White Sands Missile Range, December 2013

Little John was the Army's smallest nuclear-capable rocket ever deployed. It was a free flight artillery rocket, capable of carrying either nuclear or conventional warheads.

Little John was an air-transportable, unguided rocket powered by a solid-fuel rocket motor. Designed to give airborne Army units a nuclear capability, the highly mobile Little John rocket system complemented the heavier self-propelled Honest John systems.

Developmental studies began in 1953. Little John went through two stages of development. The one shown here with triangular fins was the earlier of the two, first launched in June 1956. This was essentially a rocket test vehicle, and was used for training and test purposes.

The final tactical Little John had small square fins. Its development began in 1956, with test firings conducted between December 1958 and October 1959. Production began in late 1959 and the first rockets were deployed by airborne battalions in January 1961.

Production and deployment were limited by the fact that Little John was designed for airborne operations and there were only two airborne Army units at the time. In August 1969, it was declared obsolete and withdrawn from service.

At White Sands Missile Range, the first Little John was tested in 1956. Before it was declared obsolete, 636 rockets had been test-fired here. Between 1969 and 1977, 43 additional Little Johns were launched to test laser guidance, warheads and other components. It was a Range workhorse.

Length: 14.5 feet
Diameter: 12 inches
Weight: 800 pounds
Propellant: Solid
Range: 11 miles
First Fired: 1956

The QH-50 DASH (Drone Anti-Submarine Helicopter) was a small, drone helicopter built by Gyrodyne Company of America for use as a long-range anti-submarine weapon on ships that would otherwise be too small to operate a full-sized helicopter. Three hundred and seventy eight QH-50C were produced before production ended in January 1966. As of 2006, a small number of DASH drones were still in operation at White Sands test range, where they are used to tow targets and calibrate radars and electronic systems.

DASH was a major part of the United States Navy's Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) program of the late 1950s. FRAM was started because the Soviet Union was building submarines faster than the U.S. could build anti-submarine frigates. Instead of building frigates, the FRAM upgrade series allowed the U.S. to rapidly catch up by converting older ships that were otherwise less useful in modern naval combat. The navy was able to inexpensively upgrade the sonar on World War II-era destroyers, but needed a stand-off weapon to attack out to the edge of the sonar's range. The old destroyers had little room for add-ons like a full flight deck. The original DASH concept was a light drone helicopter that could release a nuclear depth charge or torpedoes. The aircraft was considered expendable.

The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force operated a fleet of 20 QH-50 drones, for use on their Takatsuki and Minegumo class destroyers. With the difficulty of maintaining DASH operations after the termination of the U.S. program, the drones and associated equipment were removed from JMSDF service in 1977.

XM-21

Mostly engine, this vehicle was used as a target for the Nike and Hawk air defense systems under test at White Sands. The XM-21 was guided by radio remote control and its jet turbo engine propelled it to speeds up to 500 knots. A two-stage parachute was used to bring the craft safely back to the ground. U.S. Army

Length: 17.5 feet
Wing Span: 11 feet
Weight: 2,285 pounds
Propellant: Liquid
Ceiling: 40,000 feet
Speed: Mach .8

FIREBEE

One of the world’s most popular target drones, the Ryan BQM-34A Firebee I was the first in Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical’s huge family of target drones. First flown in 1951, it has been used by all three military services. The Air Force’s version was BQM-34A, the Army’s was MQM-34D and the Navy used BQM-34A and the BQM-34S.

Firebee was a subsonic drone with a maximum speed of 600 knots (690 mph). It operated at altitudes of up to 60,000 feet and traveled at speeds of up to Mach 1.5 for 14 seconds. Its endurance was 45 minutes.

The Firebee was launched from beneath a specially modified aircraft, from a ship or from a ground launching platform. Surface launching was assisted by a solid-propellant rocket and flight was sustained by a turbojet engine. A parachute was used to recover the craft. Firebee was controlled from either the ground or from a manned aircraft.

At White Sands, Firebee primarily was used in developing and testing new weapon systems. Probably every U.S. surface-to-air or air-to-air missile has been tested against the Firebee. Firing records show the first Firebee was launched here by the Army in 1961. Between 1961 and 1977 when the records end, the Army and Air Force fired 1101 Firebees, both MQM-34A and BQM-34A.

Length: 22.9 feet
Wingspan: 12.9 feet
Weight: 3,400 pounds
Ceiling: 60,000 feet
Speed: 738 mph (Mach 0.97)
First Firing: 1958
Endurance: 115 minutes

Crossbow was a long-range cruise missile developed by the Air Force as an anti-radar missile.

Powered by a small turbo-jet air-breathing engine, Crossbow had distinctive straight wings and a twin vertical tail. Only the left vertical fin had a movable rudder. The missile was air-launched from under-wing pylons on B-50 or B-47 bombers. It was equipped with a passive multiple-frequency radar seeker that homed in on hostile ground radar systems. Once the target was detected, the missile dived on it at near sonic speed, and the warhead detonated on impact.

Development of Crossbow began in 1953 as the B-67. This was changed to GAM-67 in 1955 when the Air Force abandoned the use of aircraft designations for guided missiles. The first successful flight of a prototype occurred in July 1956, and the first guided flight took place in May 1957. The Crossbow anti-radar missile program was cancelled in July 1957 due to technical and funding problems.

At White Sands Proving Ground, the Air Force first tested Crossbow in September 1954. Before the program was cancelled in 1957, a total of 19 were launched here. RP in RP-54D comes from the manufacturer Radioplane.

Length: 19 feet (6.10 m)
Diameter: 32 inches (81 cm)
Weight: 2,800 pounds (1220 kg)
Propellant: Liquid
Range: 205 miles (480 km)
Velocity: Mach .8
First Fired: 1954

Nike Hercules

Nike Hercules was the Army's only deployed nuclear-armed surface-to-air weapon. Its mission was air defense of major urban centers against enemy bombers. Later, this mission was changed to defense against enemy missiles, rather than bombers.

Developed as a replacement for Nike Ajax, Nike Hercules was essentially an Ajax with four of each component: a cluster of four solid-fuel rocket boosters to accelerate the missile, and four liquid-propellant engines to carry the warhead to its target. Eventually the liquid propellant was changed to a solid fuel for the engine.

Hercules was designed to use the supporting components of the Nike Ajax system, although the increased capability of Hercules necessitated some additions to ground equipment. A High-Powered Acquisition Radar (HIPAR) was installed to track targets at greater range. Alternate Battery Radars (ABARS) were installed as backup units. And a Target Ranging Radar (TRR) was added to counter enemy radar jamming attempts.

Hercules development began in the early 1950s, when the Army became concerned that Nike Ajax was incapable of stopping a massed Soviet air attack. First the Army explored the possibility of equipping Nike Ajax with a nuclear warhead, but that proved impractical. In July 1953, the Nike B program was authorized, to design a missile that could intercept aircraft flying 1,000 miles per hour, at an altitude of 60,000 feet, and a horizontal range of 50,000 yards. It was renamed Nike Hercules in December 1956.

Nike Hercules testing began in 1955 at White Sands Proving Ground. On September 30, 1955, tragedy struck. A liquid-fueled engine undergoing static test exploded with such force that the protective bunker collapsed. Five people were injured and one was killed, the only missile-testing death in the history of White Sands Missile Range.

Because of this incident, fuel for Nike Hercules' engine was changed from liquid to solid propellant.

At White Sands Missile Range, Nike Hercules achieved many firsts: first intercept of a drone on October 31, 1956, first test using the new solid propellant sustainer engine on March 13, 1957, direct hit on a Corporal missile on June 3, 1960, and finally intercept of its own kind - another Hercules - in late 1960.

The first production Nike Hercules missiles were delivered in 1958 and quickly began replacing the Ajax on Nike sites. In June 1961, Army Air Defense Command (ARADCOM) began phasing in Improved Hercules which largely involved improvements to radar to take advantage of Hercules' greater performance. High-Power Acquisition Radar (HIPAR), Target Tracking Radar (TTR) and Target Ranging Radar (TRR) were all improved and made far more compact for increased mobility.

