As part of the Museum Library, we have twenty one [good size] cardboard boxes packed full of Seaslug Documentation. The contents of each box are listed separately and are as shown in the matrix below. Despite the classification shown in the fifth column of each contents sheet, none of the papers is higher than RESTRICTED. The box content count amounts to a further 1534 documents.

  The first Seaslug System, the Mk1 [GWS1 - Guided Weapon System 1] saw its final firing in December 1981 by HMS London the last GWS1 ship in service, the first being the Devonshire. Subsequent [and final Seaslug] fits [GWS2 with a Mk2 missile] were employed in HMS Glamorgan, HMS Fife, HMS Norfolk and HMS Antrim. The Norfolk was sold to Chile in 1981 and delivered in early 1982 and her last RN., firing was on the 13th May 1980. In 1982, the Mk2 was being launched as a target for Seadart [Type 42 destroyer weapon with two 909 radar systems one forward and one aft] but with ambiguous results, neither weapons performing as they should have done ! During 1982, there were fourteen recorded Seaslug firings/expenditures, six by the Antrim and eight by the Glamorgan, six before the Falklands Campaign and eight during it including two missile with warheads jettisoned by Glamorgan after she was hit aft by a land launched Exocet Missile whilst off Port Stanley. Of those fired during the Falklands, one [from Glamorgan] was fired against the Port Stanley airfield, and the others at unknown land targets.

  Concentrating only on the Mk2 Seaslug Missile, between November 1966 and the end of the Falklands Campaign in 1982, no fewer that one hundred and eighty seven [187] missiles were fired/disposed of. To assess the weapons potency [and therefore battle worthiness] we will use a very simple method of assessment, where OS means Operational Success whilst OF means Operational Failure: both have mitigating reasons/amplifications as to why the shoot was 'good' or 'bad', but for our purposes we will ignore these. In order to avoid being over-critical and thus erring on the side of success, we assess the overall score as being approximately 60% successes and 40% failures: not 'good' however expressed, and this was our main anti-air missile conceived in the 1950's !

Note that the last two documents mentioned in Box 21 cover the weapon system Ikara !

This is a picture of a Seaslug firing

Seaslug Records

The Type 901 Guidance Radar by Simon Jenkins

For further information on Seaslug and other missiles it is recommended you visit Simon Jenkins site Other British Missiles