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The SSM-N-8A Regulus cruise missile was the nuclear deterrent weapon employed by the United States Navy from 1955 to 1964. It was essentially a turbojet version of the German V-1 "Buzz Bomb" with a nuclear warhead. Image File history File links A military (public domain) photo of a Regulus cruise missile. ...
Image File history File links A military (public domain) photo of a Regulus cruise missile. ...
A Tomahawk cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile which uses a lifting wing and most often a jet propulsion system to allow sustained flight. ...
The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ...
1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...
The Vergeltungswaffe 1 Fi 103 / FZG-76 (V-1), known as the Flying bomb, Buzz bomb or Doodlebug, was the first modern guided missile used in wartime and the first cruise missile. ...
History
In October 1943, Chance Vought Aircraft Company signed a study contract for a 300 mile (480 km) range missile to carry a 4,000 pound (1,800 kg) warhead. The project stalled for four years, however, until May 1947, when the United States Army Air Force awarded Martin Aircraft Company a contract for a turbojet powered subsonic missile, the Matador. The Navy saw Matador as a threat to its role in guided missiles and, within days, started a Navy development program for a missile that could be launched from a submarine and used the same J33 engine as the Matador. In August 1947, the specifications for the project, now named "Regulus," were issued: carry a 3,000 pound (1,360 kg) warhead, to a range of 500 nautical miles (926 km), at Mach 0.85, with a circular error probable (CEP) of 0.5 percent of the range. At its extreme range the missile had to hit within 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) of its target 50 % of the time. 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ...
Vought is the name of several related aerospace firms. ...
1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...
The United States Army Air Forces, or USAAF, was a part of the U.S. military during World War II. The direct precursor to the U.S. Air Force, the USAAF formally existed between 1941 and 1947. ...
The Glenn L. Martin Company was an aircraft company founded by aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin on August 16, 1912. ...
Matador cruise missile launch The Matador was the first operational surface-to-surface cruise missile of the U.S. armed forces. ...
1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...
In the military science of ballistics, Circular Error Probability or circular error probable (CEP) is a simple measure of a weapon systems precision. ...
The design was 30 feet (9.1 m) long, 10 feet (3.0 m) in wingspan, four feet (1.2 m) in diameter, and would weigh between 10,000 and 12,000 pounds (4,500 and 5400 kg). After launch, it would be guided toward its target by two control stations. (Later, with the "Trounce" system, one submarine could guide it).
Army-Navy competition complicated both the Matador's and the Regulus' developments. The missiles looked alike and used the same engine. They had nearly identical performances, schedules, and costs. Under pressure to reduce defense spending, the United States Department of Defense ordered the Navy to determine if Matador could be adapted for their use. The Navy concluded that the Navy's Regulus could perform the Navy mission better. The United States Department of Defense, abbreviated as DoD or DOD and sometimes called the Defense Department is a civilian Cabinet organization of the United States government. ...
Regulus did have advantages over Matador. It required only two guidance stations while Matador required three, and, because Matador's booster had to be fitted to the missile after it was on the launcher while Regulus was stowed with its boosters attached, Regulus could be launched more quickly -- an important feature to a submarine on the surface. Finally, Chance Vought built a recoverable version of the missile, so that even though a Regulus test vehicle was more expensive than a Matador to build, Regulus was cheaper to use over a series of tests. The Navy program continued, and the first Regulus flew in March 1951. 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ...