During the Cold War, the Army established 145 Nike Hercules sites in the continental U.S., protecting metropolitan areas and Strategic Air Command (SAC) bomber bases. They remained strategically deployed in the continental U.S. until 1974, although Nike Hercules continued to see service abroad into the early 1990s. Originally, the Army planned to replace Hercules with Patriot, but this plan was not implemented.

More than 25,000 Nike Hercules missiles were manufactured during its long history. At White Sands Missile Range, 680 Nike Hercules missiles were fired, more than any other missile ever tested here.

Length: 41 feet
Diameter: 31.5 inches
Weight: 10,000 pounds
Range: Greater than 75 miles
Altitude: 30 miles
First Firing: 1955

The Mace was an Air Force surface-to-surface, winged cruise missile, about the same size and weight as a small jet fighter. It was launched from a mobile trailer or from a bomb-proof shelter by a booster rocket which dropped away after launch; a J33 jet engine then propelled the missile to the target. It was capable of carrying a conventional or nuclear warhead.

Mace had a new guidance system, called ATRAN (Automatic Terrain Recognition And Navigation). ATRAN matched the radar return of the surface with pre-programmed radar "maps" carried on board the missile which corrected the flight path if it deviated from the map. The system was fully autonomous and jamming-resistant. The disadvantage, however, was the necessity to obtain radar images of the potential target areas, which was not an easy task in the 1950's.

Development of the Mace began in 1954. The Air Force deployed it in Europe in 1959. Its later version, the Mace "B," remained operational in Europe and the Pacific until the early 1970s.

At White Sands Missile Range, it was first tested in 1959, when 46 were launched. Between 1959 and 1963, 72 were flown there.

In 1965, the Army's Pershing missile replaced the Air Force's Mace, because of the Pershing's high-speed launch ability. By 1966, Mace had been withdrawn, and by 1971 it was no longer in active service. The remaining missiles were used as full-size target drones because their size and performance characteristics resembled those of manned aircraft.

• Length: 44 feet 9 inches (13.6 m)
• Diameter: 4 feet 6 inches (1.2 m)
• Weight: 18,000 pounds (8000 kg)
• Propellant: Turbojet engine
• Range: 600 - 1,500 miles (1300 km - 2400 km)
• Ceiling: 40,000 feet (12,200 m)
• First Fired: 1959

Lacrosse was the Army's first field artillery surface-to-surface guided missile. It was developed and fielded to provide close support of ground troops. Each one was assembled in the field with a high-impulse solid motor, conventional or nuclear warhead, four large swept wings and four movable tail control fins. Launched from a 2 1/2-ton truck, it was radio-guided by a forward observer within visual range of the target. The visual tracking and manual guidance method meant that the Lacrosse was of limited use in darkness or bad weather. Theoretically Lacrosse was the most accurate field artillery missile of its time, but its numerous problems and maintenance requirements shortened its career.

Development of the Lacrosse stemmed from World War II combat experiences, where heavily fortified bunkers, caves and pillboxes were virtually impregnable to anything but a direct hit. After the war, the military requested a weapon that would be mobile, accurate, and capable of delivering a variety of warheads. Feasibility studies began in late 1947, with component tests beginning in late 1951. Lacrosse boosters were test-fired at White Sands Proving Ground in 1952. In 1953, the radio command guidance system was tested by Lark test vehicles, followed by the prototype Lacrosse missile that same year.

In July 1959, Lacrosse was delivered to operational Army units. Two years later, the Army decided to terminate the program and Lacrosse was out of the Army's inventory by February 1964.

From 1953 to 1962, a total of 212 Lacrosse missiles were launched at White Sands.

• Speed: up to Mach 2
• Range: over 20 miles
• Length: 19 feet
• Diameter: 20 inches
• Weight: 2,300 pounds
• Propellant: Solid
• Range: 20-25 miles
▪ First Firing: 1953

LOON JB-2

The Loon was the American version of Germany's V-2 Buzz Bomb, essentially a cruise missile. In 1944, the U.S. Army acquired an unexploded German V-1 (Fieseler Fi 103) and decided to mass-produce a copy as the JB-2 (Jet Bomb 2).

The JB-2 was identical to the V-1 except for the launching method and the guidance system. Because the pulsejet only worked efficiently in forward flight, the missile had to be boosted into the air. The Germans' catapult was replaced by a ramp and a rocket booster for the JB-2.

The German V-1 used a primitive guidance method, by which the pulsejet was stopped after a preset time and the missile dived onto the target. Because this was extremely inaccurate, the JB-2 used radio command guidance. It was equipped with a radar beacon to facilitate tracking, and a remote control operator could send guidance commands for course corrections and to initialize the terminal dive. While significantly more accurate than the original system, the average error rate was unacceptable.

In late 1944, the Army planned to procure 75,000 JB-2s. However, the war ended and only about 1400 were built. The Air Force and the Navy used them as test vehicles for guided missile launch technology. As such, they were redesignated LTV-1 by the Air Force, while the Navy briefly called it the Loon. Only one was ever fired at White Sands Proving Ground and that was in 1953 by the Navy, designated KUW-1 research vehicle.

• Length: 25 feet
• Diameter: 32 inches
• Guidance: Preset timing
• Range: 150 miles
• Weight: 4700 pounds
• First Fired: 1953

Corporal was America's first designed, engineered and fabricated surface-to-surface guided missile. It was also the first U.S. guided missile system to be approved for nuclear armament. It evolved from a series of Army research rockets begun in 1944/45, the Private, Private First Class, and WAC Corporal.

Corporal's immediate forerunner was the Corporal E test vehicle, a WAC Corporal redesigned for increased performance, decreased weight and easier production. Corporal E first flew in May 1947 to evaluate basic principles of ballistic guided missile construction, flight, and guidance. In 1950 it was decided to develop the Corporal E into a tactical nuclear-armed ballistic missile, designated Corporal.

Essentially a modified research missile, Corporal was launched by a rocket motor that used liquid red fuming nitric acid (RFNA) as oxidizer. The missile's trajectory and velocity was tracked by ground radar (a modified SCR-584 designated AN/MPQ-12). It was steered in flight by rudders and jet vanes, and its range was controlled by sending a motor shut-off command at the appropriate time. It traveled at Mach 3 with a range of 75 miles.

In 1955, the first Corporal battalion - the 259th and the 96th Direct Support Company - was the first U.S. Missile unit to be deployed overseas (Europe). A Corporal battalion consisted of about 35 vehicles, and was rather cumbersome to move. After a launch site had been reached, it took about nine hours before the first missile could be fired.

Improved Corporal, introduced in 1957, had an improved guidance system and quick-disconnect fins for faster missile setup. Although the Improved Corporal somewhat improved the system's reliability, the basic problems of the Corporal remained.

A planned Corporal Type Ill missile with a further improved guidance system was cancelled ín1958, replaced by the much more advanced Sergeant. After the Sergeant became operational in 1962, the Corporal was quickly phased out and finally retired in 1964. At White Sands Proving Ground, the first Corporal was fired on May 22, 1947. A total of 614 were fired here until 1962. In June 1960, Corporal was launched as a target missile and became the first ballistic missile to be killed by a missile, after a Nike Hercules antiaircraft guided missile tracked and shot down the Corporal.

• Length: 45 feet
• Diameter: 30 inches
• Weight: 11,000 pounds
• Propellant: Liquid
• Range: 75 miles
• First Fired: 1947

Honest John was a simple, free-flight rocket, as opposed to a guided missile. It was the first post-World War II American rocket to become operational. It carried an atomic or a high explosive warhead.

Of all U.S. nuclear weapons of the 1950s, Honest John was the easiest to operate. Its three parts (warhead, motor, fins) were assembled and mounted on a six-wheel launcher by a crew of six men with a crane. The rocket was then ready for aiming and firing. However, it was no more accurate than conventional artillery rounds and more influenced by winds.

