The first guided anti-aircraft missiles (SAM) were created during the Second World War in Germany. Work on anti-aircraft missiles intensified in 1943, after the Reich leadership came to the understanding that fighters and anti-aircraft artillery alone were not able to effectively resist the devastating raids of Allied bombers.
One of the most advanced developments was the Wasserfall missile (Waterfall), in many ways it was a smaller copy of the A-4 (V-2) ballistic missile. In the anti-aircraft missile, a mixture of butyl ether with aniline was used as fuel, and concentrated nitric acid served as an oxidizing agent. Another difference was the small trapezoidal wings with a sweep along the leading edge of 30 degrees.
Guidance of the missile at the target was carried out using radio commands using two radar stations (radar). In this case, one radar was used to track the target, and a rocket was moving in the radio beam of the other radar. The marks from the target and the rocket were displayed on one screen of the cathode-ray tube, and the operator of the ground-based missile guidance point, using a special control knob, the so-called joystick, tried to combine both marks.
Anti-aircraft missile Wasserfall
In March 1945, missile control launches took place, in which Wasserfall reached a speed of 650 m / s, an altitude of 17 km and a range of 50 km. Wasserfall successfully passed tests and, if mass production was established, could take part in repelling allied air raids. However, the preparation for the serial production of the rocket and the elimination of "childhood diseases" took too much time - the technical complexity of fundamentally new control systems, the lack of necessary materials and raw materials and the overload of other orders in the German industry affected. Therefore, the serial Wasserfall missiles did not appear until the end of the war.
Another German SAM, brought to the stage of readiness for mass production, was the Hs-117 Schmetterling anti-aircraft guided missile ("Butterfly"). This rocket was created by the Henschel company using a liquid-propellant jet engine (LPRE), which ran on two-component self-igniting fuel. The composition "Tonka-250" (50% xylidine and 50% triethylamine) was used as fuel, nitric acid was used as an oxidant, which was simultaneously used to cool the engine itself.
Anti-aircraft guided missile Hs-117 Schmetterling
To aim the missile at the target, a relatively simple radio command guidance system with optical observation of the missile was used. For this purpose, a tracer was equipped in the aft part of the tail compartment, which the operator watched through a special device and guided the missile at the target using the control stick.
A missile with a warhead weighing about 40 kg could hit targets at altitudes up to 5 km and a horizontal range of up to 12 km. At the same time, the flight time of the SAM was about 4 minutes, which was quite enough. The disadvantage of the rocket was the possibility of using it only in the daytime, in conditions of good visibility, which was dictated by the need for visual accompaniment of the rocket by the operator.
Fortunately for the pilots of the allied bomber aviation, "Schmetterling", like "Wasserfall", could not be brought to mass production, although individual attempts to use missiles in combat by the Germans were still recorded.
Anti-aircraft guided missile R-1 Rheintochter
In addition to these projects of anti-aircraft missiles, which reached a high degree of readiness for mass production, work was carried out in Germany on the solid-propellant missile R-1 Rheintochter ("Daughter of the Rhine") and the liquid-propellant missile Enzian ("Gentian").
Anti-aircraft guided missile Enzian
After Germany's surrender, a significant number of ready-made missiles, as well as documentation and technical personnel, ended up in the United States and the USSR. Despite the fact that German engineers and designers did not manage to introduce into mass production a ready-to-use guided anti-aircraft missile, many technical and technological solutions found by German scientists were embodied in post-war developments in the USA, USSR and other countries.
Tests of captured German missiles in the post-war period have shown that they have little promise against modern combat aircraft. This was due to the fact that in the several years that have passed since the end of World War II, military aircraft made a giant leap forward in terms of increasing speed and altitude.
In different countries, primarily in the USSR and the USA, the development of promising anti-aircraft systems began, primarily designed to protect industrial and administrative centers from long-range bombers. The fact that at that time bomber aircraft was the only means of delivering nuclear weapons made these works especially relevant.
