List of Rainbow Codes

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

History

The Ministry of Supply (MoS) initiated the idea because, during the war, the British realised that although the code-names of some German secret projects could be cryptic, they often provided useful clues as to their nature. For example, the radio navigation device known as Wotan used a single radio beam, which had already been inferred by the British because the system was named after the one-eyed god of the same name. The intention of rainbow codes was to clearly and uniquely identify a project, whilst not providing any hints or clues regarding its characteristics.

Each rainbow code name was constructed from a colour, 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.

While most colour and noun combinations were meaningless, some were real names, although quite unrelated to the project they designated. For example, Black Maria is also a name for a police van and Red Duster is a name for the Red Ensign, the flag flown by British merchant ships.

The names were mostly dropped with the end of the Ministry in 1959. Its functions were transferred to the War Office, the Air Ministry which handled military aviation, and the newly-created Ministry of Aviation in charge of civil aviation. After the reorganization, projects were mostly named with randomly-selected codes comprising two letters and three digits, eg. BL755, WE177. However, rainbow codes continue to be used with some modern systems; current examples include the Blue Vixen radar and the Orange Reaper Electronic Support Measures system.

Projects

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Black

• Black Arrow - a satellite launch vehicle derived from Blue Streak/Black Knight
• Black Knight - a launch vehicle used to test re-entry vehicles 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 - truck-mounted nuclear land mine - later renamed Violet Mist
• Blue Bishop - portable 2.5 MW nuclear-powered electrical generator - previously Green Janet
• Blue Boar - TV-guided bomb
• Blue Boy - VHF speech scrambling
• Blue Bunny - ten-kiloton nuclear mine, 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 Danube - the first British nuclear weapon in service
• Blue Devil - T4 optical bombsight - drift and ground speed from Green Satin
• Blue Diamond - AA No7 Radar - anti aircraft radar
• Blue Diver - ARI (Airborne Radio Installation) 18075 airborne low-band VHF jammer - against metric frequency radar such as Tall King
• Blue Dolphin - a.k.a. Blue Jay Mk V for Sea Vixen - see Hawker Siddeley Red Top
• Blue Duck - Anti-Submarine Warfare missile, entered service as Ikara
• Blue Envoy - surface to air missile to OR.1140
• Blue Fox - kiloton range nuclear weapon, later renamed Indigo Hammer - not to be confused with the later Blue Fox radar
• Blue Fox - airborne radar
• Blue Jacket - ARI (Airborne Radio Installation) 5880 airborne Doppler navigation radar fitted to Hawker-Siddeley Buccaneer aircraft.
• Blue Jay - air-to-air missile - entered service as de Havilland Firestreak
• Blue Joker - balloon-borne Early Warning radar - a.k.a. AMES Type 87
• Blue Moon - see Blue Streak
• Blue Oak - AWRE Atlas 2 super-computer used for simulation of nuclear explosions
• Blue Parrot - ARI 5930 I band automatic contour-following radar for Buccaneer - also known as AIRPASS II (AIRPASS=Airborne Interception Radar & Pilot's Attack Sight System)
• Blue Peacock - ten-kiloton nuclear land mine - also known as Blue Bunny and Brown Bunny; it used the Blue Danube physics package.
• Blue Rapier - Red Rapier - missiles - see UB.109T
• Bue Riband - large anti-jamming radar - cancelled 1958 and supplanted by smaller version as Blue Yeoman
• Blue Rosette - short-case nuclear weapon bomb casing for reconnaissance bomber to spec R156T, including the Avro 730, Handley Page HP.100, English Electric P10, Vickers SP4 and various others.
• Blue Saga - ARI 18105 airborne radar warning receiver (RWR)
• Blue Sapphire - astro-navigation system - see also Orange Tartan
• Blue Sky - see Fairey Fireflash
• Blue Silk - airborne Doppler navigation radar unit with lower speed range than Green Satin
• Blue Slug - heavy ship-to-ship missile using Sea Slug launcher, nuclear or conventional
• Blue Star - satellite launcher - see Black Prince
• Blue Steel - an air-launched rocket propelled nuclear stand-off missile
• 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 Sugar - air-droppable target marking radio Beacon developed by TRE.
• Blue Vesta - a later version of the Blue Jay air to air missile
• Blue Vixen - Pulse-Doppler radar for Sea Harrier FA2
• Blue Water - see Red Rose
• Blue Yeoman - Early Warning radar, also known as AMES Type 85, aka Linesman