Development began in May 1950 for a large-caliber unguided solid-fuel field artillery rocket with a nuclear capability. Flight testing began at White Sands Missile Range in June 1951. In January 1953, the first Honest John rockets reached U.S. Army units. It was deployed in Europe in 1954. In 1961, the Improved Honest John replaced the earlier model with reduced weight, shortened length and an increased range.

Lance began to replace Honest John in 1973, relegating all Honest Johns to U.S. Army National Guard units. In 1982, Honest John was declared obsolete. At White Sands Missile Range, from 1951 to 1977, 1711 were fired. After 1962, most Honest John rockets were used here to test various warheads.

• Length: 27 feet
▪ Diameter: 30 inches
▪ Weight: 5,800 pounds
• Propellant: Solid
• Range: 12 miles
• First Fired: 1951

GAR -1 FALCON

Falcon was the first air-to-air guided missile in the Air Force, and the first in the world to enter operational service. In 1947 the newly created US Air Force held a competition for a combination fire control system and guided missile for installation on their future interceptors. Hughes Aircraft won the competition for both the fire control system and the guided missile, to be launched from bombers for self-defense. Eventually this guided missile became known as the "Guided Aircraft Rocket" or GAR-1 Falcon.

The GAR-1 was a semi-active radar homing short-range (5 miles) intercept missile. Launched miles from the target, the Falcon was guided automatically by radar, located in the nose. Flanking the nose were receiver aerials like small fins. Falcon had a Thiokol solid-fuel rocket motor and a high-explosive warhead. It had no proximity fuze, so the missile had to hit its target to explode. Later versions of GAR-1 had an elevon, or additional fin, at the base of each fin for maneuverability.

GAR-1 became operational with F-89H/J and F-102A interceptors in 1956, and about 4000 GAR-1's were produced. The Falcon was retired from the U.S. Air Force service in the late 1980s. At White Sands Proving Ground, the first Falcon was tested in 1952 (?) 1954. Firing records show that 795 were launched between 1955 and 1961, followed by tests of later versions of Falcon.

• Range: about 5 miles
• Speed: about Mach 2
• Length: 6 feet
• Diameter: 6 inches
• Weight: 126 pounds
• Propellant: Solid
• First Firing: 1952

ATHENA

This research missile was used to test Intercontinental Ballistic Missile re-entry vehicles (RVs). Athena simulated the trajectories of intercontinental missiles.
Athena was a multi-stage solid-fueled rocket. It could be flown with two, three or four solid-propellant rocket stages depending on the test requirement.

Launched from the Army's Utah Launch Complex at Green River, the missile reached altitudes up to 200 miles before descending to impact on White Sands Missile Range, some 470 miles away. With a flight lasting only four minutes and going to a maximum distance of about 470 miles, Athena could realistically simulate a 25-minute ICBM mission across 5000 miles.

In a typical mission, the first two stages provided the "brute force" required to put the final two stages and the re-entry payload on a ballistic return course to Earth. But instead of following a simple ballistic re-entry path, after the first two stages burned and separated, Athena was tipped over. The final two stages and the payload were aimed back toward Earth and into the test environment by a control system of gyro-sensors and reaction jets. The payload was driven back into the atmosphere at velocities of 22,500 feet per second. After burnout of the third and fourth stage motors, the re-entry shape or payload was ejected and landed on WSMR.

The US Air Force launched more than 140 Athenas between 1964 and March 1977, all impacting on White Sands Missile Range. Athena tested re-entry technology for the Titan, Minuteman, Polaris and Poseidon missiles.

• Length: 50 feet
• Diameter: 31 inches
• Weight: 16,000 pounds
• Propellant: Solid
• Range: 450 miles
• First Firing from Green River: 1964

SHILLELAGH

Shillelagh was the first gun-launched guided missile deployed by U.S. Army ground forces. It was a surface-to-surface missile system designed to be carried on tanks and light armored assault vehicles.

Launch vehicles were the M551 Sheridan Armored Fighting Vehicle and the M60A2 battle tank. In a Shillelagh shot, the gunner aimed the cross-hairs in his telescopic sight at the target and fired the missile. After launch through the cannon, the missile's solid-fuel sustainer motor ignited for a 1.18-second burn and propelled it to sub-sonic speed. The missile was steered by four spring-out fins and controlled by hot gas jet reaction controls. After being fired, the missile was guided to the target by a command system mounted on the launch vehicle. Shillelagh's shaped charge warhead detonated on impact.

Development of Shillelagh began in the late 1950s to improve the U.S. Army's anti-armor weapon systems. The program called for development of new fighting vehicles, as well as guided missile anti-tank weapons for short and medium ranges. Shillelagh was the short-range component.

The missile was a considerable challenge, partly because of the dense packaging, its complex guidance system and extreme acceleration. Shillelagh was an accurate missile even against moving targets, but it proved to be expensive. It was replaced by the more versatile TOW missile.

Test shots of guided rounds began in September 1961 at White Sands. Shillelagh was in production until 1971. It was finally retired from the Army National Guard in 1984. Between 1961 and 1976, a total of 1574 Shillelaghs were launched here.

• Length: 45 inches
• Diameter: 6 inches
• Weight: 60 pounds
• Propellant: Solid
• Range: 1 mile
• First Firing: 1961

PERSHING

Pershing was the first and only solid-fueled MRBM (Medium Range Ballistic Missile) deployed by the U.S. Army. Named in honor of General of the Armies John J. ("Black Jack") Pershing, famed commander of the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I, Pershing replaced the Army's Redstone missile.

Pershing was a two-stage solid-fueled rocket with an all-inertial guidance system, fired from a tracked mobile launcher. With this transporter-erector-launcher, the missile operated on a "shoot and scoot" principle. It was both ground and air transportable. This nuclear-capable missile featured a high-speed reentry vehicle.

Development was quick. Initial feasibility studies began in late 1956 and on February 25, 1960, the first Pershing I was launched.

A second generation system, the PERSHING la began replacing the PERSHING I in 1969. The Pershing la system consisted of faster ground support vehicles, a wheeled erector/launcher, and new solid-state electronics. Pershing l's analog guidance computer was replaced by Pershing la's by a digital version. Thanks to these upgrades, the system was more reliable and flexible, easier to maintain, cheaper to operate, and faster.

Production of the Pershing la began in 1967, and by 1970 it had replaced all original Pershing I systems in U.S. Army service.

In 1976, further improvements of the Pershing la system were fielded with the sequential launch adapter (SLA) and the automatic reference system (ARS). The SLA allowed a Pershing la platoon to fire its three missiles in quick succession, and the ARS (essentially a ground based inertial unit) eliminated the need to survey the launch site before firing, making on-the-spot launches possible.

A total of about 750 Pershing I/la missiles were built, with an operational deployment level of 108 missiles in Europe.

On August 9, 1963, the first complete Pershing was launched from McGregor Range with impact on White Sands Missile Range. A total of 230 were launched off-range from Fort Wingate, New Mexico, and Green River, Utah to WSMR.

• Length: 35 feet
• Diameter: 40 inches
• Weight: 10,000 pounds
• Propellant: Solid
• Range: 100 - 400 miles
• First Fired: 1963

MK 39 5-inch Gun

Originally installed in the U.S.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt, CVB-42 in 1945, this 5 inch gun, weighing over 73,000 pounds, was relocated to the LLS-1 Desert Ship at White Sands Missile Range in 1977. With this gun, the Navy at White Sands became an integral part of the testing that took place with Rocket Propelled Projectiles. To ensure that the gun was still operational, warmer rounds were last fired from its barrel back in 1996.

HIBEX (High Impulse Booster Experiment - or High Boost Experiment) was an experimental vehicle to develop high acceleration booster technology and explore the problems of extremely high accelerations. HIBEX was not linked to a specific weapon system, but the long-term objective was development of an anti-ballistic missile, such as the Sprint.

