In August 1945, the command of the US Air Force came up with a proposal to create promising ground-to-ground cruise missiles with an intercontinental range. Such weapons, equipped with nuclear warheads, could be used to attack various important targets on enemy territory. The proposal of the military led to the emergence of two projects, one of which was brought to the stage of mass production of weapons and its operation in the army. The second project, in turn, did not reach the construction of experimental products, but contributed to the emergence of new developments.
In 1946, Northrop Aircraft responded to a military proposal with two technical proposals. According to the calculations of engineers led by John Northrop, it was possible to develop subsonic and supersonic cruise missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead at a distance of several thousand miles. Soon, the military department ordered the development of two new projects. The subsonic missile received the military designation SSN-A-3, the supersonic missile - SSN-A-5. In addition, alternative factory designations have been proposed: MX-775A and MX-775B, respectively.
In 1947, J. Northrop personally proposed alternative names for two new projects. At his suggestion, the subsonic missile was named Snark, and the second project was designated as Boojum. The projects were named after the fictional creatures from Lewis Carroll's poem "Snark Hunt". Recall that the snark was a mysterious creature living on a remote island, and the boojum was a particularly dangerous species. In the future, such names of projects fully justified themselves. The development of two missiles, like the hunt for the mysterious beast, ended without much success.
Schematic diagram of the MX-775B Boojum rocket of the first version. Figure Designation-systems.net
The goal of the SSN-A-5 / MX-775B / Boojum project was to create a promising intercontinental cruise missile with a supersonic flight speed. In accordance with the initial requirements, the product "Bujum" was supposed to carry a payload weighing up to 5000 pounds (about 2300 kg) and deliver it at a range of up to 5000 miles (more than 8000 km). By the end of the autumn of 1946 (according to other sources, a year later), Northrop engineers completed the development of the first version of the MX-775B project. By this time, the main features of the rocket design were determined, with the help of which it was planned to ensure the fulfillment of the set requirements.
As conceived by the authors of the project, the new rocket was supposed to have a cylindrical fuselage of large elongation with a tapering nose and a frontal air intake equipped with a conical central body. The rocket should be equipped with a mid-swept wing of a relatively low aspect ratio, and the trailing edge of the wingtips should be at the level of the fuselage tail cut. The plumage of the rocket was supposed to consist only of the keel. In the forward and middle parts of the fuselage, it was proposed to place control equipment, a warhead, and a set of fuel tanks. In the tail, a turbojet engine with the required thrust parameters was to be located.
This airframe design implied the use of an unusual control system. For yaw control, it was proposed to use the rudder on the keel, and roll and pitch should be changed with the help of elevons on the trailing edge of the wing. Thus, a promising cruise missile, despite the use of a swept wing, actually had to be built according to the "tailless" scheme. J. Northrop is known for his experiments in the field of non-standard aircraft designs: thus, the Boojum rocket was supposed to become the next option for the implementation of unusual layout solutions.
The rocket was to have a total length of 68.3 feet (20.8 m), a wing span of 38.8 feet (11.8 m) and a total height of 14.3 feet (4.35 m). The estimated weight, engine type, warhead and flight data of the first version of the "Bujum" are unknown.
The second version of the Bujum rocket. Figure Designation-systems.net [/center]
In late 1946, the US military decided to cut defense spending. Closing unpromising projects turned out to be one of the ways to save money. Military experts reviewed the submitted documentation for the MX-775A and MX-775B projects and made their decision. It was necessary to stop work on the Snark subsonic missile project and focus on the Boojum supersonic ammunition. J. Northrop and his colleagues did not agree with this decision. They initiated negotiations on the further fate of promising projects.
According to the designers, the "Snark" project differed from the "Bujum" by great prospects, and therefore its development should be continued. The negotiations resulted in a compromise solution. The military approved the continuation of work on the SSN-A-3 / MX-775A project. In the future, this development reached the stage of testing and, after overcoming a number of difficulties, it even managed to get into the troops. The second project of a strategic cruise missile was transferred to the category of research programs capable of influencing the further development of weapons.
By focusing on the MX-775A project, Northrop Aircraft was forced to reduce the number of specialists involved in supersonic missiles. Because of this, the MX-775B project was developed for a long time and with noticeable difficulties. As a result, a new version of a promising rocket, which had significant differences from the first version, was developed only by the beginning of the fifties. It should be noted that the timing of its creation was affected not only by the priority of the project, but also by serious revisions of the structure. In fact, it was decided to develop the rocket again, abandoning the main ideas of the previous project.
