The Rocket Vault

From tank busters to rocket motors used to launch satellites into space – see some of the secret rockets worked on at Waltham Abbey in our brand new exhibit.

The exhibition shows the development of rocket motors and propellants from Congreve's gunpowder rocket of the early 19th century through to the guided missiles used in the cold war and Falklands war. Former employees are on hand most weekends to give guided tours and answer any technical questions concerning rockets and propellants.

Twelve new rockets were added to the display in June 2007. Among the exhibits on show are a rocket engine from a V2 that broke up in mid air over Waltham Abbey in 1945, a Gosling motor from a Thunderbird anti aircraft rocket of the cold war era, a Blowpipe ground to air missile from the Falklands war and a model of the Skylark research rocket that provided valuable scientific information over a period of some fifty years.

Also on show are examples of the various propellants used in rocket motors - gunpowder, cordite, plastic and rubber, along with a display showing the preparation of the main constituents of cordite - nitroglycerine and nitrocellulose.

Recently arrived is a Petrel launcher and rocket used for research purposes and later as targets for the Navy, plus a Raven motor used to power the Skylark rocket. Due to space limitations we can only show a small part of our collection at any one time and currently we are replacing our scientific instrument display with a new selection of rocket motors that are due to arrive shortly. These include a 36 inch diameter Stonechat, the largest motor we produced and an Exocet missile.