HIBEX had a short conical body and was powered by a solid-propellant rocket motor. Accelerating at 400g, HIBEX achieved Mach 8 velocities within 2 seconds of launch. Then-new laser gyros were used in the guidance and control section, because conventional mechanical ones were too slow for the required reaction time and acceleration.

HIBEX was conceived in 1962, shortly after the Nike X program was initiated. Its flight test program began in February 1965 at White Sands Missile Range, and the last of 10 launches occurred in January 1966. The majority of the tests were from underground cells, with HIBEX ignited within the silo. The final HIBEX firing was made above ground.

• Length: 16 ft. (4.9 m)
• Diameter: 3.6 ft. (1.1 m)
• Weight: 2600 lb. (1180 kg.
• Speed: 8400 feet per second (2560 meters per second)

AEROBEE 170

Once called the "Workhorse of the Upper Atmosphere," the Aerobee family of sounding rockets was used to probe outer space. Aerobee was a hybrid Army-Navy rocket, designed for high-altitude research. In late 1945, James Van Allen was assigned by Johns Hopkins University to survey sounding rocket requirements for upper atmosphere research. By 1946, the V-2 was known to be too heavy and complex and the extant WAC Corporal was too small for anticipated space research. Van Allen decided that what was needed was a small rocket, derived from Aerojet's WAC Corporal and the Navy's Bumblebee missile. This combination of an Aerojet booster and a Bumblebee second stage was dubbed the Aerobee.

The first live-firing of an Aerobee occurred at White Sands Proving Ground on November 24, 1947. By 1950 the reliable and relatively inexpensive Aerobee was in wide use by U.S. military research agencies for upper atmosphere experiments. Launch towers were built at White Sands, Fort Churchill in northern Canada, Wallops Island in Virginia, and aboard the research ship USN Norton Sound.

Aerobee was a single-stage liquid-fueled spin-stabilized rocket, which used a solid-propellant rocket motor as a booster. Because initial acceleration was relatively slow, it was launched in a high launch tower, which guided the rocket until the fins could take effect. The booster was jettisoned after burnout 2.5 seconds into the flight. The original Aerobee could reach an apogee of about 120 km (75 miles) with a payload of about 68 kg (150 Ib). The nose cone containing the telemetry transmitter and the scientific payload was recoverable and returned to earth on a parachute.

Aerobee's most serious drawback was the liquid-fueled sustainer engine, and the need for a relatively large launch tower. Therefore it was not suitable for mass firings (many rockets from a single location within a relatively short time frame) or for launches in remote locations or from ships. For these purposes, in the mid-1950s solid-fueled sounding rockets began to appear, which used multi-stage combinations of solid-rocket boosters. With a Nike booster, Aerobee became known as the Aerobee 170.

After a test with a dummy Aerobee stage at White Sands Missile Range in September 1968, the first all-up Aerobee 170 flight succeeded on 26 October that year. A total of 138 Aerobee 170s were launched until 1983. Although the rocket was primarily used by NASA, the military research groups (e.g. Naval Research Lab and Air Force Cambridge Research Lab) also flew several dozen Aerobee 170s.

• Length: 31 feet
• Diameter: 15 inches
• Weight: 1,850 pounds
• Propellant: Sustainer - Liquid // Booster - Solid
• Ceiling: 210 miles
• First Fired: 1968

Lance

Lance was a highly mobile, short/medium-range surface-to-surface missile system, using a self-propelled launcher. Lance was the first Army missile to use prepackaged storable liquid propellant. It was also the Army's last nuclear-armed ballistic missile.

Lance had a new guidance system which allowed it to operate in all types of weather. It also used a prepackaged, liquid fuel, unlike other Army missiles that used solid propellants; this eliminated any need for fueling in the field and gave Lance a short reaction time. Its four spin motors fired immediately after launch, producing the characteristic black smoke which accompanied every Lance firing. In the late 1950s, the Army's Ballistics Research Laboratory (BRL) proposed a future artillery family of ballistic missiles: Missiles "A" through "D." Missile "B" would replace the Honest John.

Development of Missile "B" began in 1962, to deliver a 1000-pound nuclear, non-nuclear or chemical warhead to a range of 75 kilometers (47 miles). In November 1962 the name Lance was assigned.

The first test flight of a Lance missile occurred successfully on March 15, 1965 at White Sands Missile Range. Tests continued through 1977, using a variety of warheads on 321 missiles.

Lance missile production was approved in September 1970. The first battalion was fielded to U.S. Army, Europe in September 1973. Conventionally armed Lance missiles were used by many NATO countries. Compared to the Sergeant it replaced, Lance was far easier to operate and maintain. The missile could be fired at short notice (reaction time was less than 15 minutes), and because of its compact size, more missiles could be moved by a single unit.

When the Cold War ended at the beginning of the 1990's, there was no longer a need for nuclear-armed short-range ballistic missiles. Lance was quickly deactivated in 1991, and replaced by the new ATACMS system. The remaining Lance missiles were used as targets.

• Length: 20 feet
• Diameter: 22 inches - Weight: 3,300 pounds
• Propellant: Liquid
• Range: 75 miles
• First Firing: 1965

Also displayed here is the self-propelled erector/launcher for Lance.

Pepp Aeroshell

Not a flying saucer, this Balloon Launched Decelerator Test (BLDT) Vehicle was used to test the Viking Mars Lander Decelerator in a simulated atmosphere of Mars. The decelerator system included parachute deployment. The vehicles structure configuration provided an external envelope which simulated the Viking Lander Capsule in order to qualify the Decelerator in the wake of a blunt landing body similar to the actual Viking Lander Capsule.

The BLDT Vechicle was carried to high altitudes by a helium-filled balloon released at Roswell, New Mexico and drifted west with the prevailing wind as it gained altitude to approximately 120,000 feet (around 22 miles) as it reached White Sands Missile Range. At this point rockets were ignited. The four rockets, observable on the bottom of the vehicle, propelled the vehicle upward on an arched trajectory to an altitude of approximately 135,000 feet (26 miles). The vehicle speed at this time was approximately 1.2 times the speed of sound. As it neared the peak of its arch, action was initiated to stop the spin, and an explosive charge was detonated which deployed a large parachute from a compartment in the bottom center of the vehicle. The vehicle then decelerated and floated to the ground where it was recovered.

The vehicle displayed here was the second of four tested by NASA at White Sands Missile Range in July and August 1972. This one was launched on July 26, 1972. The entire test lasted almost three hours.

SS-11

A French anti-tank missile which was used by the U.S. to train gunners for anti-tank operations. This wire-guided missile was designed to be man handled and could be fired from the ground, a vehicle or helicopter. U.S. Army

Length: 3.5 feet
Diameter: 6 inches
Weight: 69 pounds
Propellant: Solid
Range: 2.2 miles
First Fired: 1960

HOUND DOG

Named for the Elvis Presley song, "You Ain't Nothing but a Hound Dog," the Hound Dog was Strategic Air Command's first air-launched missile. A forerunner of the cruise missile, this jet-propelled, supersonic missile was launched from a B-52 bomber and then flew to its target carrying a nuclear warhead. It was designed to attack and destroy enemy air defenses, thus clearing the way for U.S. manned bombers to penetrate enemy airspace.

One was carried under each wing of the B-52G Stratofortress. A unique feature of the Hound Dog was that its under-slung turbojet engines could be run while the missile was still attached to the carrier aircraft, augmenting the thrust of the B-52 at take-off or for high-speed cruise.

Each missile had a J52 jet engine. In addition to its own fuel tank, the missiles were integrated with the Stratofortress fuel system. One Hound Dog missile located under each wing was actually ignited at takeoff, providing extra thrust for the bomber itself. The Hound Dog engines were then shut down, and the missiles were re-fueled directly from the B-52's own tanks during flight.

Once re-fueled, the missiles were ready to be fired again and sent on their way, after the proper guidance and target information could be entered and verified. The missile was powered by a turbojet engine which could produce a thrust of 7,500 pounds. This allowed the Hound Dog to cruise at altitudes which ranged from tree-top level to 55,000 feet. It had a range of 350 miles and a speed of Mach 2 at over 55,000 feet.

