Pershing Missiles

Great paper on the Pershing. I read in "Nuclear Weapons Databook" a "big" Pershing as an SICBM alternative any information on that program?
 
That's a new one to me. I'll have to keep looking.
 
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XP67_Moonbat said:
That's a new one to me. I'll have to kepp looking.
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Look on pages 132 and 133 of Nuclear Weapons Databook Volume I US Nuclear Forces and Capabilities several mentions of an SICBM alternative called the Pershing III.

Boy back in the day when you used to get Time and Newsweek cover stories with pictures of MX's and SICBM and Trident missile launches. Oh the "good ole days" ;)
 
As per the "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists", July 1983 (page 13):

"Another Pershing missile variant, a four-stage, 25,000-pound strategic missile designated Pershing III is being proposed by Martin Marietta as a contender for the small ICBM which is proposed as an eventual replacement for the MX missile."

books.google.com

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

books.google.com

I also found a 1981 reference to the Pershing III designation in the Flight online archive, but that was a hypothetical three-stage sub-strategic version with no indication that it actually existed as a real project.
 
Another member of the Pershing family that it would be nice to know more about is the Conventional Airfield Attack Missile / Counter Air Missile / CAM-40

c. Conventional Airfield Attack Missile (CAAM)

The combination of the Warsaw Pact Air Force numerical
superiority, coupled with their opportunity to initiate an attack
against NATO airbases and other high-value targets continues to be a
difficult problem. Our efforts to counter the Pact advantage have
included aircraft sheltering, ground and air defenses, and a conventional
second-strike capability utilizing attack aircraft. The
interdiction of Pact main operating air bases (MOBs) to reduce their
aircraft sortie rate potential is difficult because of the combination
of airbase hardening, air defenses and weather. Technology now will
permit effective, immediate and virtually unstoppable counter attacks
with conventionally armed surface-to-surface missiles, regardless of
weather or defenses in the target area. Cost and operational
effectiveness analyses conducted during the past year have verified
that such a system would have a relatively high payoff for an initial
attack supported by follow-up aircraft attacks. A conceptual design
and feasibility demonstration activity for a PERSHING II version of a
Conventional Airfield Attack Missile (CAAM) was initiated last year.
We are requesting $5.0 million in FY 1979 to continue this feasibility
demonstration activity.


THE FY 1979 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PROGRAM FOR RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND ACQUISITION
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(Images via link in first post of the Assault Breaker thread [h/t sferrin])

Original Caption: Counter Air Missile. Terminal phase of a CAM strike, the delivery vehicle spins up and dispenses its payload of penetrators, each of which will find its way through a runway or taxiway surface. CAM uses a Pershing airframe, including the radar area correlator for terminal guidance. CAM is not yet funded and one major drawback to the system is that a wave of CAM configured Pershings approaching Warpac air bases could well be mistaken for nuclear armed Pershings with resulting horrendous consequences.
 

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A picture of the Pershing-derived Pegasus SLV posted by Ronnie Serrano on the FB page "Project Terminated"

And I quote:

"Found this the other day, when I was looking up for Pershing I MRBM and I ran across this proposal which was proposed by Martin Marietta. Martin Marietta proposed a satellite launch variant of the Pershing MRBM called the Pegasus which would deliver satellites into circular and elliptical orbit. Along with that, it would used the same TEL or another system to launched the rocket. The Pegasus was aimed at both U.S military, NASA, and the European space agencies, but sadly there was no buyers for the rocket"
 

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John Hopkins Tech Digest (1998) 421 TEST AND EVALUATION OF LAND-MOBILE MISSILE SYSTEMS

Interesting article on Pershing II look on page 9 for a picture of the MaRV landing within feet of its' intended target. Given the W85's yield could be as high at 80Kt I think you'd have killed what you aimed at.

 
bobbymike said:
John Hopkins Tech Digest (1998) 421 TEST AND EVALUATION OF LAND-MOBILE MISSILE SYSTEMS

Interesting article on Pershing II look on page 9 for a picture of the MaRV landing within feet of its' intended target. Given the W85's yield could be as high at 80Kt I think you'd have killed what you aimed at.

http://www.jhuapl.edu/techdigest/TD/td1904/mentzer.pdf
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This weapon was responsible for the INF Treaty. The USSR gave up a LOT to get this thing off their doorstep.
 
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www.flickr.com

Pershing Missile Germany 1980's

56 field artillery , nick eilers, Pershing missile Germany, Michael Nolan, rob shurack , lee hue , jeff black, MGM-31 Pershing,patrick hogue, spain , costa del sol, pete parlow , peter parlow, west geamny 1980's, nuclear weapons, big ben tower, coke cola, nuclear, base weapons, patrick hogue...
www.flickr.com www.flickr.com
 
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For anyone who lived through the 80s the Pershing along with the Tomahawk Glickm Cruise Missile was never out of the headlines and popular culture. The film "Weird Science" from 1985 had a scene where some nerdy teenagers try to create their ideal woman but their gadget is left on a Time Magazine cover and they make a Pershing instead.
 

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sites.google.com

Pershing missile - Models

An updated version of this page is now on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pershing_missile_models Scale model kits
sites.google.com sites.google.com
If you like models, this site has some interesting ones of Pershings I and II
 
uk 75 said:
For anyone who lived through the 80s the Pershing along with the Tomahawk Glickm Cruise Missile was never out of the headlines and popular culture. The film "Weird Science" from 1985 had a scene where some nerdy teenagers try to create their ideal woman but their gadget is left on a Time Magazine cover and they make a Pershing instead.
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The nerdy teenagers created the perfect woman then went too far trying to create one to show off to the school bullies one played by a very young Iron Man
 
Pershing II was touted as 6 minutes to Moscow. It was akin to Cuba-based ICBMs. Everyone worried about MRBMs stored in known bunkers, but nobody worried about SLBM parked off their coasts.
 
