S-5 (missile)
The name S-5 refers to a family of unguided air-to-surface missiles that were developed in the Soviet Union and used by the Soviet air forces as well as by the air forces of various other countries. Originally, the missile was developed as an air-to-air missile to combat enemy air targets . Later versions of the missile were primarily used to combat soft, semi-hard and hard targets on the ground.
Development history
In 1946 the then OKB-16 (now KB Totschmasch - Russian: КБ "Точмаш") was commissioned to investigate the use of unguided rockets as aircraft armament. At the time, the OKB-16 was responsible for the construction of on-board weapons for aircraft; constructions such as the N-23 cannon and its successors were developed in this design office. Unguided rockets had already been developed during the Second World War in Germany, among other places, and were also used towards the end of the war. The German 55-mm air-to-air missile R4M was examined in detail in the OKB-16 .
Conceptually, the new weapon was intended to combat air targets. Priority should be given to fighting heavy bombers with a volley of unguided missiles. It was assumed that at least one rocket in the volley hit the air target and caused severe damage there. The low hit accuracy of the individual unguided rockets was compensated by the relatively high number of missiles fired in a salvo.
The weapon was developed in the early 1950s as part of the AS-5 weapon system for the first Soviet supersonic fighter, the MiG-19 . The system was tested in different configurations on MiG-15 and MiG-17 . The final tests on a MiG-17PF took place in January 1955. However, the tests showed that the weapon against air targets did not show the expected effect. Nevertheless, the system was taken over into the armament of the Soviet Army in April 1955, the ARS-57 missile was given the military designation S-5.
construction
rocket
The rocket with the caliber 55 mm is fired from a launch tube with the caliber 57 mm. The rocket itself consists of a steel tube. The solid motor is located in the rear part of the tube , the warhead in the front part . The warhead is triggered by a mechanical impact fuse. The nozzle of the solid fuel motor has a significantly smaller diameter than the missile. At the rear edge of the nozzle there is a ring to which eight foldable stabilizing surfaces are attached. Before take-off, the surfaces are folded forward and fill the space between the nozzle and the launch tube. After leaving the launch tube, the stabilization surfaces fold out by spring force. During the flight of the rocket, the trajectory is stabilized by the twist caused by the surfaces. The rocket rotates around its longitudinal axis at 750 rpm. The solid-fuel motor has a burn-out time of 1.1 s, until the burn-out time the rocket covers a distance of around 300 m. The range of the rocket is 3–4 km.
Starting container
The missile is fired from a launch container. Various launch containers have been developed that can hold 4 to 32 missiles. The ORO-57 represents the first generation of launch containers for the rocket. It was built in versions for four, eight or 16 rockets. The most widespread was the version for eight missiles, which was mainly used on the MiG-19. The UB-16-57 was used from the early 1960s. UB stands for "Universal Block" and indicates that the container could be attached to all suitable suspensions on most Soviet aircraft and helicopters, the number 16 for the number of rockets in the container and the number 57 for the caliber of the launch tube in mm. The first variant had a conically shaped front part, the modernized variant UB-16-57D a blunt one. From 1968 the version UB-16-57UMP was produced. The front of the container was tapered, but the five inner launch tubes protruded from the cone. The 32-missile UB-32 was developed in the 1970s. It was used on heavier aircraft. The launch container Mars-2 for 16 rockets was produced in Poland. The following dimensions and weights apply to selected versions:
| ORO-57K | UB-16-57UMP | UB-32 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of missiles | 8th | 16 | 32 |
| Length, mm | 1447 | 1880 | 2080 |
| Diameter, mm | 220 | 335 | 481 |
| Empty weight kg | 33 | 57 | 103 |
| Weight, ammunitioned, kg | 64 | 138 | 264 |
| carrier | MiG-19 |
MiG-21 Su-7 Mi-8 |
MiG-21 MiG-23 MiG-27 Su-7 Su-17/20/22 Su-25 Mi-17 Mi-24 |
Warhead
Originally, a fragmentation warhead with an impact fuse was used. Since the use against air targets was not very promising and guided air-to-air missiles were soon available, the S-5 was primarily used against ground targets. For this purpose, fragmentation warheads, warheads with a hollow charge and flechettes were developed. For their own protection are missiles that chaff ejection, known as Chaff, as well as missiles with Infrarottäuschkörpern, called flares, are available.
