An air-to-air rocket or air interception rocket is an unguided projectile fired from aircraft to engage other flying targets. They were used briefly in World War I to engage enemy observation balloons and in and after World War II to engage enemy bombers. Fighters were too maneuverable to be effectively engaged with rockets.
Rockets were used in World War I to engage observation balloons and airships. Success rates were low and the rockets were dangerous to handle in the early fighters built from highly flammable materials. [1] By the end of the war they were replaced by the incendiary Pomeroy bullets. [2] The Pomeroy bullet was developed to strike German Zeppelin airships, by igniting the hydrogen in the balloon. They did not always work. [3] One of the notable rockets from World War I was the Le Prieur rocket which had a range of about 115 m (126 yd), limited by inaccuracy. It was first used in the Battle of Verdun.
The first known example of a successful attack of air-to-air rockets on another plane took place on August 20, 1939, during the Battle of Khalkhin Gol. A group of Soviet Polikarpov I-16 fighters under command of Captain N. Zvonaryev successfully destroyed a few Japanese warplanes by launching of RS-82 rockets. Soviet RS-82 rockets were mounted on special pylons under wings of Soviet fighters. [4]
Air-to-air rockets were utilized in World War II to engage bombers because cannon fire proved ineffective at high closing speeds. On top of that, getting in the range to fire one's guns also meant getting in the range of the bomber's tail gun. The German R4M was the first practical rocket. [5] It was highly successful, but came too late to change the outcome of the war. After experiencing the effectiveness of the German rockets, both the Soviet Union and the United States started developing their own.[ clarification needed ]
The invention of effective air-to-air missiles spelled the end for their unguided counterparts in the 1950s. The capability of steering during the flight trajectory significantly increased the hit percentage over rockets. The United States built one last air-to-air rocket, the AIR-2 Genie. It used a nuclear warhead with a blast radius of 300m to compensate for its inaccuracy.
R4M, abbreviation for Rakete, 4 kilogramm, Minenkopf, also known by the nickname Orkan due to its distinctive smoke trail when fired, was a folding-fin air-to-air rocket used by the Luftwaffe at the end of World War II.
The Ruhrstahl Ru 344 X-4 or Ruhrstahl-Kramer RK 344 was a wire-guided air-to-air missile designed by Germany during World War II. The X-4 did not see operational service and thus was not proven in combat but inspired considerable post-war work around the world, and was the basis for the development of several ground-launched anti-tank missiles.
Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare. Aerial warfare includes bombers attacking enemy installations or a concentration of enemy troops or strategic targets; fighter aircraft battling for control of airspace; attack aircraft engaging in close air support against ground targets; naval aviation flying against sea and nearby land targets; gliders, helicopters and other aircraft to carry airborne forces such as paratroopers; aerial refueling tankers to extend operation time or range; and military transport aircraft to move cargo and personnel.
A rocket launcher is a weapon that launches an unguided, rocket-propelled projectile.
The Douglas AIR-2 Genie was an unguided air-to-air rocket with a 1.5 kt W25 nuclear warhead. It was deployed by the United States Air Force and Canada during the Cold War. Production ended in 1962 after over 3,000 were made, with some related training and test derivatives being produced later.
A general-purpose bomb is an air-dropped bomb intended as a compromise between blast damage, penetration, and fragmentation in explosive effect. They are designed to be effective against enemy troops, vehicles, and buildings.
The Mk 4 Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket (FFAR), also known as "Mighty Mouse", is an unguided rocket used by United States military aircraft. It was 2.75 inches (70 mm) in diameter. Designed as an air-to-air weapon for interceptor aircraft to shoot down enemy bombers, it primarily saw service as an air-to-surface weapon. The FFAR has been developed into the modern Hydra 70 series, which is still in service.
The S-5 is a rocket weapon developed by the Soviet Air Force and used by military aircraft against ground area targets. It is in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces and various export customers. It is based on the R4M, a German design from World War 2.
The RP-3 was a British air to ground rocket projectile introduced during the Second World War. The "3 inch" designation referred to the nominal diameter of the rocket motor tube. The use of a 60 lb (27 kg) warhead gave rise to the alternative name of the "60-pound rocket". Though an air-to-ground weapon, it saw limited use in other roles. They were generally used by British fighter-bomber aircraft against targets such as tanks, trains, motor transport and buildings, as well as by Coastal Command and Royal Navy aircraft against U-boats and ships.
Wunderwaffe is a German word meaning "wonder-weapon" and was a term assigned during World War II by Nazi Germany's propaganda ministry to some revolutionary "superweapons". Most of these weapons however remained prototypes, which either never reached the combat theater, or if they did, were too late or in too insignificant numbers to have a military effect. The V-weapons, which were developed earlier and saw considerable deployment, especially against London and Antwerp, trace back to the same pool of highly inventive armament concepts. In the German language, the term Wunderwaffe generally refers to a universal solution which solves all problems related to a particular issue, mostly used ironically for its illusionary nature.
RS-82 and RS-132 were unguided rockets used by Soviet military during World War II.
Balloon busters were military pilots known for destroying enemy observation balloons. These pilots were noted for their fearlessness, as balloons were stationary targets able to receive heavy defenses, from the ground and the air. Seventy-seven flying aces in World War I were each credited with destroying five or more balloons, and thus were balloon aces.
Le Prieur rockets were a type of incendiary air-to-air rocket used in World War I against observation balloons and airships. They were invented by the French lieutenant Yves Le Prieur and were first used in the Battle of Verdun in May 1916. Due to great inaccuracy their range was limited to about 115 metres.
Jagdgeschwader 7 Nowotny was a Luftwaffe fighter wing during World War II and the first operational jet fighter unit in the world. It was created late in 1944 and served until the end of the war in May 1945.
In military terminology, a rocket is a self-propelled, generally guided, weapon-system powered by a rocket engine. Though used primarily as medium- and long-range artillery systems, historically rockets have also seen considerable use as air-to-surface weapons, some use as air-to-air weapons, and even as surface-to-air devices. Examples of modern surface-to-surface rocket systems include the Soviet BM-27 Uragan and the American M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System.
Panzerblitz is a German anti-tank unguided aerial rocket developed during the Second World War.
The 44M Lidérc was an experimental air-to-air rocket developed in Hungary during World War II. It had an acoustic proximity fuse invented by Károly Pulváry. The acoustic device was a highly advanced piece of technology in 1944, and the research of necessary electronics was quite a complex project. The sensor consisted of a super-sensitive microphone and a squelch principle circuit with two electron tube amplifiers.
The 2-inch RP, short for Rocket Projectile, 2-inch, Number 1 Mark 1, was an unguided rocket weapon developed by the Royal Navy in the 1950s. It is generally similar to contemporary rockets like the SNEB and FFAR, although somewhat smaller. It is sometimes known as the RP-2 or RN, but most often referred to simply as the 2-inch.
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