Reminds one a bit of The Great Panjandrum <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panjandrum" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panjandrum</a>
"At first all went well. Panjandrum rolled into the sea and began to head for the shore...Then a clamp gave: first one, then two more rockets broke free..."