Guided by an inertial guidance system, the Hound Dog could carry a four-megaton nuclear payload.

The Hound Dog was declared operational at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida in early 1961 for use on the B-52G bomber. Hound Dog production ceased in 1963 and was completely removed from active service in 1976.

Although amazingly accurate despite its large warhead, Hound Dog was plagued by two problems: Reliability was a constant concern and the weight of the two five-ton missiles degraded B-52 flight performance.

Hound Dog was first tested at White Sands Missile Range in 1961. Between 1961 and 1973, a total of 31 were launched here. Most were air-launched from Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio, Texas, and terrain-guided to White Sands with airborne controller backup.

Length: 43 feet
Diameter: 28 inches
Wingspan: 12 feet
Weight: 10,000 pounds
Range: Over 500 miles
First Firing: 1960

Pogo and Pogo-Hi

Pogo-Hi was a rocket-propelled target missile designed primarily for testing the guidance and control systems of missiles. It was
an up-graded version of the Pogo target.

Pogo-Hi was equipped with a metallized reflective parachute which presented a simulated aircraft target to radar. Reaching altitudes from 30,000 feet to 175,000 feet, it was fired from mobile launchers which allowed it to be supplied at any distance from the radar.

Physical Science Laboratory of New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts (now NMSU) developed Pogo-Hi under contract with the Navy Bureau of Ordnance.
The U.S. Navy used Pogo-Hi for tests of the Sidewinder infrared guided missile by fitting the payload under the parachute with a bright infrared source. The Army also utilized Pogo-Hi.

At White Sands Missile Range, Pogo-Hi was first fired in April 1954 and the last one was launched by the Army in 1960.

• Length: 14 feet
• Diameter: 6 inches
• Weight: 270 pounds
• Propellant: Solid
• Ceiling: 120,000 feet
• Speed: Mach 2
• First Fired: 1954

REDSTONE

Redstone was the Army's largest surface-to-surface ballistic missile. Modified Redstone rockets launched America's first satellite and first human into space. Developed by Wernher Von Braun, Redstone is a direct descendant of the German V-2 rocket.

As a field artillery missile, Redstone was designed to extend the firepower and range of conventional artillery cannon against ground targets. It could deliver a nuclear or high-explosive warhead to targets 200 miles away. In 1951, a nuclear warhead meant a 3-ton package. Since Redstone was a ballistic missile, its initial trajectory and guidance was provided by the launcher. Great care was taken to level the missile and to orient the stabilized platform accurately in the direction of the target.

Redstone's liquid-fueled engine burned alcohol and liquid oxygen, producing about 75,000 pounds of thrust. At burnout, or when the propellant was exhausted, it had a speed of 3,800 miles per hour (6,116 kilometers per hour). For guidance, Redstone had a totally new pure-inertial guidance system using air-bearing gyros. Beyond the earth's atmosphere the inertial guidance system directed it toward the target. After reaching the proper speed, the rocket engine cut out and dropped off, along with the fuel tanks. Then the guidance system and warhead coasted to the target.

As a field-artillery missile, Redstone was mobile and transportable by plane, truck or train. However, when on the move, it needed a convoy eighteen miles long, with 200 vehicles carrying approximately 10,000 individual pieces of equipment and more than 600 men. The Redstone itself was carried on three trucks - its nose section (warhead), midsection (power plant and fuel tanks) and tail section - to be assembled in the field.

Named after Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, where it was developed and built, Redstone's development was triggered by outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 to counter Soviet Cold War threats. The first Redstone missile was launched on August 20, 1953 from the Army's missile test range at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and traveled 8,000 yards (7,315 meters). Thirty-six more were launched through 1958, testing structure, engine performance, guidance and control, tracking and telemetry. On May 16,1958, combat-ready soldiers fired their first Redstone rocket. It was put into U.S. Army service in Germany that June.

Redstone has been called the Model-T of the Free World's space program. A solid-fuel fourth stage was added to it and Redstone became the Jupiter-C rocket. On January 31, 1958, a Jupiter-C lifted America's first orbiting satellite, Explorer I, into space.

Starting in 1959, some Redstone rockets were modified for NASA's Mercury program. Propellant tanks were elongated by 96 inches, adding 20 seconds of burn time. The warhead section was replaced by the Mercury capsule and escape tower. The first of these Mercury Redstone rockets was tested at Cape Canaveral on December 19, 1960. On May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space when he was launched on a suborbital flight in a Mercury capsule by a Redstone rocket engine.

Between 1958 and 1962, eighteen Redstone missiles were fired at White Sands Missile Range. Pershing replaced Redstone beginning in 1960.

• Length: 69 feet
• Diameter: 70 inches
• Weight: 30 tons
• Propellant: Liquid
• Range: 200 miles
• First Fired: 1958

Beech Model MQM-61A Cardinal was a simple monoplane, powered by a 125 hp McCulloch engine driving a two-blade propeller. It could tow banners or targets, with two targets under each wing. It could fly as high as 43,000 feet at a top speed of 350 mph.

The Cardinal was used by the Army from 1958 for surface-to-air anti-aircraft missile and gunnery training. In June 1963, the Cardinal was designated as MQM-61A. When production ended in 1972, more than 1300 Cardinals had been built for the Army.

At White Sands, the first Cardinal was launched in 1965, according to the firing records. Between 1965 and 1977, 646 MQM-61A Cardinals were fired against missiles under test.

Length: 15 ft.
Wingspan: 13 ft.
Weight: 664 lb
Speed: 350 mph
Ceiling: 43,000 ft
Endurance: 60 min
First firing: 1958

Genie was the world's first air-to-air nuclear weapon, designed for use against formations of enemy bombers.

Genie had no guidance system and was powered by a solid-propellant rocket motor. It had flip-out fins for flight stability. The Genie was carried by F-89 Scorpion, F-101 B Voodoo, and F-106 Delta Dart interceptor aircraft. Canada's CF-101 Voodoos also carried Genies.

After launching the weapon, the firing aircraft had to pull away in a sharp turn to escape the blast, which was an especially demanding maneuver for the subsonic F-89J. Warhead arming and detonation was triggered by a timer, which only began its countdown after successful ignition and subsequent burnout of the rocket motor. This was to prevent an accidental nuclear explosion over friendly territory should anything go wrong with the rocket.

Genie was a very effective weapon against high-flying bombers, because its short flight-time (less than 12 seconds), immunity to countermeasures (there was no guidance system which could be fooled), and high blast radius (about 300 meters) made it virtually impossible for a bomber to avoid.

Genie's development goes back to a 1954 study to determine the feasibility of a small nuclear-armed air-to-air missile. To keep the weapon as simple as possible, it was decided to develop an unguided rocket.

Full-scale development started in 1955, with the first Genie tested at White Sands Proving Ground that year. Between 1955 and 1959, a total of 143 Genie rockets were launched here. Some test firings were made by F-89D Scorpion aircraft. The MB-1 became operational in 1957.

A live Genie was fired only once, on July 19, 1957. It was launched at 18,000 feet from an F-89J interceptor and detonated over Yucca Flats, Nevada. It was the first and only test detonation of a U.S. nuclear-tipped air-to-air rocket.

Production of the Genie was terminated in 1962, after more than 1000 had been built for the U.S. Air Force. The last Genies were removed from the inventory in the mid-1980s, when the last carrier aircraft, the F-106A, was finally withdrawn from service.

▪ Length: 9 feet
• Diameter: 17 inches
• Weight: 800 pounds
• Propellant: Solid
• Range: 6 miles
• First Firing: 1956

The MQM-107D Streaker is a turbojet powered, subscale aerial target used from 1987 to 1996. Capable of flying at very low altitudes, it was used for training with every surface-to-air and air-to-air weapon in the Army and Air Force inventory.

