Interesting item ... anyone know?

[impetuous]

Following the last success of a whatisit post ...

Just picked this up from a junk shop.

Thought it may amuse on here.

[anonymous-user]

Navy, ET2 is Engineering branch Technician 2nd Class. Can be weapons or maintenance.

The item is obviously a parachute retarded device. Probably a sonobuoy.

Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 30th August 18:34

[Ginetta G15 Girl]

Looks like a sonobouy to me.

Given the date DIFAR trial maybe?

[impetuous]

Thank you for the suggestions, will look into Navy Sonobuoys.

As a collector, I simply liked its simple beauty, the unusual parachute, and thought it had a story to tell from over 40 years ago.

However, would have thought an unusual spelling as "Neill Griffiths OBE" would be Googleable, but it doesn't seem to be.

[Krikkit]

Would it perhaps relate to this chap?

http://www.ballistics.org/neill_griffiths_award.ph...

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/46593/su...

Also referenced in here, although it's a very substantial PDF, page 462: http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a289982.pd...

Edited by Krikkit on Wednesday 30th August 21:03

[impetuous]

Superb, good research mind!

Certainly sounds like my chap from your first link,

"The Award was created in memory of Neill Griffiths who for many years was head of the Explosives Technology Department at the Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment at Fort Halstead in the UK. He pioneered much of the UK shaped charge research and development programmes including the development of the first tandem warhead"

Thank you!

The sculpture is gaining history and life before my eyes.

It'd be nice to match the sculpture to an object, especially with the distinctive parachute.

A lot of pleasure thus far for the £10.50 purchase price.

[twister]

Given his role, and the dates on the plaque, and the somewhat distinctive stepped cylindrical shape of the "thing", I'm wondering if it's anything to do with development of the similarly-shaped runway cratering munition used in JP.233?

[anonymous-user]

Yeah, I decided to go with Sonobuoy based on the branch being Navy Engineering - Weapons.

I did google his name but my fu is clearly not as strong as others. On this new info, JP233 cratering munitions have to be front runner.

Fort Halstead or their descendants might like it back?

[Ginetta G15 Girl]

JP233 development didn't begin until 1977 though.

[ReaderScars]

Ginetta G15 Girl said:

JP233 development didn't begin until 1977 though.

Do you do small loud things as well as bigger things?

[twister]

I'd consider the possibility that, whilst work on JP.233 itself didn't start until 1977, there's likely to have been earlier work done on the potential uses of shaped charges in air-dropped munitions, which contributed to what eventually found its way into JP.233.

[Ginetta G15 Girl]

There certainly was - BL755 entered service in the early 1970s.

[anonymous-user]

My background in aerospace research suggests that there would have been multiple lead in projects to develop technology to a level where it could be integrated into a system. One of those projects could well have been something like this and have taken place before JP233 got going.

[Gargamel]

Ginetta G15 Girl said:

JP233 development didn't begin until 1977 though.

Might be a timeline issue though, I am not certain the award was created in 1977, the web page shows the first recipient in 1995.

[Steve_D]

Whilst the mention of the award quite clearly points to our man I don't think the display object is the award mentioned.

Also the parachute drop object is not either of the cluster bombs mentioned so far.

When I looked around I could not find him mentioned in OBE listings. If we could find that it would at least place the display object before that date.

Steve

[RizzoTheRat]

coanda said:

Fort Halstead or their descendants might like it back?

Sadly probably not. RARDE later got subsumed in to DERA, and when they split in to DSTL (Government) and QinetiQ (Commercial), DSTL seemed to have an official policy of getting rid of all their history. The building I was in at the Fort had loads of plaques and the like presented in relation to work done years before, and they got rid of the whole lot of it.

There are however some small museums trying to keep some of their history, for example the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust which has loads of stuff from RAE/DRA/DERA/etc at Farnborough. They might be able to tell you if there's a similar organisation trying to preserve Fort Halsteads history.

Lovely looking model/trophy though

[yellowjack]

Steve_D said:

Whilst the mention of the award quite clearly points to our man I don't think the display object is the award mentioned.

Also the parachute drop object is not either of the cluster bombs mentioned so far.

When I looked around I could not find him mentioned in OBE listings. If we could find that it would at least place the display object before that date.

Steve

Ta-daa!

the SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE 14th JUNE 1975 page 7379 said:

O.B.E.

To be Ordinary Officers of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order :

Neill GRIFFITHS, Senior Principal Scientific Officer, Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment, Ministry of Defence.

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/46593/su...

[impetuous]

All superb!

Thank you thus far!

I'm a hobby treasure hunter ... at the risk indulgence, a selection of my interesting finds from last 8 weeks ...

Signed original Battle of Britain Memorial pilot sculpture, Capel.



Porton Down Officer's Mess embossing stamp (rather fun, planning amusing forgeries)





And bits from a British nuclear submarine, think it's Resolution class Polaris



Is there a thread here for "floaty sinky aero tat wot I got cheap?"

[HowlerMonkey]

The buoy that had the name "sonobuoy" was actually invented by an englishman named Eric Softley who moved to a more friendly environment in sunny Key Biscayne, Florida with his smoking hot daughter, wife, and son.

[anonymous-user]

RizzoTheRat said:

coanda said:

Fort Halstead or their descendants might like it back?

Sadly probably not. RARDE later got subsumed in to DERA, and when they split in to DSTL (Government) and QinetiQ (Commercial), DSTL seemed to have an official policy of getting rid of all their history. The building I was in at the Fort had loads of plaques and the like presented in relation to work done years before, and they got rid of the whole lot of it.

There are however some small museums trying to keep some of their history, for example the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust which has loads of stuff from RAE/DRA/DERA/etc at Farnborough. They might be able to tell you if there's a similar organisation trying to preserve Fort Halsteads history.

Lovely looking model/trophy though

It's a real shame. I think there is often a drive to wipe out memory when a company is transformed so that a new culture can be put in place with minimum inertia. Whatever you might think of that cultural change doesn't seem to matter. But is a big driver for disengagement in the time served staff. It's almost like they want them to leave...

Anyway... I don't think this is the trophy - it looks more like a leaving gift.