in 1970 dan kimball retired from the board of baj, and thereafter aerojet became only a financial partner, and after baj's subsidiary sortrac, a mechanical handling firm, went bankrupt, aerojet refused to agree to capital reconstruction. the bristol aeroplane company's operations – along with the majority of british aircraft and aero-engine manufacture – had been restructured at government insistence during the 1960s and its half-share in baj had passed to rolls royce ltd, which in 1971 was effectively bankrupt and subsequently nationalised, resulting in restrictions being placed on baj by the receiver. ron howarth was appointed managing director at banwell, and supervised withdrawal from several activities considered high-risk such as nuclear engineering and re-focussed on troy cases for rapier missiles, sounding rockets, and very large contracts from rpe westcott on the chevaline project. however, the nuclear team survived, and began new work for the admiralty.