AGM-48 Skybolt
| AGM-48 Skybolt | |
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| General Information | |
| Type | Air-to-surface missile |
| Manufacturer | Douglas Aircraft Company |
| development | 1959 |
| Commissioning | 1962 |
| Technical specifications | |
| length | 11.66 m |
| diameter | 0.89 m |
| Combat weight | 5000 kg |
| span | 1.68 m |
| Drive First stage Second stage |
two-stage solid rocket solid rocket motor solid rocket motor |
| speed | Do 12.5 |
| Range | 1850 km |
| Furnishing | |
| Warhead | W-59 nuclear warhead 1200 kt |
| Weapon platforms | Boeing B-52 , planned Avro Vulcan |
| Lists on the subject | |
The Douglas AGM-48 Skybolt was a ballistic air-to-surface missile ( air launched ballistic missile - ALBM) from American production. It was developed under the name XGAM-87 during the Cold War in the late 1950s . With their development one wanted to create a "safer" mobile launch platform for ICBMs of the US Air Force , in contrast to, for example, static and "unsafe" missile silos . To do this, take off from airplanes. The Skybolt was originally from American Boeing B-52 - and British Avro Vulcan - long-range bombers are used. A number of unsuccessful test launches and the progressive development of submarine-based ballistic missiles ultimately led to the cancellation of the program, which caused consternation, particularly among the British military leadership involved in the program.
history
The US Air Force introduced in 1958 as a result of several studies found that they have a ballistic long-range air-to-surface missile needed. In May 1959, Douglas was selected to develop the AGM-87 Skybolt. The Skybolt was a two-stage rocket that used a solid propulsion system. But when the first take-offs took place in April 1962, massive problems became apparent. There were five test starts, all of them failures. The first successful flight of a Skybolt did not take place until December 19, 1962 - albeit too late, because the program was stopped on the same day. In addition to the technical, financial reasons were also decisive. In 1963 some flight tests took place, and the XAGM-87 was renamed the XAGM-48A (the X stands for experimental and is no longer applicable after the weapon system has been commissioned). In total, Douglas is said to have built fewer than 100 AGM-48 Skybolt.
Web links
- www.designation-systems.net : Directory of US Military Rockets and Missiles, Douglas GAM-87 / AGM-48 Skybolt