Length: 18 feet 1 inch
Wingspan: 9ft 10.5in
Weight without booster: 1460 lb.
Speed: 631 mph
Ceiling: 40,000 ft
Endurance: 2 hr 18 min

SERGEANT

Sergeant was the first solid-fuel surface-to-surface missile deployed by the U.S. Army. It was capable of carrying a nuclear or conventional warhead. Sergeant replaced the Corporal as the Army's medium-range tactical ballistic missile.

Compared to the Corporal, the Sergeant was a much better operational missile. Its solid-fuel rocket motor was safer and more reliable than the Corporal's liquid-fueled one. Instead of Corporal's command guidance, the Sergeant used an inertial guidance system. This was more resistant to countermeasures and required much less ground equipment.

Because the rocket motor could not be shut off once ignited, range was controlled by drag-brakes, which were opened by the guidance system about halfway through the planned flight path. These drag-brakes neutralized engine thrust, causing the missile to follow a ballistic flight path back to the ground. A complete Sergeant system could be moved with significantly less effort than a Corporal system, and the first missile could be launched less than an hour after the launch site had been reached (compared to 9 hours for Corporal).

Development began in mid-1953, when the Army requested proposals for the development of a new solid-rocket surface-to-surface missile that was mobile, air transportable, nuclear-capable and could be fired by a six-man crew in only a few minutes.

The Sergeant tactical surface-to-surface missile program was finally officially started in January 1955. The first experimental Sergeant missile was launched at White Sands Proving Ground in 1956. In July 1962 the Sergeant was operationally deployed for the first time. Between 1956 and 1974, 130 Sergeant missiles were tested here.

Between 1972 and 1977, the Lance missile replaced the Sergeant, the last one being retired from U.S. Army service in May 1977. About 500 Sergeant missiles were produced for the Army.

Length: 36 feet
Diameter: 31 inches
Weight: 10,000 pounds
Propellant: Solid
Range: Minimum: 46 km (25 nm); Maximum: 140 km (75 nm)
First Fired: 1956

SIDEWINDER

The Sidewinder AIM-9 is one of the oldest, least expensive and most successful missiles in the U.S. weapons inventory. It is
perhaps the most widely used air-to-air missile in the West, used by 27 nations other than the United States and in every conflict since the 1950s.

The Sidewinder AIM-9 (Air Intercept Missile) is a supersonic, short-range, air-to-air missile carried by fighter aircraft. The missile's four main components are: Infrared homing guidance section, an optical target detector, a high-explosive warhead and a single-stage, solid-propellant rocket motor.

The infrared guidance section enables the missile to home in on the engine exhaust of target aircraft. Infrared systems can be used
day or night in all weather conditions. The infrared seeker also allows the pilot to launch the missile and then leave the area while the missile guides itself to the target.

The AIM-9 development began in 1949 at the U.S. Naval Weapons Center at China Lake, California. The NWC needed a simple heat-seeking air-to-air missile for naval interceptor aircraft. Until then, naval aircraft were armed with either .50 cal or 20 mm guns. The result was a compact, lightweight, cruciform canard weapon, aptly named for the Sidewinder, a desert rattlesnake which detects its prey by sensing the animal's heat emissions.

A prototype of the Sidewinder, the AIM-9A, was first tested in 1951, and on September 11, 1953, the first air-to-air hit on a drone was scored. The initial production version, designated Sidewinder AIM-9B, entered U.S. Navy service in 1956. Since then, there have been many operational versions of the Sidewinder for Navy and Air Force fighter and attack aircraft. Closely related missiles are the Air Force's Falcon and the Army's Chaparral, a surface-to-air missile.

At White Sands, the first Sidewinder was launched in 1955. Firing records show that between 1955 and 1959, 191 Sidewinders were fired here.

• Length: 9 feet
• Diameter: 5 inches Weight: 155 pounds
• Propellant: Solid
• Ceiling: 10 miles
• First Fired: 1955

Aerobee-Hi was the U.S. Navy's improved version of Aerobee, developed to carry heavier payloads to higher altitudes. It was slightly longer than the standard Aerobee, built of thinner and lighter metal. Aerobee Hi set a new record altitude for single stage rockets on April 30, 1957 when it carried 140 pounds to a height of 189 miles above White Sands. Equipment for America's first satellite was tested by sending it aloft on an Aerobee.

During the International Geophysical Year 1957-58, Aerobee-Hi was used heavily for upper-atmosphere research. Vital IGY weather data was brought back by Army Aerobee sounding rockets launched from Fort Churchill, Canada.

In 1953, the Navy began development of an improved version of Aerobee, called the Aerobee Hi, to carry heavier payloads to higher altitudes.

• Length: 26 feet
• Diameter: 15 inches
• Weight: 1,500 pounds
• Propellant: Liquid
• Ceiling: 189 miles
• First Fired: 1957

The Navy's Lark missile holds the distinction of being history's first missile to intercept and destroy a moving target, in 1950. Development of the Lark anti-aircraft missile began during World War II, when the U.S. Navy needed a new weapon against the serious Japanese suicide-bomber (Kamikaze) threat. Hostilities ended before Lark was ready, but testing continued after the war.

Lark featured cruciform wings and tailfins for stability and control, and the booster assembly used a peculiar "square" fin arrangement.

A liquid-propellant main engine and solid-propellant booster powered Lark. Aniline and nitric acid fueled the main engine. These were "hypergolic fuels," which means that the instant they came in contact with each other, they produced violent explosions which gave the missile its 700-mile-per-hour speed. Both fuels are extremely dangerous.

The Lark was armed with a 45 kg (100 lb) high-explosive warhead, which was detonated by a radar proximity fuze. Guidance was by radio command.

After the tactical Lark was cancelled in 1950, the remaining missiles continued to be used as control test vehicles. The Lark came to White Sands Proving Ground in November 1951. Only two were fired that year before WSPG's Lark program ended.

• Length: 14 feet
• Diameter: 25 inches
• Weight: 1,200 pounds
• Propellant: Liquid
▪ Range: 15 miles
• Speed: 700 MPH
• First Fired: 1951

PATRIOT MISSILE

Patriot is a long-range, all-altitude, all-weather surface-to-air missile, designed to replace the Nike Hercules and Improved Hawk. The entire Patriot system is the U.S. Army's most advanced air defense system. It is the only operational air defense system that can detect, target and shoot down attacking missiles or incoming aircraft.

The missile displayed here is actually a SAM-D (Surface-to-Air Missile - Development), a name used until 1976 when it was renamed Patriot in honor of the U.S. Bicentennial.

Patriot is launched from a canister, powered by a single solid-fueled rocket motor and armed with a high-explosive blast-fragmentation warhead. The missile is inertially guided, using Track-Via-Missile (TVM) guidance, i.e. target tracking information is not received by the ground radar directly, but by the missile which transmits it to the ground control station. Because the missile is always nearer to the target than the ground radar, this method enhances accuracy and the ability to discriminate decoys from the real threat.

Patriot planning originated in October 1964 as a defense against high performance aircraft. Development was slowed down by the requirement that SAM-D should use Track-Via-Missile (TVM) guidance. Full-scale development didn't start until January 1976, after TVM had been demonstrated in tests in 1975.

Testing began at White Sands Missile Range in 1970. Since then, innumerable SAM-D and Patriot missiles have been tested here. In the early 1990s, Patriot was up-graded to intercept tactical ballistic missiles and became known as PAC-3 Patriot.

Because the Patriot missile is delivered in a canister ready for launching, Army soldiers rarely see the actual missile inside. We are fortunate to have this one for display.

• Length: 17.5 feet (5.31 m)
• Diameter: 16 inches (41 cm)
• Weight: 2,000 pounds (900 kg)
• Propellant: Solid
• First Firing: 1970

PERSHING II

Pershing II was a two-stage improved version of Pershing la. It utilized a maneuverable re-entry vehicle and radar area-correlation guidance. By comparing the on-coming target with stored images, the missile's accuracy was greatly improved. After detonating, the warhead destroyed the target by airburst or earth penetration. Re-entry vehicles could penetrate the ground to a depth of 100 feet before exploding.

