RP-3
| RP-3 | |
|---|---|
Loading of RP-3 rockets fitted with 60 lb semi-armour-piercing high-explosive warheads onto a Hawker Typhoon | |
| Type | Unguided air-to-surface rocket |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1943–1968 (UK) |
| Used by | Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, Royal Australian Air Force and others |
| Wars | World War II, Indonesian National Revolution, Malayan Emergency, Suez Crisis, Korean War, Aden Emergency |
| Production history | |
| Variants | see variants |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 35 lb (16 kg) 17.9 kg (39 lb) Mk 1 engine 17.2 kg (38 lb) Mk 2, 3, 4 engine |
| Length | 55 in (1,400 mm) rocket 500–560 mm (20–22 in) warhead |
| Diameter | 3.25 in (83 mm) rocket body |
| Warhead | TNT/RDX/Amatol |
| Warhead weight | 1.3–5.5 kg (2.9–12.1 lb) |
| Engine | solid fuel rocket 7,800 N; 1,800 lbf (800 kgf) |
| Propellant | cordite |
Operational range | 5,200 ft (1,600 m) |
| Maximum speed | With 25 lb (11 kg) warhead: 1,200 ft/s (380 m/s) With 60 lb (27 kg) warhead: 750 ft/s (230 m/s) |
Guidance system | Unguided |
Launch platform | Aircraft Landing Craft Tank (Rocket) |
The RP-3 (from Rocket Projectile 3 inch) was a British air-to-ground rocket projectile introduced during the Second World War. The "3 inch" designation referred to the nominal diameter of the rocket motor tube. The use of a 60 lb (27 kg) warhead gave rise to the alternative name of the "60-pound rocket". Though an air-to-ground weapon, it saw limited use in other roles. They were generally used by British fighter-bomber aircraft against targets such as tanks, trains, motor transport and buildings, as well as by Coastal Command and Royal Navy aircraft against U-boats and ships.
Use continued post-war, with the last known major operational use being during the Aden Emergency in 1964, where Hawker Hunters flew 642 sorties and fired 2,508 RP-3s in support of Radforce. Use continued until the withdrawal from Aden Protectorate in November 1967, at which point the RP-3 was withdrawn from service in favour of the newer SNEB. Concerned about the possibility of shipboard radar setting off the SNEB's electrical ignition, the Royal Navy replaced their RP-3s with a new design, sometimes known as the 2-inch RP.