Calculations showed that with the current level of development of aviation and rocket technology, the first version of the Boojum project will not meet the requirements for the payload mass, speed and range. It was required to change the design of the rocket and revise the composition of the equipment proposed for use. The result was the emergence of a new version of the project. Since the work was in the nature of a preliminary study of new ideas, this version of the rocket did not receive its own designation. It is almost always referred to as the "later version of the MX-775B".
The flight of the Boojum rockets as seen by the artist. Figure Ghostmodeler.blogspot.ru
In the updated form, the Boojum rocket was supposed to be a projectile aircraft with an automatic control system and a twin-engine power plant. It was proposed to use a cigar-shaped fuselage of large elongation, equipped with a keel. Also, the project involved the use of a low-lying delta wing with a large sweep. In the end parts of the wing, it was planned to install two nacelles for turbojet engines. On the trailing edge of the wing there were elevons for roll and pitch control. There was also a classic rudder on the keel.
The total length of such a rocket was 85 feet (about 26 m), the wingspan was determined at 50 feet (15, 5 m). The total height of the structure is less than 15 feet (4.5 m). The estimated launch weight of the rocket was 112 thousand pounds (about 50 tons). The power plant was to consist of two J47 or J53 turbojet engines.
The launch of the SSM-A-5 rocket of the second version was proposed to be carried out using a launcher based on the so-called.rocket sleigh. On special rails, a cart with rocket mounts, equipped with solid-propellant boosters, was supposed to move. When the trolley reached a given speed, the rocket could detach and rise into the air. Further, the flight was carried out using its own turbojet engines. The option of launching a cruise missile using a Convair B-36 bomber was considered. He had to raise the rocket to a given height, after which she could independently fly to the target.
At the beginning of an independent flight, the rocket at subsonic speed was supposed to rise to an altitude of about 21 km. Only at this altitude did the acceleration take place to the maximum speed that was maintained until the goal was reached. The maximum speed of such an aircraft, according to calculations, reached M = 1, 8. The estimated range was determined at the level of 8040 km. For a flight at such a distance, it was proposed to use internal fuel tanks, as well as an additional external one, which was dropped after the fuel was used up.
Aerial rocket launch in the artist's view. Figure Ghostmodeler.blogspot.ru
In the nose of the fuselage, the Bujum rocket was supposed to carry a nuclear or thermonuclear warhead. The type of this device was not specified, but it was possible to transport a product weighing up to 2300 kg. In the foreseeable future, the industry had to create nuclear and thermonuclear warheads with suitable dimensions and weight.
It was proposed to aim the missile at the target using an astro-inertial navigation system. In this case, the main guidance tasks were solved using an inertial system, and in addition, a mode of trajectory correction "by stars" was provided. Work on the creation of such systems started in 1948 and dragged on for several years. In the future, similar equipment was proposed to be used as part of the SSN-A-3 / MX-775A missile.
In view of the higher priority of the Snark project, the development of the Bujum was carried out slowly and without much effort. As already mentioned, the second version of the project was ready only by the beginning of the fifties. Soon after the completion of the development of this version of the rocket, in 1951, the military again reviewed the submitted documentation and made another fateful decision.
By 1951, Air Force specialists realized that the MX-775A project was facing a number of serious problems. There were difficulties with the development, production and operation of a variety of components and assemblies, because of which the further development of the project was called into question. At the same time, the subsonic missile project was much simpler than the second development. Thus, further work within the SSM-A-5 project could face even more serious difficulties. The alleged problems were so serious that further work on the project was deemed impractical even before they began.
Rocket SM-64 Navaho. Photo Wikimedia Com, ons
In 1951, the military decided to continue developing the MX-775A subsonic missile, and the MX-775B supersonic project should have been stopped due to the lack of real prospects. Northrop Aircraft has been ordered to focus all efforts on the Snark cruise missile. This project was eventually brought to testing and serial production. Moreover, the Snark missiles were even in service for some time and were on alert.
Due to the closure of the project at the preliminary development stage, Boojum missiles were not built or tested. These products remained on paper, not getting a chance to show their characteristics or show negative features.
Nevertheless, as far as is known, the developments on the MX-775B "Bujum" project were not wasted. Documentation for this development, as well as for several other missile weapons projects, was soon used to create a new strategic cruise missile. Some of the ideas and technical solutions created by the staff of J. Northrop were used in the project of the SM-64 Navaho rocket, developed by North American. Rocket "Navajo" was able to reach the test, but failed to show itself from the good side, because of which the project was closed.
