List of Rainbow Codes

The Rainbow Codes were a series of code names used to disguise the nature of various British military research projects from after the Second World War until 1958 when they were replaced by an alphanumeric code system.

The Ministry of Supply (MoS) initiated the idea since during the war some German secret projects could be inferred from their code names; for example, that a radio navigation device "Wotan" used a single beam because the Germanic god Wotan was one-eyed.Each code name was constructed from a colour of the rainbow plus a noun taken from a list; for example:

* "Blue" + "Steel" = Blue Steel, a nuclear-armed stand-off missile
* "Green" + "Mace" = Green Mace, an anti-aircraft gun.

The names were dropped with the end of the MoS, and their functions were handed over to the Ministry of Defence which started using randomly-selected codes comprising of two letters and three digits, eg. BL755 or WE177.

Projects

Black

*Black Arrow - a satellite launch vehicle derived from Blue Streak/Black Knight
*Black Knight - a re-entry vehicle for Blue Streak
*Black Maria - fighter IFF interrogator
*Black Prince - proposed satellite launch vehicle based on Blue Streak/Black Knight - a.k.a. Blue Star
*Black Rock - surface to surface guided missile

Blue

*Blue Anchor - X-Band CW target illumination radar for Bristol Bloodhound
*Blue Badger - see Violet Mist
*Blue Bishop - portable 2.5 MW nuclear generator - previously Green Janet
*Blue Boar - TV-guided bomb [http://www.skomer.u-net.com/projects/blueboar.htm] [http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/reviews/books/review7.htm]
*Blue Boy - VHF speech scrambling
*Blue Bunny - see Blue Peacock
*Blue Cat - nuclear warhead a.k.a. "Tony" - UK version of US W44, a.k.a. "Tsetse"
*Blue Cedar - X-Band anti-aircraft radar
*Blue Circle - spoof name for concrete ballast for Buccaneer while awaiting Blue Parrot - later also used for Tornado F.2 ballast - from Blue Circle
*Blue Danube - nuclear weapon
*Blue Devil - T4 optical bombsight - drift and ground speed from Green Satin (q.v.)
*Blue Diamond - AA No7 Radar - anti aircraft radar
*Blue Diver - ARI (Airborne Radio Installation) 18075 airborne low-band UHF jammer - replaced Green Palm (q.v.)
*Blue Dolphin - a.k.a. Blue Jay Mk V for Sea Vixen - see Hawker Siddeley Red Top
*Blue Envoy - surface to air missile to OR.1140
*Blue Fox - see Indigo Hammer - not to be confused with the later Blue Fox radar
*Blue Jay - see de Havilland Firestreak
*Blue Joker - balloon-borne Early Warning radar - a.k.a. AMES Type 87
*Blue Moon - see Blue Streak
*Blue Parrot - ARI 5930 I-Band automatic contour-following radar for Buccaneer - a.k.a AIRPASS II *
*Blue Peacock - buried nuclear weapon (land mine)
*Blue Rapier, Red Rapier - missiles - see UB.109T
*Blue Rosette - short-cased nuclear weapon for Avro 730
*Blue Saga - ARI 18105 airborne radar warning receiver (RWR)
*Blue Sapphire - astro-navigation system
*Blue Sky - see Fairey Fireflash
*Blue Silk - airborne Doppler navigation radar unit with lower speed range than Green Satin
*Blue Slug - nuclear ship-to-ship missile using Sea Slug launcher
*Blue Star - see Black Prince
*Blue Steel - an air-launched Stand-Off bomb
*Blue Stone - Unit 386D ENI (Electronic Neutron Initiator) - nuclear weapon component
*Blue Streak - a medium-range ballistic missile
*Blue Study - automatic blind bombing system for V-bombers
*Blue Vesta - air to air missile
*Blue Vixen - Pulse-Doppler radar for Sea Harrier FA2
*Blue Water - surface to surface missile
*Blue Yeoman - Early Warning radar - a.k.a. AMES Type 85

*AIRPASS = "Airborne Interception Radar & Pilot's Attack Sight System"

