Use continued post-war, with the last known major operational use being during the Aden Emergency in 1964, where Hawker Hunters flew 642 sorties and fired 2,508 RP-3s in support of Radforce.

Use continued until the withdrawal from Aden Protectorate in November 1967, at which point the RP-3 was withdrawn from service in favour of the newer SNEB.

Concerned about the possibility of shipboard radar setting off the SNEB's electrical ignition, the Royal Navy replaced their RP-3s with a new design, sometimes known as the 2-inch RP.

The "unrotated projectiles" (UPs) were Le Prieur rockets mounted on the interplane struts of Nieuport fighters.

[1][page needed] Starting in 1935, the British began development of new anti-aircraft weapons, including cordite-powered surface-to-air rockets.

When German forces under the command of Erwin Rommel intervened in the Western Desert campaign from early 1941, it became clear that the Desert Air Force lacked weapons capable of damaging or destroying the large numbers of armoured fighting vehicles, particularly the heavier Panzer III and Panzer IV medium tanks used by the Germans.

In April 1941 Henry Tizard, the chief scientist of the British government, called together a panel to study "Methods of Attacking Armoured Vehicles".

The chairman of the panel, Mr. Ivor Bowen (Assistant Director of Armament Research) turned to the idea of using rocket projectiles to deliver a large warhead capable of destroying or disabling heavy tanks.

Four large tailfins 4 by 5 in (100 by 130 mm)[8] induced enough spin to stabilize the rocket, but as it was unguided, aiming was a matter of judgment and experience.

Some aircraft such as the Fairey Swordfish biplane used against submarines had steel "anti-blast" panels fitted under the rails to protect the wing, which further increased weight and drag.

[11] Before the new weapon was released for service extensive tests were carried out by the Instrument, Armament and Defence Flight (IADF) at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough.

[9] At the same time the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) had to develop tactics for all the individual aircraft types which were to be armed with the RPs.

The first operational use of the RP was in the Western Desert campaign as a "tank-busting" weapon on Hawker Hurricane Mk.

With the example of the success of Royal Artillery gunners using high-explosive shells from their Ordnance QF 25 pounder gun-howitzers, it was decided to design a new 60-pound semi-armour-piercing (SAP) head.

Towards the end of the war some RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2 TAF) Hawker Typhoons had their installation adapted to carry an additional four rockets doubled up under the eight already fitted.

[note 4] After the battle, Army and 2nd TAF Operational Research Sections studying the battleground came to the conclusion that far fewer vehicles, 17 in total, had been destroyed by rocket strike alone.

What was clear was that in the heat of battle it was far harder for pilots to launch the weapons while meeting the conditions needed for accuracy.

Smoke, dust and debris in the target areas made accurate assessment of the damage caused almost impossible.

[13] It was also clear that rocket attacks devastated the morale of enemy troops – many vehicles were found abandoned intact, or with only superficial damage.

Soon Coastal Command and the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm aircraft were using the rockets extensively.

The first U-boat destroyed with the assistance of a rocket attack was U-752 (commanded by Kapitän-Leutnant Schroeter), on 23 May 1943, by a Swordfish of 819 Naval Air Squadron (819 NAS).

From then until the end of the Second World War in Europe, Coastal Command and the Fleet Air Arm used the rockets as one of their primary weapons (alongside torpedoes, which, to a certain extent they replaced) against shipping and surfaced U-boats.

In 1945, some British M4 Sherman tanks were fitted with two or four rails – one or two either side of the turret – to carry 60-pound headed rockets.

[17][page needed] In combat, they were also used for short-range, saturation bombardment of an area and were effective as an immediate counter to German ambushes.

This however proved false and by the end of the war the Swedish air force had moved to rocket development instead.

[18][page needed] In May a B 17A was fitted with rocket mounts for ground trials, and shortly after a Saab B 18B was also modified.