Purple Haze: The Psychedelic Sound of Nuclear Deterrence

Press/Media: Press / Media

Description

It was autumn 1968. The newly commissioned HMS Repulse (S23) slipped silently out of the Firth of Clyde and dove deep under the sea on the first patrol of the United Kingdom’s nuclear continuous-at-sea deterrent (CASD). The vessel carried 16 A3 Polaris Missiles armed with three ET317 warheads, the anglicized version of the American W58 weapon, with the capacity at any given moment to deliver 16 megatons of nuclear ordinance onto predesignated targets in Soviet Russia. Meanwhile, far across the world in Los Angeles, rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix deployed a fierce new electro-acoustic guitar music upon audiences. Like the sonar subsystems on HMS Repulse, these new guitar sounds found their origins in the acoustic laboratories at the UK Admiralty Research Laboratory (ARL) in Teddington, South West London.

Period1 Feb 2021

Media contributions

1

Media contributions

  • TitlePurple Haze: The Psychedelic Sound of Nuclear Deterrence
    Degree of recognitionInternational
    Media name/outletInkstick Media
    Media typeWeb
    Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
    Date1/02/21
    DescriptionIt was autumn 1968. The newly commissioned HMS Repulse (S23) slipped silently out of the Firth of Clyde and dove deep under the sea on the first patrol of the United Kingdom’s nuclear continuous-at-sea deterrent (CASD). The vessel carried 16 A3 Polaris Missiles armed with three ET317 warheads, the anglicized version of the American W58 weapon, with the capacity at any given moment to deliver 16 megatons of nuclear ordinance onto predesignated targets in Soviet Russia. Meanwhile, far across the world in Los Angeles, rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix deployed a fierce new electro-acoustic guitar music upon audiences. Like the sonar subsystems on HMS Repulse, these new guitar sounds found their origins in the acoustic laboratories at the UK Admiralty Research Laboratory (ARL) in Teddington, South West London.
    Producer/AuthorMichael Mulvihill
    URLhttps://inkstickmedia.com/purple-haze-the-psychedelic-sound-of-nuclear-deterrence/
    PersonsMichael Mulvihill