Bloodhound Missile launched from RAF Marham 1970-ish?

As a small boy, I saw what I now believe to have been the launch of a Bloodhound surface to air missile from RAF Marham. By 1970 this type of missile had evolved into rather a large missile and had, I believe the range of about 100 miles. I saw this missile launched when I was aged about eight years old, around about 1970. 

It was a late summer evening, probably between 7-10pm. I was playing in the garden of The Grange in Great Cressingham when I looked in a certain direction and saw a large rocket/missile slowly rising above the tree line into the sky not too far away, notably it went straight up and not at an angle. This was no small rocket/missile and there is no doubt at all that I saw it, no none whatsoever, I was not mistaking it for a firework or anything simple like that. Today, when I see missiles being launched on TV they are up and away in a flash and almost all you see is the smoke trail, this was nothing like that. This seemed to be having a little trouble breaking free of the Earth's gravitational field, it did look much more like a big rocket launch. Maybe it wasn't a Bloodhound after all but a much larger missile/rocket. However the Bloodhound is the only recognised projectile know to have been at RAF Marham during that time.

Being a child and hearing of all the Apollo missions I remember deciding that it was an Apollo rocket being launched by the Americans, at that age I didn't realize just how far away America was! I was however very sure that I was watching a notable event.
Recently I looked on Google Earth and zoomed into the place in the garden at Great Cressingham where I had been standing at the time I saw the launch, from there using Googles ruler I made a straight line to the trees where I saw the projectile rise, following this line I looked for any possible locations for the launch. RAF Marham is the only logical place I can see where it could have been launched, it is directly in line to where I was looking at the time and close by. The only other bases nearby are the American base of RAF Feltwell, however this is almost 90 degrees left we where I was facing and the much closer British base of North Pickenham (No longer a base), which did in fact at that time, hold Bloodhound missiles, however that would have been at 90 degrees to the right of where I was facing, Marham is not the only option but perfectly placed. My parents recently informed me that there was nothing they can recall in the news around that time about such an event.

What brought this event back to remembrance was while I was scanning through videos on Youtube. I stumbled across a video of an Apollo mission, in the clip you could clearly see the Earth through a port hole in the Apollo craft. The video directed your attention towards what appeared to be a smudge or puff of cloud in the Earth's atmosphere, suddenly the cloud moved to one side and a split second later a missile launched from Earth passed through the very same location where moments before the cloud/smudge had been located. I do not presume my sighting was the very same missile seen in this video (although it is entirely possible), however it was this video clip that brought my memory back to the event of my childhood.

What I am interested in is what was the bloodhound's target? (If in fact it was a Bloodhound) It was the time period of the cold war, had it been aimed at a Russian plane that was directly over the UK as the Bloodhound was travelling vertically? Could they have been testing a Bloodhound? However as I understand it, all testing of the Bloodhound was carried-out abroad years before, also would the MOD allow the testing of a missile over a populated area?
Another interesting fact is that much larger nuclear rockets were located at RAF North Pickenham until very late in the 1960's. Could one of these have been secretly located at RAF Marham? To be honest with you, remembering what I saw if I knew that both Bloodhounds and the larger nuclear missiles were both located at RAF Marham at the time 'I saw what I saw' I would without any doubt say I had seen the launch of the much larger Nuclear missile however, if I am to stick to the official records, only Bloodhounds were located at RAF Marham at that time.

I'm sure there must have be others who are still around today that witnessed this event. The town of Kings Lynn is about the same distance from RAF Marham as Great Cressingham. Maybe someone has discovered what it was all about. If you have any information I would be very grateful to hear from you, it would be nice to know exactly what I saw on that lazy summer evening and to identify the correct date it took place.

Email: karl@esculent.co.uk

God bless.
In Christ Jesus, Karl.

Site created:   14th November 2007
Last updated: 12th December 2007