The first submarine launch occurred in July 1953 from the deck of USS Tunny (SSG-282), a World War II fleet boat modified to carry Regulus. Tunny and her sister boat USS Barbero (SSG-317) were the United States's first nuclear deterrent patrol submarines. They were joined in 1958 by two purpose built Regulus submarines, USS Grayback (SSG-574), USS Growler (SSG-577), and, later, by the nuclear powered USS Halibut (SSGN-587). So that no target would be left uncovered, four Regulus missiles had to be at sea at any given time. Thus, Barbero and Tunny, each of which carried two Regulus missiles, patrolled simultaneously. Growler and Grayback, with four missiles, or Halibut, with five, could patrol alone. These five submarines made 40 Regulus strategic deterrent patrols between October 1959 and July 1964, when they were relieved by the George Washington class submarines carrying the Polaris missile system. Barbero also earned the distinction (and undying fame among philatelists) of launching the first (and only) delivery of Missile Mail. USS Los Angeles A submarine is a specialized watercraft that can operate underwater. ...
1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ...
USS Tunny (SS/SSG/APSS/LPSS-282), a Gato-class submarine, was the first submarine of the United States Navy to be named for the tunny, any of several oceanic fishes resembling the mackerel. ...
World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that engulfed much of the...
USS Barbero (SS/A/G-317) was a Balao-class submarine of the United States Navy, named for a family of fishes commonly called surgeon fish. ...
1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
USS Grayback (SS/SSG/APSS/LPSS-574), the lead ship of her class, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the grayback, a small herring of great commercial importance in the Great Lakes. ...
USS Growler (SSG-577), a Grayback-class submarine, was the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the growler, a large-mouth black bass. ...
USS Halibut (SSGN/SSN-587), a unique guided missile submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the halibut, a large species of flatfish found on both sides of the Atlantic. ...
1959 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...
The George Washington class of United States Navy submarine were the first ballistic missile submarines in the world. ...
The Polaris Missile was a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) carrying a nuclear warhead developed during the Cold War for the United States Navy. ...
Close examination of the Penny Red, left, reveals a 148 in the margin, indicating that it was printed with plate #148. ...
USS Barbero (SS/A/G-317) was a Balao-class submarine of the United States Navy, named for a family of fishes commonly called surgeon fish. ...
Regulus was deployed by the US Navy in 1955 in the Pacific onboard the cruiser USS Los Angeles (CA-135). In 1956, three more followed: USS Macon (CA-132), USS Toledo (CA-133), and USS Helena (CA-75). These four Baltimore class cruisers each carried three Regulus missiles on operational patrols in the Western Pacific. Macon's last Regulus patrol was in 1958, Toledo's in 1959, Helena's in 1960, and Los Angeles's in 1961. 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
USS Port Royal, a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, launched in 1994. ...
The third USS Los Angeles (CA-135) was laid down by the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pa. ...
1956 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
USS Macon (CA-132) was laid down 14 June 1943 by the New York Shipbuilding Corp. ...
USS Toledo (CA-133) was a Baltimore-class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy active during the Korean War. ...
The third USS Helena (CA-75) received her name while building after the cancellation of CL-113; was launched at Bethlehem Steel Co. ...
The United States Navys Baltimore class of heavy cruisers was the last of World War II. The ships looked very much like those of the Cleveland class. ...
1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
1959 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...
1961 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...
Ten aircraft carriers were configured to carry and launch Regulus missiles (though only six ever actually launched one). An aircraft carrier is a warship whose main role is to deploy and recover aircraft—in effect acting as a sea-going airbase. ...
USS Princeton (CV-37) did not deploy with the missile but conducted the first launch of a Regulus from a warship. USS Saratoga (CVA-60) also did not deploy but was involved in two demonstration launches. USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) and USS Lexington (CV-16) each conducted one test launch. USS Randolph (CV-15) deployed to the Mediterranean carrying three Regulus missiles. USS Hancock (CV-19) deployed once to the Western Pacific with four missiles in 1955. The fifth USS Princeton (CV-37) (also CVA-37, CVS-37, LPH-5) was a United States Navy Ticonderoga-class aircraft carrier (later refit into a Boxer-class LPH). ...
USS Saratoga (CV-60), the fifth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the American Revolutionary War Battle of Saratoga, was a Forrestal-class supercarrier. ...
