Green Cheese missile

The Green Cheese missile was a British radar-guided anti-ship tactical nuclear warhead missile project of the 1950s. It was developed by Fairey Aviation, and was originally called Fairey Project 7 and was supposed to be used by the Fairey Gannet shipborne anti-submarine warfare aircraft. Unfortunately, the missile's 3,800 lb (1720 kg) weight proved to be too heavy for the Gannet and would have required extra modifications to the Gannet's bomb bay to expose the missile's seeker head to the target before launch. The missile project continued since the Blackburn Buccaneer naval strike aircraft had a rotating bomb bay which was ideally suited to the task.

The project was cancelled in 1956 due in part to cost over-runs, at which point it had a reached a stage called Cockburn Cheese (after the British military scientist Dr. Robert Cockburn), and replaced with the Green Flash missile project. This too was cancelled and the idea of a tactical nuclear guided missile for anti-shipping use was given up in favour of a simple "lobbed" tactical nuclear bomb.

The name was randomly generated as one of the UK's Rainbow Codes.

ee also

*Rainbow Codes