Pershing II also had a new warhead, new propulsion sections, and modified Pershing la ground support equipment. Fully compatible with existing Pershing la ground equipment, Pershing II was still a manpower-intensive system, requiring 3,800 men for 108 missiles on launchers.

The Deputy Secretary of Defense authorized the Army to proceed with the advanced development of the Pershing II on 7 March 1974. The first Pershing II missile firing at White Sands Missile Range took place in 1977.

The increased range and pinpoint accuracy of the Pershing II were major factors influencing the Soviet Union's decision to seek the Treaty on Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces in which the United States and the USSR agreed to eliminate an entire class of nuclear missiles. The INF Treaty abolished all medium- and intermediate-range nuclear armed ballistic missiles. The United States and the USSR signed it on 8 December 1987, and the U.S. Senate ratified the INF Treaty on 27 May 1988.

In accordance with INF Treaty provisions all of the U.S. Army's tactical Pershing II missile stages, launchers, trainers, and deployed reentry vehicles had to be eliminated by May 31, 1991. A total of 234 Pershing II missiles were covered by the treaty. Army contractors completed the destruction of the last Pershing II in May 1991. Representatives from the Soviet Inspection Team and the U.S. On-Site Inspection Agency were present to witness the elimination process.

Each side also had permission to destroy 15 missiles and launchers by disabling, then permanently exhibiting them in museums and similar facilities. One of the Army's 15 is the Pershing II missile and launcher on display here at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.

• Length: 35 feet
• Diameter: 40 inches
• Weight: 16,500 pounds
• Propellant: Solid
• Range: 1,125 miles
• First Fired: 1982

Fat Man Bomb Casing

After the first plutonium bomb was tested at Trinity Site, the next available weapon was the completed Little Boy. Dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on the morning of August 6, 1945, Little Boy was the first nuclear weapon used in warfare.

Fat Man was the second and last nuclear weapon used in warfare. It was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945. While Little Boy was a uranium gun-type device, Fat Man was a more complicated and powerful implosion weapon using plutonium, similar to the device tested at Trinity.

A subcritical sphere of plutonium was placed in the center of a hollow sphere of high explosive (HE). Numerous detonators located on the surface of the HE were fired simultaneously to produce a powerful inward pressure on the capsule, squeezing it and increasing its density. This resulted in a supercritical condition and a nuclear explosion.

This is a model of the original Fat Man bomb, on loan from the National Atomic Museum in Albuquerque, NM. It is featured at each open house of Trinity Site on the first Saturdays in April and October.

• Length 10 feet 8 inches (3.25 m)
• Diameter 60 inches (1.52 m)
• Weight 10,800 pounds (4898.8 kg)
• Yield 20 kilotons

The Army Tactical Missile System was designed for deep attack. The system used the same launcher vehicle as the MLRS but only carried two of guided missiles. When reaching the target area the missile would dispense its submuntions. The submunitions could be as varied as hundreds of bomblets per missile or a few smart anti-armor weapons which could seek, find and destroy targets on their own. U.S. Army

Length: 13 feet
Diamter: 24 inches
Weight: 3,600 pounds
Propellant: Solid
Range: 60 + miles
First Fired: 1988

MLRS Multiple Launch Rocket System
The Multiple Launch Rocket System is a highly mobile, automatic surface-to-surface artillery rocket system.

Shown here is one of two pods that would be mounted on a MLRS M270 Launcher, a stretched Bradley Fighting Vehicle chassis. The vehicle is tracked and self-propelled, designed to fire 12 tactical rockets and re-deploy before enemy determination of launch
position ("shoot and scoot").

Each pod holds six rockets. The rockets can be fired individually or in ripples of two to twelve. The computer re-aims the launcher between rounds, assuring accurate firings.

MLRS rockets are solid-fueled, with a warhead of shaped-charge submunitions, earning the nickname "steel rain."

These rockets can also be launched from the HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System).

MLRS started life as the U.S. Army's GSRS (General Support Rocket System) program in the mid-1970s. After a competitive shoot-out in 1977, GSRS was renamed MLRS. It reached operational capability with the U.S. Army in 1983. MLRS was first used operationally during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Upgraded versions of MLRS were used in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March and April 2003.

• Length: 13 feet
• Diameter: 9 inches
• Range: Greater than 18 miles
• Propellant: Solid
• First Firing: 1977

HOWITZER

This towed 155mm howitzer was once used in testing the Copperhead at the Small Missile Range. The Copperhead was a laser-guided projectile capable of blasting a hole in tank armor. The M198 was a simple, lightweight towed system which was air transportable and very reliable. U.S. Army

• Maximum Range: 19 miles with rocket assisted projectiles
• Sustained Rate of Fire: 2 rounds per minute
• Maximum Rate of Fire: 4 rounds per minute

RP-76 (Radioplane) was a subscale radio-controlled target drone, used in testing surface-to-air and air-to-air weapons at White Sands. It provided air defense personnel with experience in firing at a real target.

The target was air-launched from a fighter aircraft because of its small size and light weight. Plastic wings, nose section and aft fuselage were attached to the steel engine case.

Powered by a solid-fuel rocket motor, it had two exhausts at the sides of the fuselage. The RP-76 was controlled by an automatic control system with optional override by radio command. Notice its unique set of flying surfaces: three forward control fins and a fixed horizontal tail plane below the ventral vertical tail.

Because of its small size, it could fly only for eight to nine minutes. It was recovered by a two-stage parachute system. Developed in the late 1950s by Northrop Radioplane division, it was used at White Sands from 1958 to 1961 by the Army, primarily for testing the Nike Ajax and Hercules. A total of 41 of the RP-76 targets were fired here.

• Length: 10 feet
• Diameter: 12 inches
• Wing Span: 5 feet
• Propellant: Solid
• Ceiling: 40,000 feet
• Velocity: Mach 0.9

Intercept Ground Optical Recorder The IGOR ("eye-gore") is a tracking telescope designed to provide photographic records of missile performance, such as attitude, intercept miss-distance, and other events data. With its long focal length lens, the IGOR could photograph missiles up to 100 miles away.

The IGOR (Intercept Ground Optical Recorder) consists of a telescope optical system, a high-speed movie camera, sighting telescopes, and the instrument mount. The mount is a modified U.S. Navy 5-inch/25 Mark 19 Navy gun mount adapted to hold the telescope. Two
trackers sit on opposite sides of the mount and move the telescope and camera in azimuth(side to side) and elevation (up and down).

Designed and built by the Army's Ballistic Research Laboratory (BRL) in Aberdeen, Maryland, using an optical system specified by Clyde Tombaugh, the first IGOR was installed at WSMR in October 1951. It was first used to track an Army Corporal missile on 6 December 1951. On display here is model number two, installed in late 1951. It was followed by eight more IGORs emplaced around WSMR. These tracking telescopes were used extensively through 1965. In 1952, the crew of this IGOR No. 2 took a photograph of the first Armed Live Warhead Intercept of a Nike Ajax missile and its target, a B-17 bomber. Their photograph won the Ernie Pyle Award for outstanding still photo in support of national security.

Roland was a French/German mobile short-range air defense missile system. The U.S. Army developed and evaluated an America version of the system, but in the end did not adopt it for large-scale operational service.

Roland was a compact mobile surface-to-air system, with two launchers and two radars on a single vehicle. The missile was fired from tube launchers and had a dual-thrust (boost/sustain) solid-fueled rocket motor. Immediately after the missile left the tube, the four cruciform wings and small canards were extended. The Roland was steered in flight by jet vanes. A line-of-sight radio command guidance system directed the missile to its target where the pre-fragmented warhead was detonated by a combined proximity/impact fuze. The Roland system could intercept targets at extremely low to medium altitudes: 20 m (65 ft) to 5500 m
(18,000 ft).

Development of Roland began in 1964 as a joint project of France and Germany. Roland eventually entered operational service with the French Army in 1977 and with the German Army in 1978. Roland was successful with other European and international customers.