Brown

*Brown Bunny - see Blue Peacock

Green

*Green Archer - mortar-locating radar
*Green Bamboo - nuclear weapon
*Green Cheese - nuclear anti-ship missile
*Green Flax - SAGW (Surface-to-Air Guided Weapon) - surface to air missile - see Yellow Temple
*Green Garland - infrared proximity fuze for Red Top
*Green Garlic - Early Warning radar - a.k.a. AMES Type 80
*Green Ginger - surveillance radars - combined installation of AMES Type 88 & AMES Type 89
*Green Goddess - Civil Defence fire pump - poss. unofficial
*Green Granite - nuclear weapons - Green Granite (small) & Green Granite (large)
*Green Janet - see Blue Bishop
*Green Light - SAGW - surface to air missile - see Short Sea Cat
*Green Lizard - tube-launched SAM with variable geometry wings
*Green Mace - 5-inch rapid firing anti-aircraft gun [http://www.skomer.u-net.com/projects/greenmace.htm Green Mace Anti-Aircraft Gun] ]
*Green Palm - airborne voice channel jammer
*Green Satin - airborne Doppler navigation radar unit
*Green Sparkler - advanced surface-to-air missile for the "Stage 2" program
*Green Water - pilotless interceptor/SAGW
*Green Willow - EKCO AI Mk. 20 Fire Control radar - backup to AI Mk. 23 Airborne Interception radar for English Electric P.1 fighter

Orange

*Orange Crop - Racal MIR 2 ESM system for Royal Navy Lynx helicopters
*Orange Harvest - S and X band warning receiver fitter to Shackletons
*Orange Herald - nuclear weapon
*Orange Nell - SAGW - surface to air missile
*Orange Putter - Tail Warning radar fitted to Canberra and Valiant
*Orange William - see Swingfire
*Orange Yeoman - Early Warning radar & guidance for Bristol Bloodhound SAGW - a.k.a. AMES Type 82

Purple

*Purple Granite - nuclear weapon - see Green Granite
*Purple Passion - Sub-kiloton demolition mine project related to Violet Mist.
*Purple Possum Piss - VX Nerve Agent.

Red

*Red Angel - air-launched anti-ship weapon or "special bomb" ["British Secret Projects: Jet Bombers Since 1949" Tony Buttler Midland Publishing 2003]
*Red Beard - nuclear weapon
*Red Cat - unknown - trialled on Canberra in 1950s
*Red Dean - large air to air missile
*Red Drover - airborne radar - see Avro 730
*Red Duster - see Bristol Bloodhound
*Red Flag - free-fall nuclear bomb - 'Improved Kiloton Bomb' - WE.177
*Red Hawk - large missile "downrated" to give Blue Sky
*Red Hebe - air to air missile, a replacement for Red Dean
*Red Light - X Band Jammer for V Bombers, entered service as ARI 18146
*Red Neck - airborne side-looking radar (SLAR)
*Red Rapier, Blue Rapier missiles - see UB.109T
*Red Rose - Honest John, Corporal replacement for British Army - later became Blue Water - cancelled 1962
*Red Queen - rapid fire 42 mm revolver cannon anti-aircraft gun [http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/RED%20QUEEN.htm The Red Queen and the Vigilante] accessed 22nd April 2008]
*Red Sea - anti-aircraft gun predictor [ [http://www.skomer.u-net.com/projects/greenmace.htm Green Mace Anti-Aircraft Gun ] ]
*Red Setter - experimental side-looking radar for V bombers
*Red Shoes - see English Electric Thunderbird
*Red Shrimp - ARI 18076 airborne high-band jammer
*Red Snow - nuclear weapon warhead
*Red Steer - EKCO ARI 5919/ARI 5952 airborne tail-warning radar - development of AI 20 Green Willow
*Red Top - air to air missile a.k.a. Firestreak Mk 4
*Red Ticket - associated with AI 17 radar
*Red Tulip - phase coherent radar Moving Target Indicator (MTI)

Violet

*Violet Banner - infrared seeker for Red Top
*Violet Club - nuclear weapon
*Violet Fire - detection system for Concorde
*Violet Friend - simple ABM system
*Violet Mist - truck-mounted nuclear landmine - formerly Blue Badger
*Violet Picture - UHF Homer, built by Plessey - Fitted to many RAF aircraft.
*Violet Vision - nuclear warhead for Corporal missile - based on Red Beard

Yellow

*Yellow Anvil - nuclear artillery shell warhead
*Yellow Barley - radar warning receiver
*Yellow Gate - Loral ESM for Boeing E-3D Sentry and Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR.2
*Yellow River - mobile tactical control radar for Bristol Bloodhound - a.k.a. AMES Type 83
*Yellow Sun - nuclear weapon
*Yellow Temple - nuclear-armed SAGW development of Red Shoes

References

* [http://www.skomer.u-net.com/projects/start.htm United Kingdom Aerospace and Weapons Projects]
*Public Record Office, London. TNA AIR 2/17322 E51B (a)

External links

* [http://www.mcis.soton.ac.uk/Site_Files/pdf/nuclear_history/glossary.pdf British nuclear weapon history]

ee also

*British military aircraft designation systems
*Nuclear weapons and the United Kingdom