UUM-44 SUBROC | |
---|---|
Type | Standoff anti-submarine weapon |
Place of origin | United States |
Service history | |
In service | 1964–1989 |
Used by | United States Navy |
Production history | |
Manufacturer | Goodyear Aerospace |
Specifications | |
Mass | 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) |
Length | 22 ft (6.7 m) |
Diameter | 21 in (53 cm) |
Warhead | Disputed, either 1 to 5 kilotonnes of TNT (4.2 to 20.9 TJ) or 25 kilotonnes of TNT (100 TJ) [1] [2] |
Detonation mechanism | Depth Fuze |
Engine | Solid rocket booster |
Operational range | 55 km (34 mi) |
Maximum speed | subsonic |
Guidance system | Inertial guidance ballistic trajectory |
Launch platform | Submarine |
The UUM-44 SUBROC ("Submarine Rocket") was a type of submarine-launched rocket deployed by the United States Navy as an anti-submarine weapon. It carried a 25 kiloton tactical nuclear warhead configured as a nuclear depth bomb. [3]
SUBROC was one of several weapons recommended for implementation by Project Nobska, a 1956 summer study on submarine warfare. [4] Development began in 1958, with the technical evaluation being completed in 1963. SUBROC reached Initial Operation Capability (IOC) aboard the attack submarine Permit in 1964. [5] [6] When SUBROC reached IOC, the US Navy's admiral in charge of weapons procurement stated that SUBROC was "…a more difficult technical problem than Polaris." [7]
SUBROC could be launched from a 21-inch submarine torpedo tube. After launch, the solid fuel rocket motor fired and SUBROC rose to the surface. The attitude then changed and SUBROC flew to its destination following a predetermined ballistic trajectory. At a predetermined time in the trajectory, the reentry vehicle (containing the warhead) separated from the solid fuel motor. The low kiloton [lower-alpha 1] W55 nuclear depth bomb dropped into the water and sank rapidly to detonate near its target. A direct hit was not necessary.
The W55 was 13 inches (33 cm) in diameter, 39.4 inches (100 cm) long, and weighed 465 lb (211 kg). Some sources suggest the W55 evolved from the experimental bomb tested in the Hardtack I Olive nuclear test on July 22, 1958, which had a full two-stage yield estimated at 202 kilotons.[ citation needed ] Researcher Chuck Hansen claims based on his US nuclear program research that the W55 and W58 warheads shared a common primary or fission first stage named Kinglet. [9]
SUBROC's tactical use was as an urgent-attack long-range weapon for time-urgent submarine targets that could not be attacked with any other weapon without betraying the position of the launching submarine by calling for an air-strike, or where the target was too distant to be attacked quickly with a torpedo launched from the submarine. The tactical rationale for SUBROC was similar to that for ASROC or Ikara. An added advantage was that SUBROC's approach to the target was not detectable by the target in time to take evasive action, although the warhead yield would appear to make evasive maneuvers unrealistic. However, SUBROC was less flexible in its use than Ikara or ASROC: since its only payload was a nuclear warhead, it could not be used to provide stand-off fire in a conventional (i.e., non-nuclear) engagement.
SUBROC production ended in 1968. SUBROC was never used in combat, and all 285 W55 warheads were decommissioned in 1990 following the end of the Cold War. Because the nuclear warhead was an integral part of the weapon, SUBROC could not be exported to other navies, and there is no evidence that any were supplied to other NATO allies under the well-established arrangements for supplying other dual-key nuclear weapons. In 1980 a planned successor, the UUM-125 Sea Lance, was authorized. In 1982 the contract was awarded to Boeing. The system and its W89 warhead were cancelled in 1990 at the end of the Cold War.
The RUR-5 ASROC is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed on over 200 USN surface ships, specifically cruisers, destroyers, and frigates. The ASROC has been deployed on scores of warships of many other navies, including Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, Greece, Pakistan and others.