The U.S. Army's Roland program began in 1974, when the Army issued a request for proposals for a new all-weather short-range air defense system. In 1975, Hughes was awarded a development contract for an American version of Roland. Adapting the system to American standards took time, but eventually a U.S.-built Roland was tested in February 1978.

However, in 1981 it was decided to terminate the US Roland program and to limit procurement to a single Army National Guard battalion. American production ended in 1985. Roland was never declared fully operational in the U.S. and the only battalion eventually deactivated its Roland assets in September 1988.

At White Sands Missile Range, five Roland missiles were first tested in 1975 by the Army.

• Length: 94 inches
• Diameter: 6 inches
• Weight: 145 pounds
• Propellant: Solid
• Range: 3.5 miles
• First Firing: 1975

Copperhead was the first successful cannon-launched missile. It was a laser-guided round fired from a 155-mm. howitzer in the same manner as a conventional round. Fired by a regular artillery crew with no special training, Copperhead provided the capability to destroy moving or stationary hard-point targets with pinpoint accuracy.

On firing, a thermal battery and a timer inside the Copperhead were activated, a gyro was spun up, tailfins popped open, and the laser seeker began to scan. The seeker homed in on reflected laser energy from a target as the munition fell toward earth. Fins popped open from the midbody to guide the Copperhead into its target, which was destroyed by the shell's shaped-charge warhead.

In 1971, the Army initiated development of the Cannon-Launched Guided Projectile (CLGP), which was renamed Copperhead in 1975. It was fielded in 1982. Production ended in 1989, after 27,000 rounds had been produced. Copperhead was used in comba in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm, but proved to be limited by target conditions and cost.

Developmental testing began at White Sands Missile Range in 1972. In the following five years, 299 Copperheads were tested here.

• Length: 54 inches
• Diameter: 6 inches
• Weight: 138 pounds
• Propellant: Standard Artillery Charges
• First Firing: 1972

SAGMI, an acronym for "Surface Attack Guided Missile," was one of many developmental vehicles tested by the Air Force at White Sands for the purpose of attacking ground targets. The missile was launched from aircraft at a safe distance so the crew was protected from ground anti-aircraft fire.

Layout and dimensions of the SAGMI vehicle are similar to the Beech AQM-37A target drone, and it seems likely that SAGMI prototypes were based on that design. The first flight occurred in 1972.

• Length: 16.7 feet
• Diameter: 14 inches
• Wing Span: 3.3 feet
• First Fired: 1972

TOW Missile

The TOW missile is the main heavy anti-tank guided missile of the US Army and US Marine Corps. Spools of wire are unraveled from its tail, giving the missile its name. TOW is an acronym for "tube-launched, optically-tracked, wire-guided missile."

It can be fired from tube launchers installed on vehicles, helicopters, or on a tripod on the ground. It is loaded into the launcher from behind, using the missile container as a launch tube extension. Using the launcher's telescopic sight, the operator identifies a target and fires the missile. A rocket motor ejects the missile from the tube, stabilization and control fins flip out and the solid-fuel main booster accelerates the missile. The guidance wire spins out from the tail. After firing the missile, the gunner simply keeps the sight pointing on the target and the guidance system automatically transmits corrective commands to the system through the wire.

In 1961, the US Army initiated studies for a replacement for the French SS-10 and SS-11 anti-tank missiles then in US Army service. From 1963 to 1968, TOW was developed in parallel for both ground-and air-launched applications. Production began in 1968 and it was fielded in 1970 by operational US Army ground troops, replacing the French SS-10 and SS-11 and the M140 106mm recoilless rifle.

Considerable improvements have been made to the missile since 1970. The missile here is the original or Basic TOW. This was replaced in 1976 by up-graded versions of TOW.

US soldiers used the TOW in combat during the Vietnam War, the first time American troops had ever fired an American-made missile under wartime conditions. TOW was used in Operation Desert Storm. It is still in service in the US and 36 other countries.

Testing of TOW began at White Sands Missile Range in 1967. Between 1967 and 1977, 161 were tested here.

• Length: 48 inches (1.17 m)
• Diameter: 6 inches (15.2 cm)
• Weight: 42 pounds (19 kg)
• Range: 10,000 feet (3000 m)
• Propellant: Solid
• First Firing: 1967

The Short Range Attack Missile (SRAM) was a small air-to-surface Air Force missile launched from B-52 and F-111 strategic bombers. On the B-52, it replaced the Hound Dog missile.

Armed with a nuclear warhead, the SRAM was propelled by a two-pulse solid-fuel rocket motor. The first motor stage propelled th missile to Mach 3 after launch, and the second stage was ignited near the target for a powered terminal approach. Maximum range varied from 55 km (35 miles) for low-altitude launches to 160 km (100 miles) for high-altitude firings.

SRAM's simple inertial guidance system allowed for individually programmed flights and change of direction after launch.

Throughout the 1950s nuclear warheads had become smaller, enabling a fighter to carry and deliver missiles from a range of over 100 miles. The B-52 Stratofortress and the F-111 could carry as many as 20 of these relatively small missiles. SRAM greatly increased the number of targets which could be attacked by a single bomber, and made it possible to attack fixed air-defense installations en route to the primary target.

The SRAM missile program was initiated in November 1963 by Headquarters of Strategic Air Command. The first powered flight occurred in July 1969 at White Sands Missile Range. Ninety-five SRAMs were tested here between 1969 and 1977. The program was cancelled in the late 1970s.

• Length: 14 feet
• Diameter: 17 inches
• Weight: 2,225 pounds
• Propellant: Solid
• First Firing: 1969

36.9 Megahertz Helix Antenna
Doppler Velocity and Position (DOVAP)
Reference Transmitter Antenna

DOVAP measures a rocket’s position in space using the Doppler effect caused by a target moving relative to a ground transmitter and receiving stations.

Developed during World War II by the Germans as part of a V-2 ground guidance and control system, at White Sands the DOVAP system provided trajectory data and ground guidance for most of the early rocket systems: Corporal, Sergeant, Honest John, Little John, Redstone, and Aerobee Upper Atmosphere programs.

Like much of the early instrumentation, it was designed and built at White Sands Missile Range. This particular antenna was built in the mid-1960s near C Station.

MK 5 Guided Missile Launcher

Originally modified and installed at the Desert Ship in 1977 by the Navy at White Sands Missile Range, the MK 5 Guided Missile Launcher was used to fire Standard Missiles. The Terrier Extended Range Missile, shown here on the left, was launched from that arm. The Tarter Medium Range Missile, shown on the right, or the Near Term Demonstration-1 Missile was fired from that arm. This MK 5 Launcher was last used at the LLS-1 Desert Ship at White Sands in November of 1997.

Loki-Dart was a very popular low-cost meteorological sounding rocket from the 1950s to the 1980s.

Two missiles are displayed here: a Loki on the bottom with a Dart mounted on its nose. Together, these were the workhorse rockets of White Sands. For many years, they were fired twice a day carrying weather instruments to measure atmospheric conditions over the missile range.

The Loki solid-propellant missile was developed from the Army's abandoned Loki anti-aircraft rocket. Loki had a single rocket
booster which propelled it to high speed (3900 mph). After rocket burnout, at about 2,500 feet, the Loki booster separated from the
Dart because of aerodynamic drag difference, while the Dart continued its upward climb.

The Dart was a Navy research missile used for gathering weather information. It contained a balloon, electronic instruments, battery,
tracking radar and antenna.

Reaching its peak at 20 miles above sea level, the Dart split open and the balloon was inflated, allowing the instruments case to
float downward gently. Continuous telemetering during the downward trip permitted compilation of upper atmospheric conditions.

With modifications and improvements, Loki-Dart continued in support of scientific and military weather monitoring programs to the end of the 1980s.

• Length (including booster): 103 inches
• Diameter: 3 inches (7.62 cm)
• Weight (including booster): 29 pounds (13 kg)
• Altitude: 53 miles
• Propellant: Solid
• First Firing: 1951