Hornet Malkara

The Hornet Malkara was the product of Cold War necessity designed to combat the heavy tanks of the Soviet Union, in particular the Soviet IS and T-10 models. More specifically, the Malkara was engineered as a portable air-drop weapon for use by the now-defunct Parachute Squadron, Royal Army Corps. Though intended to replace the British Conqueror Heavy Tank - detailed elsewhere on this site - the Malkara was limited to disbursement only to the RAC.

The Malkara was a 4x4 wheel system, utilizing the Humber 1-ton truck as the base. Two Malkara-type wire-guided anti-tank missiles were mounted in retractable launcher assembly at rear and the entire system could be operated by three personnel and made ready in just ten minutes from the time it landed on the ground. The weapons operator was seated to the left of the cab and controlled the missiles in flight via a joystick, assisted by a roof-mounted periscope with built-in magnification. The weapon system was also designed to be fired in a semi-remote fashion which allowed the operator the ability to launch from up to 90 yards away via specialized equipment.

The Malkara missile was fin-stabilized two-stage solid fuel booster anti-tank missile measuring over six feet in length. The warhead would become the largest type to ever be fitted to an anti-tank missile, though this could be viewed as a new requirement considering the level of armor protection of the Russian heavy tanks. The warhead was of the HEAT variety and the entire system weight in at 200lbs. Primary design and engineering of the missile itself was accomplished by several Australian weapons firms in conjunction with several English companies.

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