USS (CVB-42) was a carrier in the United States Navy, named after Franklin D. Roosevelt. ...
The fifth United States Naval ship named Lexington (CV-16), also known as The Blue Ghost, was laid down as Cabot 15 July 1941 by Bethlehem Steel Co. ...
The second USS Randolph (CV-15) of the United States Navy was a Ticonderoga-class aircraft carrier. ...
The fourth USS Hancock (CV-19) of the United States Navy was an Ticonderoga-class aircraft carrier. ...
1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Lexington, Hancock, USS Shangri-La (CV-38), and USS Ticonderoga (CV-14) were involved in the development of the Regulus Assault Mission (RAM) concept. RAM converted the Regulus cruise missiles into a unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV): Regulus missiles would be launched from cruisers or submarines, and once in flight, guided to their targets by carrier based pilots with remote control equipment. The USS Shangri-La (CV-38) (also CVA-38, CVS-38) was an Ticonderoga-class aircraft carrier. ...
The fourth USS Ticonderoga (CV-14) of the United States Navy was an aircraft carrier. ...
Shadow 200 UAV flying over Iraq. ...
Production of Regulus was phased out in January 1959 with delivery of the 514th missile, and it was removed from service in August 1964. 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...
Regulus not only provided the first nuclear strategic deterrence force for the United States Navy during the first years of the Cold War and especially during the Cuban Missile Crisis, preceding the Polaris missiles, Poseidon missiles, and Trident missiles that followed, but it also was the forerunner of the Tomahawk cruise missile. The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ...
For the generic term for a high-tension rivalry between countries, see cold war (war). ...
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a tense confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States over the Soviet deployment of nuclear missiles in Cuba. ...
The Polaris Missile was a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) carrying a nuclear warhead developed during the Cold War for the United States Navy. ...
The Poseidon missile was the second US Navy ballistic missile system, powered by a two-stage solid fuel rocket. ...
Ohio-class submarine launches Trident ICBMs (US Navy graphic) The Trident missile is an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) which is armed with nuclear warheads and is launched from submarines (SSBNs), making it a SLBM. The Trident was built in two variants: the I (C4) UGM-93A and II (D5) UGM...
A Tomahawk cruise missile The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile with stubby wings. ...
A Regulus I cruise missile can be seen ready for launch onboard USS Growler (SSG-577) at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City. Four ships of the United States Navy have been named USS Growler for the growler, a large-mouth black bass. ...
State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York City Governor George Pataki (R) Senators Charles Schumer (D) Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) Official languages None (English is de facto) Area 141,205 km² (27th) - Land 122,409 km² - Water 18,795 km² (13. ...
Description The Regulus missile was a large turbojet powered missile. Its barrel-shaped fuselage resembled that of numerous fighter aircraft designs of the era, but without any cockpit. Its swept wings and rear fin were also smaller than most aircraft, while additionally, when the missile was ready for launch, it mounted two large boost engines on the rear fuselage. Jet engine diagram Turbojets are the simplest and oldest kind of general purpose jet engine. ...
General Characteristics - Fuselage Diameter: 56.5 in (1.4 m)
- Fuselage Length: 386 in (9.8 m)
- Wingspan: 252 in (6.4 m) extended, 118.5 in (3.0 m) folded
- Wing Depth: 76 in (1.9 m)
- Overall Height: 92.3 in (2.3 m)
- Overall Length: 498.7 in (12.7 m)
- Warhead: 3000 lb (1,360 kg) such as the W5 warhead or the W27 warhead
- Weight at launch: 13,685 lb (6,207 kg)
Variants A second generation supersonic Regulus II cruise missile with a range of 1,200 nautical miles (2,200 km) and a speed of Mach 2 was developed and successfully tested, but the program was canceled in favor of the Polaris ballistic nuclear missile.
Operators The Regulus was only used by the United States Navy, with whom it served from 1955 to 1964. The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ...
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