Brown

• Brown Bunny - original, unofficial name for Blue Peacock

Green

• Green Archer - mortar-locating radar
• Green Bamboo - nuclear weapon
• Green Cheese - nuclear anti-ship missile
• Green Flash - Green Cheese's replacement
• 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 Granite - nuclear weapons - Green Granite (small) & Green Granite (large)
• Green Grass - nuclear weapon
• Green Janet - portable, nuclear power plant; see Blue Bishop
• Green Hammock - low-altitude bomber, Doppler navigation
• 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
• Green Palm - airborne VHF voice channel jammer with 4 pre-set channels, replaced in the Vulcan B2 by the I band 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 Walnut - blind bombing equipment
• Green Willow - EKCO AI Mk. 20 Fire Control radar - backup to ARI.5897 AI Mk. 23 Airborne Interception radar for English Electric P.1 fighter
• Green Wizard - instrument for calibrating anti-aircraft guns, by measuring muzzle-velocity

Indigo

• Indigo Corkscrew - continuous wave radar, used with the Bristol Bloodhound and English Electric Thunderbird surface to air missiles
• Indigo Bracket - radar jamming system
• Indigo Hammer - nuclear weapon

Jade

• Jade River - continuous wave radar, developed from Indigo Corkscrew

Orange

• Orange Crop - Racal MIR 2 ESM system for Royal Navy Lynx helicopters
• Orange Harvest - S and X band warning receiver fitted to Shackletons
• Orange Herald - nuclear weapon
• Orange Nell - SAGW - surface to air missile
• Orange Pippin - Ferranti, anti-aircraft, fire-control radar
• Orange Poodle - low altitude, OTHR (Over-the-Horizon) early-warning radar - abandoned
• Orange Putter - Tail Warning radar fitted to Canberra and Valiant
• Orange Reaper - Electronic Support Measures system for Royal Navy Merlin helicopters
• Orange Tartan - 'Auto-Astro' automated star navigation system (day) - see also Blue Sapphire (night).
• Orange William - Swingfire, anti-tank missile
• Orange Yeoman - Early Warning radar & guidance for Bristol Bloodhound SAGW - a.k.a. AMES Type 82

Pink

• Pink Hawk - early name for Fairey Fireflash missile. As this was a "reduced" version of the Red Hawk, it is a rare example of Rainbow Codes having some implied meaning, rather than their usual purely deliberately meaningless choice.

Purple

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

Red

• Red Angel - air-launched anti-ship weapon or "special bomb"
• 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 - Bristol Bloodhound surface to air missile
• Red Flag - free-fall nuclear bomb - 'Improved Kiloton Bomb' - WE.177
• Red Flannel - experimental Q band H2S
• Red Hawk - large missile "downrated" to give Blue Sky
• Red Heathen - early name for Red Shoes
• Red Hebe - air to air missile, a replacement for Red Dean
• Red Light (ECM) - 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 - short-range, battlefield nuclear missile for the British Army - later known as Blue Water; cancelled 1962
• Red Queen - rapid fire 42 mm revolver cannon anti-aircraft gun
• Red Sea (AA) - anti-aircraft gun predictor
• Red Setter - experimental side-looking radar for V bombers
• Red Shoes - see English Electric Thunderbird
• Red Shrimp - ARI 18076 airborne high-band jammer fitted to Victor & Vulcan
• Red Snow - nuclear weapon physics package - Unit 10,000 fitted to Yellow Sun Mk2 and Blue Steel
• 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 Friend - simple ABM system
• Violet Mist - truck-mounted nuclear land mine - formerly Blue Badger. Used the Red Beard physics package.
• 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 Aster - H2S Mk 9A bombing radar, fitted to Victor and Valiant aircraft
• Yellow Barley - radar warning receiver
• Yellow Duckling - infra-red submarine detector
• Yellow Gate - Loral ESM for E-3D Sentry and Nimrod MR.2
• Yellow Jack - Orange Pippin's radar component
• Yellow Lemon - naval aircraft, Doppler-navigation system
• Yellow River - mobile tactical control radar for Bristol Bloodhound - a.k.a. AMES Type 83
• Yellow Sand - anti-ship missile, possibly a precursor to Green Cheese
• Yellow Sun - nuclear weapon casing
• Yellow Temple - nuclear-armed SAGW development of Red Shoes

Non-Rainbow codes

Several British military related terms have a similar format to Rainbow Codes, but are not since they do not refer to classified research projects. These include:

• Blue Circle - sardonic name for concrete ballast for Buccaneer while awaiting Blue Parrot - later also used for Tornado F.2 ballast - from the Blue Circle cement company
• Green Goddess - Colloquial name for Civil Defence fire pump
• Green Porridge - RAF aircrew nickname for green-tinted H2S bombing radar display PPI image in Victor & Vulcan
• Red Arrows - RAF display team
• Red Devils - Parachute Regiment display team
• Violet Fire - Ultraviolet light fire detection system for Concorde engine bays.

See also

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

References

Notes

Bibliography

• United Kingdom Aerospace and Weapons Projects
• Public Record Office, London. TNA AIR 2/17322 E51B (a)
• Vulcan's Hammer: V-Force Aircraft and Weapons Projects Since 1945 - Chris Gibson - 2011 - ISBN 978-1902109176

External links

• British nuclear weapon history
• United Kingdom Aerospace and Weapons Projects