One British Missile Fails, 2nd a Success

An unarmed missile that strayed off course was destroyed Sunday less than two minutes after launch from a British Royal Navy submarine off the Florida coast, but a second launch was successful, officials said.

The destruct signal was issued after radar detected a malfunction in the unarmed Polaris missile launched from the Repulse, submerged about 30 miles off Cape Canaveral.

U.S. Navy Cmdr. Walter T. Clark said officials had “no alternative” but to destroy the missile after the malfunction.

Clark watched the launch aboard the U.S. vessel Range Sentinel off Cape Canaveral under an agreement allowing Royal Navy tests off the U.S. coast. He said it was too early to tell what went wrong.

A second missile launch from the Repulse less than two hours later was successful, officials said.

A Polaris missile is propelled to the surface by compressed steam in the submarine’s launch tube and the first-stage motor ignites after it has cleared the surface.

The Repulse is one of four Royal Navy submarines carrying Polaris missiles. They were phased out by the U.S. Navy in the late 1970s and early 1980s.