| designation | Type | Length over all | Takeoff weight | Weight warhead | annotation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S-5 | GP | 0.915 m | 3.99 kg | 1.16 kg | Impact fuse |
| S-5M | HE-FRAG | ? | ? | ? | 75 splinters |
| S-5M1 | HE-FRAG | 0.882 m | 3.86 kg | 0.8 kg | 75 splinters |
| S-5MO | QUESTION | 0.998 m | 4.82 kg | 0.8 kg | Warhead with 20 rings that disintegrate into 360 fragments |
| S-5K | HEAT | ? | ? | ? | Shaped charge, penetration capacity 130 mm |
| S-5K1 | HEAT | 0.83 m | 3.64 kg | 1.1 kg | Shaped charge, penetration capacity 130 mm |
| S-5KO | HEAT / FRAG |
0.987 m | 4.43 kg | 1.36 kg | Warhead with 10 rings that break up into 220 fragments |
| S-5KP | HEAT / FRAG |
? | ? | ? | Shattered wire sheathing, piezoelectric percussion fuse |
| S-5KPB | HEAT / FRAG |
1,079 m | 5.01 kg | 1.8 kg | Shattered wire sheathing, piezoelectric percussion fuse |
| S-5S | Flechette | ? | ? | ? | 1000 to 1100 flechettes with a length of 40 mm |
| S-5SB | Flechette | ? | ? | ? | 1000 to 1100 flechettes with a length of 40 mm |
| S-5P (PARS-57) | Chaff | ? | ? | Radar decoys | |
| S-5P1 | Chaff | 1,073 m | 5.04 kg | Radar decoys | |
| S-5-O | Flare | ? | ? | ? | Infrared decoys / battlefield lighting |
| S-5-O1 | Flare | 0.948 m | 4.94 kg | 1.73 kg | Parachute flare |
commitment
The weapon found widespread use in the Warsaw Pact participating states as well as in third world countries. In practice it was procured by all countries that used Soviet fighter jets and helicopters or their Chinese derivatives.
The S-5 was used on the Soviet side in Afghanistan in the 1980s. It was mainly fired by attack aircraft Su-25 and attack helicopters Mi-24 . However, the effect on the target was small. According to reports from pilots, the rockets in a volley spread like the petals of a tulip. The effect of the warhead also left a lot to be desired; in the opinion of the pilots, it was only suitable for " tickling the heels of the mujahideen ". The Soviet Air Force therefore quickly switched to the use of larger caliber missiles such as the S-8 .
On January 6, 2009, the Israel Defense Forces reported the launch of an S-5K from the Gaza Strip onto a target in Israel. According to the IDF, the missile was launched from the ground. Compared to the Qassam missile , the warhead of an S-5 contains more explosives, but the weapon is less accurate.
Launch container ORO-57K on a J-6 (Chinese license production of the MiG-19)
Launch container UB-16-57 on a MiG-19
UB-16-57UMP launch tank on a Su-7BKL
UB-32 launch tank on a MiG-23
Mars-2 launch tank on a Lim-6bis
UB-32 on a Mi-8
Improvised mounted UB-32 on a Technical 2011
literature
- Jefim Gordon : Soviet / russian aircraft weapons since world war two . Midland, 2004, pp. 15 .
- Jefim Gordon, Dimitri Komissarow: Mil Mi-24 Hind Attack Helicopter . ISBN 1-84037-238-9 .
- Duncan Lennox: Jane's Air Launched Weapons Issue 36. ISBN 0-7106-0866-7 .
Web links
- Ugolok Neba, S-5 (Russian)
- Ugolok Neba, S-5M (Russian)