65 Years of Operation Grapple

65 Years of Operation Grapple

Michelle Harding • 15 May 2022

The 15th of May 1957 marks the 65th anniversary of Grapple 1.

In his book Ken Hubbard describes an idyllic scene - “the gentle lapping of the waves” and the peace and tranquility of the day as he wakes, then the potential shattering of that peace caused by “man’s scientific and technological ability”. He is foreseeing the dropping of the first British hydrogen bomb by “one of the most advanced bombers in the Royal Air Force V Force” which would give Britain the role of “an independent nuclear deterrent power and her effective contribution to the maintenance of peace over the next 25 years”.

AWRE at Aldermaston produced three designs:

Orange Herald; Green Bamboo and Green Granite.

A version of Green Granite known as Short Granite used in Grapple 1 was dropped from Vickers Valiant XD818 flown by Wing Commander Ken Hubbard.

According to Hubbard, the take-off time was 09.00hrs and the bomb was to be dropped at 45,000ft. After briefing he remembers the building excitement and recounts the moment Control from HMS Narvik gave him clearance to drop the bomb and states “It really was a sight of such majesty and grotesque beauty that it defies adequate description”.

He returned to Christmas Island as the Canberras of Squadron 76 set off to take high level samples from the cloud for evaluation by the Scientific Team.

Despite the “euphoria” of the success of the first live drop, the yield of the bomb was unfortunately estimated to be far below its designed capability and the government of the day did not confirm or deny that the UK had become a thermonuclear power.

The photos used in this article were taken Antony Lawrence, who was an 18-year-old Telegraphist on HMS Narvik 1957

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