Soon, the developers of new anti-aircraft missiles came to understand that the creation of an effective anti-aircraft missile weapon is possible only in conjunction with the development of new and improvement of existing reconnaissance means of an air enemy, interrogators of the system for determining the state ownership of an air target, missile control facilities, means of transporting and loading missiles, etc. etc. Thus, it was already about the creation of an anti-aircraft missile system (SAM).
The American MIM-3 Nike Ajax was the first mass air defense system to be adopted. The production of serial missiles of the complex began in 1952. In 1953, the first Nike-Ajax batteries were put into service and the complex was put on alert.
SAM MIM-3 Nike Ajax
SAM "Nike-Ajax" used a radio command guidance system. Target detection was carried out by a separate radar station, the data from which was used to guide the target tracking radar to the target. The launched missile was continuously tracked by another radar beam.
The data provided by the radars about the position of the target and the missile in the air were processed by a calculating device operating on vacuum tubes and broadcast over the radio channel on board the missile. The device calculated the calculated meeting point of the missile and the target, and automatically corrected the course. The warhead (warhead) of the rocket was detonated by a radio signal from the ground at the calculated point of the trajectory. For a successful attack, the missile would usually rise above the target, and then dive at the calculated intercept point.
SAM MIM-3 Nike Ajax - supersonic, two-stage, with a detachable body of the starting tandem solid propellant engine (solid propellant engine) and sustainer rocket engine (fuel - kerosene or aniline, oxidizer - nitric acid).
A unique feature of the Nike-Ajax anti-aircraft missile was the presence of three high-explosive fragmentation warheads. The first, weighing 5.44 kg, was located in the bow section, the second - 81.2 kg - in the middle, and the third - 55.3 kg - in the tail section. It was assumed that this rather controversial technical solution would increase the likelihood of hitting a target, due to a more extended cloud of debris.
The effective range of the complex was about 48 kilometers. The rocket could hit a target at an altitude of 21300 meters, while moving at a speed of 2.3 M.
Initially, Nike-Ajax launchers were deployed on the surface. Subsequently, with the growing need to protect the complexes from the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion, underground missile storage facilities were developed. Each buried bunker held 12 rockets, which were fed horizontally through the drop-down roof by hydraulic devices. The rocket raised to the surface on a rail cart was transported to a horizontally lying launcher. After securing the rocket, the launcher was installed at an angle of 85 degrees.
The deployment of the Nike-Ajax complex was carried out by the US Army from 1954 to 1958. By 1958, about 200 batteries were deployed across the United States, comprising 40 "defensive areas". The complexes were deployed near large cities, strategic military bases, industrial centers to protect them from air attacks. Most of the Nike-Ajax air defense systems were deployed on the East Coast of the United States. The number of batteries in the "defensive area" varied depending on the value of the object: for example, Barksdale AFB was covered by two batteries, while the Chicago area was protected by 22 Nike-Ajax batteries.
On May 7, 1955, by a decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the Soviet S-25 air defense system was adopted (1000 targets in one salvo of S-25 ("Berkut") (SA-1 Guild)). This complex became the first, put into service in the USSR, the first operational-strategic air defense system in the world and the first multi-channel air defense system with vertically launching missiles.
SAM S-25
The S-25 was a purely stationary complex; to create the infrastructure for the deployment of this air defense system, a large amount of construction work was required. The missiles were installed vertically on the launch pad - a metal frame with a conical plamer, which, in turn, was based on a massive concrete base. The radar stations for the sector review and guidance of the B-200 missiles were also stationary.
Central guidance radar B-200
The air defense system of the capital consisted of 56 anti-aircraft missile regiments of the near and long-range echelons. Each 14 regiments formed a corps with its own sector of responsibility. Four corps made up the 1st Special Purpose Air Defense Army. Due to the excessive cost and complexity of the construction of capital structures, the S-25 air defense system was deployed only around Moscow.
Layout of the S-25 air defense system around Moscow
Comparing the first American air defense system "Nike-Ajax" and the Soviet S-25, one can note the superiority of the Soviet air defense system in the number of simultaneously fired targets. The Nike-Ajax complex had only single-channel guidance, but it was structurally much simpler and cheaper, and due to this it was deployed in much larger quantities.
