It did use zinc and sulfur. A small amount of black powder was used to set it off. We used the wire element from a car cigarette lighter to set it he black powder off. I was not aware that it was called a Fort Siil Beta. Maybe they were using our design in the book since we and another Okla City club were the first that I am aware of firing at Fort Sill.
I would like more info from you book.
Not sure if it’s the same book, but I have a 1959 copy of “The Rocket Handbook for Amateurs” by Lt. Col. Charles M. Parkin, Jr. This book has a forward by Wernher Von Braun, and it details building a liquid fueled rocket. My copy is signed by the author to the man who gave it to me in 1975.
Is this the book you refer to?