Stephen: IOW 3

Today we went to The Needles Batteries there we met up with my other brother John and his wife and daughter and of cause Hamish his daughters hearing dog.

The needles batteries were built in the late 1800's, the old battery was built to defend the western entrance to The Solant, the New Battery was built only 30 years latter as the old site could not accommodate the new guns. On the way to the battery we past the famous coloured sands of Alum Bay.

Muzzle loaded guns at the 'Old Battery'

Looking across the parade ground

The Parade Ground from the upper level

The Searchlight enclosure

Looking up The Solant Hurst Castle on the left Fort Albert right

The Needles from the Searchlight enclosure

Lamp in the tunnel to the searchlight

Looking along the southern coast line

From the Old Battery we walked up the hill to the New Battery, new here is a relative term as it was originally constructed in 1895. In 1954 Needles New Battery became known as Highdown and was used for Top Secret rocket testing,

Model of single stage Black Knight rocket

Model of twin stage Black Knight rocket

Model of three stage Black Arrow rocket

satellite in the Black Arrow rocket

Prospero the first and only British satellite launched by a British rocket was launched from Woomera Southern Australia on 28th October 1971 using a Black Arrow rocket tested at Highdown.

a model of Prospero

By November 1971 the British Government had decided that they could see no commercial future in the manufacture and launching of satellites and the Highdown test facility was closed down.