The Ikara missile was an Australian ship-launched anti-submarine missile, named after an Australian Aboriginal word for "throwing stick". It launched an acoustic torpedo to a range of 10 nautical miles (19 km), allowing fast-reaction attacks against submarines at ranges that would otherwise require the launching ship to close for attack, placing itself at risk. By flying to a distant target, the engagement time was dramatically shorter than provided by short-range weapons, giving the target less time to respond.
USS Bluefish (SSN-675), a Sturgeon-class attack submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the bluefish.
Operation Plumbbob was a series of nuclear tests that were conducted between May 28 and October 7, 1957, at the Nevada Test Site, following Project 57, and preceding Project 58/58A.
Mark 7 "Thor" was the first tactical fission bomb adopted by US armed forces. It was also the first weapon to be delivered using the toss method with the help of the low-altitude bombing system (LABS). The weapon was tested in Operation Buster-Jangle. The Mark 7 was fitted with retractable stabilizer fins so it could be carried under fighter-bomber aircraft. The Mark 7 warhead (W7) also formed the basis of the 30.5 inches (775 mm) BOAR rocket, the Mark 90 Betty nuclear depth charge, MGR-1 Honest John rocket, MGM-5 Corporal ballistic missile, and Nike Ajax surface-to-air missile. It was also supplied for delivery by Royal Air Force Canberra aircraft assigned to NATO in Germany under the command of SACEUR. This was done under the auspices of Project E, an agreement between the United States and the UK on the RAF carriage of US nuclear weapons. In UK use it was designated 1,650 lb. H.E. M.C. The Mark 7 was in service from 1952 to 1967(8) with 1,700–1,800 having been built.
The UUM-125 Sea Lance, known early in development as the Common ASW Standoff Weapon, was to be an American standoff anti-submarine missile, initially intended to carry a W89 thermonuclear warhead. It was conceived in 1980 as a successor to both the UUM-44 SUBROC and RUR-5 ASROC anti-submarine missiles. The Sea Lance was to be available in two versions, known as UUM-125A and RUM-125A. The former would be a submarine-launched version, the latter surface-launched. It was cancelled in 1990 as its importance was obviated by the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The W55 was a tactical nuclear weapon that was in service with the US Navy from 1964 to 1990, and was carried by the UUM-44 SUBROC submarine-launched missile as a nuclear depth bomb.
The B46 nuclear bomb was an American high-yield thermonuclear bomb which was designed and tested in the late 1950s. It was never deployed. Though originally intended to be a production design, the B46 ended up being only an intermediate prototype of the B-53 and was test fired several times. These prototypes were known as TX-46 units (Test/Experimental).
The W58 was an American thermonuclear warhead used on the Polaris A-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile. Three W58 warheads were fitted as multiple warheads on each Polaris A-3 missile.
The W38 was an American thermonuclear warhead used in the early to mid-1960s as a warhead for Atlas E and F, and LGM-25 Titan I ICBMs. It was first built in 1961 and was in service from 1961 to 1965. 70 were deployed on Titan I missiles and 110 on Atlas missiles. It used the Avco Mark 4 reentry vehicle.
The W30 was an American nuclear warhead used on the RIM-8 Talos surface-to-air missile and the Tactical Atomic Demolition Munition (TADM).
Kinglet was a boosted fission primary used in several American thermonuclear weapons.
A nuclear depth bomb is the nuclear equivalent of a conventional depth charge, and can be used in anti-submarine warfare for attacking submerged submarines. The Royal Navy, Soviet Navy, and United States Navy all had nuclear depth bombs in their arsenals at one point.
An anti-submarine missile is a standoff anti-submarine weapon, often a specialized variant of anti-ship missile. Anti-submarine missile usually include a jet or rocket engine and a warhead aimed directly at a submarine. In these missiles, a torpedo or a depth charge is used as a warhead.
The W60 was nuclear warhead developed for the United States Navy's long range Typhon LR surface-to-air missile.
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The Starling was a small American nuclear bomb developed in the 1950s that was used as the primary in several US thermonuclear weapons.