The Soviet air defense systems of the S-75 family (the first Soviet mass air defense system S-75) became truly massive. Its creation began when it became clear that the S-25 could not become truly massive. The Soviet military leadership saw a way out in the creation of a highly maneuverable air defense system, albeit inferior in its capabilities to a stationary system, but allowing in a short time to regroup and concentrate air defense forces and means in threatened directions.
Taking into account the fact that there were no effective solid fuel formulations in the USSR at that time, it was decided to use an engine running on liquid fuel and an oxidizer as the main one. The rocket was created on the basis of a normal aerodynamic scheme, it had two stages - a starting one with a solid-propellant engine and a sustainer one with a liquid-propellant one. They also deliberately abandoned homing, using a proven radio command guidance system based on the theoretical method of "half-rectification", which allows building and choosing the most optimal trajectories of the missile's flight.
In 1957, the first simplified version of the SA-75 "Dvina" was adopted, operating in the 10-cm frequency range. In the future, emphasis was placed on the development and improvement of more advanced versions of the C-75, operating in the 6-cm frequency range, which were produced in the USSR until the early 80s.
SNR-75 missile guidance station
The first combat systems were deployed on the western border near Brest. In 1960, the air defense forces already had 80 C-75 regiments of various modifications - one and a half times more than were included in the C-25 grouping.
The S-75 complexes defined an entire era in the development of the country's air defense forces. With their creation, missile weapons went beyond the Moscow region, providing cover for the most important facilities and industrial areas throughout almost the entire territory of the USSR.
The S-75 air defense systems of various modifications were widely supplied abroad and were used in many local conflicts (Combat use of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile system).
In 1958, the MIM-3 Nike Ajax air defense system in the United States was replaced by the MIM-14 "Nike-Hercules" complex (American anti-aircraft missile system MIM-14 "Nike-Hercules"). A big step forward in relation to Nike-Ajax was the successful development in a short time of a solid-propellant missile defense system with high characteristics at that time.
SAM MIM-14 Nike-Hercules
Unlike its predecessor, Nike-Hercules has an increased combat range (130 instead of 48 km) and an altitude (30 instead of 18 km), which was achieved through the use of new missiles and more powerful radar stations. However, the schematic diagram of the construction and combat operation of the complex remained the same as in the Nike-Ajax air defense system. Unlike the stationary Soviet S-25 air defense system of the Moscow air defense system, the new American air defense system was single-channel, which significantly limited its capabilities when repelling a massive raid, the likelihood of which, however, given the relative small number of Soviet long-range aviation in the 60s, was low.
Later, the complex underwent modernization, which made it possible to use it for air defense of military units (by giving mobility to combat assets). And also for missile defense from tactical ballistic missiles with flight speeds up to 1000 m / s (mainly due to the use of more powerful radars).
Since 1958, MIM-14 Nike-Hercules missiles have been deployed at Nike systems to replace the MIM-3 Nike Ajax. In total, 145 batteries of the Nike-Hercules air defense system were deployed in the US air defense by 1964 (35 rebuilt and 110 converted from the batteries of the Nike-Ajax air defense system), which made it possible to give all the main industrial areas a fairly effective cover from Soviet strategic bombers.
Map of positions of the Nike air defense missile system in the United States
Most of the positions of the American air defense systems were deployed in the northeast of the United States, on the most likely path for a breakthrough by Soviet long-range bombers. All missiles deployed in the United States carried nuclear warheads. This was due to the desire to impart anti-missile properties to the Nike-Hercules air defense system, as well as the desire to increase the likelihood of hitting a target in conditions of jamming.
In the USA, the Nike-Hercules air defense systems were produced until 1965, they were in service in 11 countries of Europe and Asia. Licensed production was organized in Japan.
