A medium-range, land-based missile with a nuclear warhead, deployed by the US Army in West Germany from 1983 onwards as part of NATO's theatre nuclear force modernization programme. The Pershing II supplanted the earlier Pershing I.
Pershing was a family of solid-fueled two-stage medium-range ballistic missiles designed and built by Martin Marietta to replace the PGM-11 Redstone missile as the United States Army's primary theater-level weapon. The systems were managed by the US Army Missile Command (MICOM) and deployed by the United States Army Field Artillery Corps.
Development
In 1956, George Bunker, the president of The Martin Company, paid a courtesy call on General John Medaris of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) at Redstone Arsenal. Medaris noted that it would be advantageous to the Army if there were a missile plant in the vicinity of Cape Canaveral.
The US Army began feasibility studies in 1956 for a ballistic missile with a required range of 500–750 nautical miles. Wilson issued the Wilson Memorandum that stripped the US Army of all missiles with a range of 200 miles or greater. After a selection process by General Medaris and Dr. Arthur Rudolph, The Martin Company (later Martin Marietta after a 1961 merger) was awarded a CPFF (cost-plus-fixed-fee) contract for research, development, and initial production of the Pershing system under the technical supervision and concept control of the government. As Martin's quality control manager for the Pershing, Phil Crosby developed the concept of Zero Defects that enhanced the production and reliability of the system.
Pershing I
The first XM14 R&D test missile, was launched on February 25, 1960. The 2nd Missile Battalion, 44th Artillery was activated at Fort Sill as the first tactical Pershing unit. President Kennedy and other dignitaries visited White Sands Missile Range in 1963 to observe test firings of various weapons systems– Pershing was demonstrated, but not fired. The 56th Field Artillery Group was activated in Heilbronn, West Germany to become the parent unit for three missile battalions. The 4th Missile Battalion 41st Artillery was formed in 1963 and deployed to Schwäbisch Gmünd, West Germany. In 1964, the Secretary of Defense assigned the Pershing weapon system to a Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) role after a DOD study showed that Pershing would be superior to tactical aircraft for the QRA mission. The 2nd Missile Battalion 79th Artillery was formed for deployment to South Korea, but was deactivated before equipment was issued.
The Pershing I missile was 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in) long, 1.02 m (3 ft 4 in) in diameter and weighed 4655 kg (10,262 lb). The missile was steered by jet vanes in the rocket nozzles and air vanes on the engine case. Guidance was provided by an onboard analog guidance computer and a Eclipse-Pioneer ST-120 (Stable Table-120) inertial guidance system.
The Pershing I firing platoon consisted of four M747 tracked-vehicles– by comparison, Redstone needed twenty vehicles. The Warhead Carrier transported the warhead and the azimuth laying set used to position the missile. The PTS was a mounted shelter that contained the computer system used to test and launch the missile. The PS delivered electrical power, pneumatic power and conditioned air for the missile and launch site ground support equipment. The AN/TRC-80 radio-terminal set (RTS) was produced by Collins Radio Company specifically for the Pershing system. The "Track 80" used an inflatable dish antenna to provide line-of-sight or tropospheric-scatter voice and teletype communications between missile firing units and higher headquarters.
The missile had to be positioned ("layed in") on a pre-surveyed site with a system of three theodolites. The missile had to be oriented to north: an operator used a theodolite aimed at a window in the guidance section of the missile. at this point the missile "knew" which direction was north.
In 1961, Martin proposed a satellite launch system based on the Pershing. Pegasus would have used the Pershing launcher and could be emplaced in any open area.
In 1965, the Army contracted with the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) of Johns Hopkins University to develop and implement a test and evaluation program. APL technical support to the Pershing Operational Test Unit (POTU), and indentified problem areas and improved the performance and survivability of the Pershing systems.
Pershing Ia
In 1964, a series of operational tests and follow-on tests were performed to determine the reliability of the Pershing 1. The Secretary of Defense then requested that the Army define the modifications required to make Pershing suitable for the quick reaction alert (QRA) role. The Pershing 1A development program was approved in 1965, and the original Pershing was renamed to Pershing I. Martin Marietta received the Pershing 1A production contract in mid-1967. Project SWAP replaced all of the Pershing equipment in Germany by mid-1970 and the first units quickly achieved QRA status.
Pershing 1A was a 'quick reaction alert' system and so had faster vehicles, launch times and newer electronics. It was deployed from May 1969 and by 1970 almost all the Pershing I systems had been upgraded to Pershing Ia under Project SWAP. Production of the Pershing Ia ended in 1975 and reopened in 1977 to replace missiles expended in training. In the mid-1970s the Pershing 1A system was further improved to allow the firing of a platoon's three missiles in quick succession and from any site without the need for surveying. 754 Pershing I/Ia missiles were built with 180 deployed in Europe. The erection booms used a 3,000 psi pneumatic over hydraulic system that could erect the 5 ton missile from horizontal to vertical in nine seconds.
A repackaging effort of the missile and power station was completed in 1974 to provide easier access to missile components, reduce maintenance, and improve reliability. The ARS eliminated the theodolites previously used to lay and orient the missile. It included a north seeking gyro and a laser link to the ST-120 in the missile. Once the ARS was set up, a cold missile could be oriented in a much shorter time.
Pershing II
In 1973, a task force was established to begin development of a follow on system. The warhead was to be packaged in a maneuverable reentry vehicle (MARV) with active radar guidance and would be launched with the Pershing I rocket engines. Since the SS-20 had a range of 2,700 mi (4,400 km) and two warheads, the Pershing II requirement was changed to increase the range to 900 mi (1600 km) as a counter. Because of SALT II agreements, no new launchers could be built, therefore the new missile had to fit onto upgraded Pershing IA launchers. The hard target capability and W86 warhead were cancelled in 1980 and all produced Pershing II's used the W85. The G&CC contained a Singer-Kearfott inertial guidance system that could guide the missile on-target in a pure ballistic mode as a backup. Using radar maps of the target area, the missile had an accuracy of 30 m (100 ft) circular error probable.
The functions of the vehicle mounted PTS needed for the older systems were compressed into a panel on the side of the launcher. The tractor had a crane used for missile assembly and a generator to provide power for the launcher and missile. Since the new guidance system was self-orienting, the launcher could be emplaced on any surveyed site and launched within minutes.
Almost 380 Pershing II missiles were made.
Pershing Ib and Pershing 2 RR
Pershing Ib was a single-stage version of the Pershing II with the same range as the Pershing Ia. It was intended to replace the Pershing Ia missiles fielded by the German Air Force, but the INF treaty was intiated before any were deployed. Pershing 2 Reduced Range (RR) was a follow on concept that would have modified the launchers to hold two single-stage missiles.
Elimination
The Pershing systems were scrapped following the ratification of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty on May 27, 1988. The missiles were withdrawn in October 1988; the last of the missiles were destroyed by the static burn of their rockets and subsequently crushed on May 1991 at Longhorn, Texas. The W-85 warheads used in the missiles were removed, modified, and reused in B61 gravity bombs. Although not covered by the treaty, the GAF unilaterally agreed to the retrograde of the Pershing 1A system from their inventory in 1991, and the missiles were destroyed.
The INF Treaty allowed for fifteen inert Pershing II missiles to be retained for display purposes. One is now on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum alongside a Soviet SS-20 missile. A number of inert Pershing 1 and Pershing 1A missiles are displayed in the US and Germany.
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