Mr Hughes supplies a correction to the description of Sea Dart loading on Type 42 destroyers: the whole transport crate stayed above the magazine. The crate was aligned on deck rails while the launcher was turned aside, then slid onto a frame that raised it vertically over a reloading hatch. A magazine ram reached into the crate, took one missile, and lowered it into storage. The crew repeated that sequence for the ship's nominal 22-round load, making a full reload laborious even if topping up a few missiles was more manageable. Overhead photographs reveal the rails, raised ramp, and folded loading frame that made the procedure possible.
Notable Point · 48:54-50:31
How Type 42 destroyers loaded Sea Dart missiles
Deck rails, a lifting frame, and launcher rams moved crated Sea Dart missiles into a Type 42's magazine one round at a time.