Origins
The missile was developed by English Electric in the late 1950s, in response to a 1958 Operational Requirement for a "short-range corps support weapon".
In 1956 the Corporal missile had been adopted by the Royal Artillery as a battlefield tactical nuclear missile. This missile was liquid-fuelled, thus requiring a large convoy of support vehicles to prepare it slowly for lauch. It also required continual command guidance in flight, yet only achieved relatively poor accuracy. Also in use within the Royal Artillery was the Honest John rocket. This was solid-fuelled and could be launched rapidly, but was unguided and had only short range. There was a clear requirement for a missile that would combine guidance and long range with rapid deployment and easy operation.
The 1958 requirement was for a solid-fuelled missile with autonomous guidance and requiring only simple support equipment for launch. It also took advantage of the shrinking dimensions and weight of nuclear warheads and so only required a much smaller payload. It was also a requirement that the system should be air-portable through the RAF's standard Argosy transport aircraft.
As English Electric's Guided Weapons Division in Stevenage had been the "foster-parent" for the UK deployment of the Corporal, they were a natural choice to manage the development of its replacement.
Read more about this topic: Blue Water (missile)
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