The deployment of the American air defense systems MIM-3 Nike Ajax and MIM-14 Nike-Hercules was carried out in accordance with the concept of object air defense. It was understood that the objects of air defense: cities, military bases, industry, should each be covered with their own batteries of anti-aircraft missiles, linked into a common control system. The same concept of building air defense was adopted in the USSR.
Representatives of the Air Force insisted that "on-site air defense" in the age of atomic weapons was not reliable, and suggested an ultra-long-range air defense system capable of carrying out "territorial defense" - preventing enemy aircraft from even close to defended objects. Given the size of the United States, such a task was perceived as extremely important.
The economic assessment of the project proposed by the Air Force showed that it is more expedient, and will come out about 2.5 times cheaper with the same probability of defeat. At the same time, fewer personnel were required, and a large territory was defended. Nevertheless, Congress, wanting to get the most powerful air defense, approved both options.
Lobbied by representatives of the Air Force, the new CIM-10 Bomark air defense system (American CIM-10 Bomark ultra-long-range anti-aircraft missile system) was an unmanned interceptor integrated with the existing early detection radars as part of NORAD. The aiming of the missile defense system was carried out by the commands of the SAGE system (English Semi Automatic Ground Environment) - a system for semi-automatic coordination of interceptor actions by programming their autopilots by radio with computers on the ground. Which took the interceptors to the approaching enemy bombers. The SAGE system, which worked according to NORAD radar data, provided the interceptor to the target area without the participation of the pilot. Thus, the Air Force needed to develop only a missile integrated into the already existing interceptor guidance system. In the final phase of the flight, when entering the target area, a homing radar station was turned on.
Launch SAM CIM-10 Bomark
By design, the Bomark missile defense system was a projectile (cruise missile) aircraft of a normal aerodynamic configuration, with the placement of steering surfaces in the tail section. The launch was carried out vertically, using a launch accelerator, which accelerated the rocket to a speed of 2M.
The flight characteristics of the "Bomark" remain unique to this day. The effective range of modification "A" was 320 kilometers at a speed of 2.8 M. Modification "B" could accelerate to 3.1 M, and had a radius of 780 kilometers.
The complex entered service in 1957. The missiles were serially produced by Boeing from 1957 to 1961. A total of 269 missiles of modification "A" and 301 of modification "B" were manufactured. Most of the deployed missiles were equipped with nuclear warheads.
The missiles were fired from reinforced concrete block shelters located in well-defended bases, each of which was equipped with a large number of installations. There were several types of launch hangars for the Bomark missiles: with a sliding roof, with sliding walls, etc.
The original plan for the deployment of the system, adopted in 1955, called for the deployment of 52 missile bases with 160 missiles each. This was to completely cover the territory of the United States from any type of air attack. By 1960, only 10 positions were deployed - 8 in the United States and 2 in Canada. The deployment of launchers in Canada is associated with the desire of the American military to move the line of interception as far as possible from its borders. This was especially important in connection with the use of nuclear warheads on the Bomark missile defense system. The first Beaumark Squadron was deployed to Canada on December 31, 1963. The missiles remained in the arsenal of the Canadian Air Force, although they were considered the property of the United States and were on alert under the supervision of American officers.
Layout of the Bomark air defense system in the USA and Canada
However, a little more than 10 years have passed, and the Bomark air defense system began to be removed from service. First of all, this was due to the fact that at the beginning of the 70s, the main threat to objects on the territory of the United States began to be presented not by bombers, but by Soviet ICBMs deployed by that time in significant numbers. Against ballistic missiles, the Bomarks were absolutely useless. In addition, in the event of a global conflict, the effectiveness of the use of this air defense system against bombers was very doubtful.
In the event of a real nuclear attack on the United States, the Bomark air defense missile system could effectively function exactly until the SAGE global interceptor guidance system was alive (which in the event of a full-scale nuclear war is very doubtful). Partial or complete loss of performance of even one link of this system, consisting of guidance radars, computing centers, communication lines or command transmission stations, inevitably led to the impossibility of withdrawing CIM-10 anti-aircraft missiles to the target area.
