MGM-18 lacrosse
| MGM-18 lacrosse | |
|---|---|
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| General Information | |
| Type | Short-range missile |
| NATO designation | MGM-18 lacrosse |
| Country of origin |
 United States
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| Manufacturer | Glenn L. Martin Company |
| development | 1953 |
| Commissioning | 1960 |
| Working time | 1960-1964 |
| Technical specifications | |
| length | 5.85 m |
| diameter | 520 mm |
| Combat weight | 1,040 kg |
| span | 2,740 mm |
| drive | Solid rocket engine Thiokol XM10 |
| speed | Mach 0.8 |
| Range | 19 km |
| Furnishing | |
| steering | INS , radio command steering |
| Warhead | W40 nuclear warhead with 1.7 or 10 kt or 245 kg shaped charge |
| Detonator | Proximity fuse or impact fuse |
| Lists on the subject | |
The MGM-18 Lacrosse was a short-range military ballistic missile made in the United States. The first test flight took place in 1954, from 1959 it was delivered to the United States Army , although it was still in the development phase. Because the program's many technical problems proved too serious, the missile was withdrawn from service by 1964.
development
The Lacrosse Project arose from the demand from the United States Marine Corps for a short - range guided missile to complement traditional field artillery . Preliminary studies were commissioned in September 1947 from the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University and the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory. In 1949 the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory was given the task of selecting a guidance system for the weapon. In the early 1950s, responsibility for surface-to-surface missiles shifted from the United States Navy to the Army. Under the influence of the Korean War , the army started the advance development of the rocket at Cornell in June 1950, a month before the project was officially assigned to it.
After the specifications for the weapon system had been changed significantly in 1951, the most important components were outlined in January 1953 so that clear development contracts could be awarded. During this time, a solid fuel drive was also used. In 1954, Cornell completed the designs and demonstrated the feasibility of the project. In January 1954, the Redstone Arsenal was given the supervision and technical supervision of the project. While the first 15 rockets were fired at the test site of the White Sands Missile Range later that year , the Glenn L. Martin Company was the second manufacturer under contract. Cornell later switched to further development and upgrading of the missile's combat value. In the spring of 1956, the MOD I was designed, a completely new guidance system for the rocket to protect it against electronic countermeasures . A first prototype of the rocket was delivered in June.
At trial starts in 1958, with which the development should be ended, it turned out that the weapon did not achieve the required reliability . After a series of time postponements and shifts in responsibility for the project, the first battalion was equipped with the lacrosse in reduced strength in July 1959 , although it was clear that the missile was at best an acceptable compromise. When the MOD-I project was canceled a month later due to financial difficulties, the US Marine Corps withdrew from the lacrosse program. The US Army Rocket & Guided Missile Agency (ARGMA) took over the tasks of the Redstone Arsenal. In March 1960 the first battalions of the US Army in Europe were equipped with lacrosse , a month later a battalion in Korea. But as early as November 1960, ARGMA was faced with the choice of spending 66 million dollars on redeveloping the control system or ending the project entirely or at least partially. In January 1961 the army stopped further procurement of the missiles and decommissioned them from 1963 to 1964. In its role as a short-range nuclear support weapon, it was replaced by self-propelled guns such as the M109 self-propelled howitzer .
commitment
The first unit equipped with the Lacrosse was the 5th Battalion of the 41st Artillery in Fort Sill , Oklahoma . A total of eight battalions were equipped with the weapon system, six of which in Europe and one each in Korea were directly subordinate to the Strategic Army Corps . The nuclear warhead had an explosive force of 1.7 kT or 10 kT. Alternatively, a 245 kg shaped charge was provided.
functionality
Had a forward observer spotted a target in visual range, he fired the Lacrosse via remote control from their XM398 transporter from. As soon as the observer's portable control device detected the missile's guide beam, the observer could manually aim the missile at the intended target. It was steered by the rocket's movable tail fins . Since visual contact was required, the lacrosse could hardly be used in the dark or under bad weather conditions. Without the MOD-I controller, the missile was susceptible to simple disruptive actions.
Versions
- SSM-N-9 - Name of the first Navy project.
- SSM-G-12 - designation after the takeover by the army, later changed to SSM-A-12 .
- M-4 - designation when it was commissioned in 1959.
- MGM-18 - New designation in June 1963.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| drive | Solid rocket |
| steering | by radio |
| length | 5.85 m |
| diameter | 52 cm |
| total weight | 1040 kg |
| Weight ammunition | 245 kg (conventional or nuclear ) |
| Top speed | Mach 0.8 |
| Range | 8-30 km |
| Detonator | Impact fuse |
literature
- James N. Gibson: Nuclear Weapons of the United States. Schiffer Publishing Ltd, Atglen, Pennsylvania 1996, ISBN 0-7643-0063-6 .
- Bill Gunston: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rockets and Missiles. Salamander Books Ltd, 1979.
Web links
- Article on designation-systems.net
- Chronological sequence of development and use on the Redstone Arsenal website ( Memento from October 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )