). When he says "Fire!" the other man presses a button marked "Push to Fire" on the control box. Very brief M/S of the base of the rocket firing up and starting to move off.



Note: print used for telecine transfer is quite badly scratched; neg is incomplete. On file are general notes from the Weapons Range and this missile in particular, known as The Corporal Weapon System.



Cuts exist - see separate record.
FILM ID:149.03

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