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MadRat said:
Pershing II was touted as 6 minutes to Moscow. It was akin to Cuba-based ICBMs. Everyone worried about MRBMs stored in known bunkers, but nobody worried about SLBM parked off their coasts.
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Interestingly, it turns out Pershing II falls a couple of hundred miles short of Moscow from its bases in Germany. For example, Neu-Ulm to Moscow is about 1250 miles, versus a nominal range on Pershing II of roughly 1050 miles.

Lots of valid targets within that range of course, but not Moscow proper, most likely, nor the command bunkers around it.
 
I read somewhere that Moscow did not believe the official quoted range of the Pershing II, which could not hit the capital of USSR, and always feared that its true capability would allow it to actually strike Moscow. And the Americans played along ...
 
TomS said:
MadRat said:
Pershing II was touted as 6 minutes to Moscow. It was akin to Cuba-based ICBMs. Everyone worried about MRBMs stored in known bunkers, but nobody worried about SLBM parked off their coasts.
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Interestingly, it turns out Pershing II falls a couple of hundred miles short of Moscow from its bases in Germany. For example, Neu-Ulm to Moscow is about 1250 miles, versus a nominal range on Pershing II of roughly 1050 miles.

Lots of valid targets within that range of course, but not Moscow proper, most likely, nor the command bunkers around it.
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The later versions of tge Missile could go as far as 1500 miles do to enhance motors.

Which basically allows you to sit more or less at the french border if you want.

But that version only served a few years til the INF treaty happened.
 
There's reference to a range of 1,500 miles here (more than usual).

www.lockheedmartin.com

The Pershing Missile: Peace Through Strength

The grave announcement came during the early-morning hours of November 4, 1956. Hungarian Prime Minister Imre Nagy, speaking for just 35 seconds in dire tones appropriate to the hour, announced to his fellow countrymen that their worst fears had come to pass.
www.lockheedmartin.com www.lockheedmartin.com

I note there was a lighter W86 warhead in development at the time, I wonder if it's related.
 
bobbymike said:
NMaude said:
IIRC the SICBM reached prototype stage with a few successful test-launches before being cancelled due to the end of the Cold War.
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Wasn’t Pershing III a different program (basically a PII with an extra stage) that never went beyond drawings?
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Would it have still had a manoeuvring RV though? The CEP quotes 1-1.8x MX.
 
NMaude said:
Forest Green said:
Would it have still had a manoeuvring RV though?
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I imagine it would, having terminal homing capability with its' RADAG seeker would've enabled it to use a low yield TN warhead.
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It's pretty ambitious given the size - 1.02m x 13m for 8,000 miles! The LGM-134 Midgetman was 1.17m x 14m and had a range of 6,800 miles.

Is the throw weight the warhead weight or entire RV? It says 1,000lbs for this thing, for Pershing II the all-up RV weight was ~1,500lbs according to wiki.

Some real clues in that drawing isayyo2 posted about how control fins would be stored prior to deployment on ICBM-level MaRVs.
 
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I just stumbled across this amusing film about the MGM-31 Pershing I:


The MGM-31 Pershing was a highly advanced, solid-fueled, intermediate-range ballistic missile developed by the United States during the Cold War. With a length of 34.6 feet and a diameter of 40 inches, the Pershing had an impressive range of approximately 1,100 miles. It was equipped with a single-stage engine that propelled it to speeds exceeding Mach 8. One of its key features was its accuracy, as it could strike targets with precision thanks to its inertial guidance system coupled with an onboard radar unit for mid-course corrections.
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The missile also had the capability to carry either a nuclear warhead or conventional high-explosive warheads weighing up to 882 pounds. The Pershing's mobile launcher system allowed for rapid deployment and relocation, increasing its survivability on the battlefield. Furthermore, it possessed quick response times due to its solid-fuel propulsion system and ease of reloading.
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Why would the top military brass choose a new and unproven missile over more established systems such as the Navy's Poseidon and Polaris? Consider the following:
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1. Pershing doesn't have to be waterproofed... unless it rains.
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2. American Generals are better than Greek Gods.
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3. A Pravda survey shows that 85% of the Russian population prefer to be attacked by Pershing.
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4. Pershing begins with a "P" followed by an "E" -- thus ten letters ahead of Polaris & Poseidon in the alphabet.
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5. If there never is a nuclear war, Pershing will have done just as good a job as Poseidon.
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6. Pershing has a smaller warhead - if we blow a mission, we haven't lost as much.
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7. Submarines are unpopular. It was a dirty submarine that sank the Lusitania.
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8. You can't put a submarine in a parade.
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9. "Shoot and swim" won't rhyme like "Shoot and scoot."
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TomS said:
Interestingly, it turns out Pershing II falls a couple of hundred miles short of Moscow from its bases in Germany. For example, Neu-Ulm to Moscow is about 1250 miles, versus a nominal range on Pershing II of roughly 1050 miles.

Lots of valid targets within that range of course, but not Moscow proper, most likely, nor the command bunkers around it.
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Depends on whether you take the quoted range at face value. The Soviets had it estimated at 2,500km and more recently:

www.lockheedmartin.com

The Pershing Missile: Peace Through Strength

The grave announcement came during the early-morning hours of November 4, 1956. Hungarian Prime Minister Imre Nagy, speaking for just 35 seconds in dire tones appropriate to the hour, announced to his fellow countrymen that their worst fears had come to pass.
www.lockheedmartin.com www.lockheedmartin.com
Although roughly the same size as previous versions, the Pershing II’s range was increased to 1,500 miles, which became an even stronger deterrent against potential Soviet aggression.
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