A Subroc was a type of submarine launched rocket intended for use as an anti-submarine weapon. It was designed to be a similar in size and shape to a standard torpedo so that it could be fired from a submarine's torpedo tubes. On launch, the subroc rises to the surface, then ignites its solid fuel rocket engine and flies to its programmed destination. The warhead (W55/250 kiloton) then separates and reenters the water before exploding in proximity to its target. When equipped with a nuclear warhead a direct hit is not necessary. HMS Vanguard, a Vanguard class nuclear ballistic missile (SSBN) submarine HMCS Windsor, a Victoria class diesel-electric hunter-killer (SSK) submarine HMAS Rankin, a Collins class diesel-electric guided missile (SSG) submarine USS Virginia, a Virginia class nuclear attack (SSN) submarine A submarine is a specialized watercraft that can operate... A Redstone rocket, part of the Mercury program A rocket is a vehicle, missile or aircraft which obtains thrust by the reaction to the ejection of fast moving exhaust gas from within a rocket engine. ... A modern torpedo, historically called a self-propelled torpedo, is a self-propelled guided projectile that (after being launched above or below the water surface) operates underwater and is designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945 lifted nuclear fallout some 18 km (60,000 feet) above the epicenter. ...

The principle Subroc used by the US Navy was the Goodyear UUM-44 Subroc. Developed in 1965, the Subroc was never used in combat and all were decommissioned following the end of the Cold War in 1989. Towards the end of the 1970s, a planned successor, the UUM-125 Sea Lance, was frequently delayed due to funding problems and eventually cancelled. The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link goes to calendar). ... For the generic term for a high-tension struggle between countries, see cold war (war). ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 1970s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1970 and 1979. ...

Subroc was not strictly an anti-submarine weapon: it was thought that the noisy Alfa class submarine of the Soviet Union would serve as a beacon as to the location of a Soviet battle group, and a large-enough nuclear warhead would not only destroy the submarine, but all accompanying warships as well. Alfa class submarine at sea. ...

See also

ASROC An older Matchbox ASROC launcher, phased out in the 1990s ASROC (for Anti-Submarine Rocket) is an antisubmarine missile system, developed by the United States Navy, and installed on over 200 surface ships, generally cruisers and destroyers. ...

External links

• astronautix article on the UUM-44A