Regulus , livre ebook

Turner Publishing Company - David K. Stumpf

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325 pages

English

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In the closing months of World War II, guided missile technology blossomed as a technological breakthrough for the delivery of offensive weapons. Late in the war, Germany introduced its V-1 and V-2 missile systems, and the Soviet ballistic missile program late in the decade heightened the need for a U.S. intermediate-range missile program.

During this period, the Chance Vought Aircraft Corporation, famous for its F4U Corsair aircraft among others, began work on a new guided missile program with the U.S. Navy—giving birth to the Regulus missile.

Regulus: America's First Nuclear Submarine Missile provides a detailed report on Chance Vought's Regulus I and II guided missiles, the program that paved the way in the fields of inertial navigation, missile guidance and impact accuracy. The book covers examples of the day-to-day operations as well as the yearly milestones for the program as it reached operational status, and covers naval deployment on aircraft carriers, to heavy cruisers and finally to the five submarines that patrolled the North Pacific. Detailed appendices include detailed discussions of the missile's guidance systems, nuclear warheads, flight operations and production summaries.

Regulus was an important step in the evolution of America's missile defense program, and this book is a fitting tribute to the history of this complex system, and the people who made it happen.

Sujets

Sciences appliquées

Ingénierie

Sciences appliquées

Ingénierie

Régulus

Engineering

Technology

Regulus

Sciences et techniques

Informations

Publié par	Turner Publishing Company
Date de parution	01 janvier 1997
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781618585165
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,1998€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

TURNER PUBLISHING COMPANY
412 Broadway P.O. Box 3101 Paducah. KY 42002-3101 (502)443-0121

Copyright © 1996
David K. Stumpf. Ph.D. and Turner Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Publishing rights: Turner Publishing Company This book or any part thereof may not be reproduced without the written consent of Turner Publishing Company.

Turner Publishing Company Staff: Editor: Amy Cloud Designer: Lora Lauder

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 1-56311-277-9
9781618585165
Printed in the United States of America

Additional copies may be purchased directly from Turner Publishing Company.

This publication was compiled using available information. The publisher regrets it cannot asume liability for errors or omissions.
Table of Contents
Title Page Copyright Page FOREWORD ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PREFACE Dedication PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE PART I - A NEW ERA IN WEAPONS SYSTEMS
CHAPTER ONE: THE GUIDED MISSILE - A NEW WEAPON SYSTEM
PART II - REGULUS I AND II FLIGHT TEST AND DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER TWO: CHANCE VOUGHT ENTERS THE MISSILE BUSINESS CHAPTER THREE: REGULUS I FLIGHT TEST AND DEVELOPMENT 1950-1952 CHAPTER FOUR: REGULUS I FLIGHT TESTING 1953-56 CHAPTER FIVE: REGULUS I FLIGHT TESTING AND DEVELOPMENT 1957-1966 CHAPTER SIX: REGULUS II FLIGHT TEST AND DEVELOPMENT 1952-1958 CHAPTER SEVEN: REGULUS II AFTER CANCELLATION
PART III - REGULUS I DEPLOYMENT ABOARD AIRCRAFT CARRIERS AND CRUISERS
CHAPTER EIGHT: REGULUS I AND CARRIER AVIATION CHAPTER NINE: REGULUS I AND HEAVY CRUISERS
REGULUS I DEPLOYMENT ABOARD SUBMARINES
CHAPTER TEN: USS TUNNY (SSG 282) CHAPTER ELEVEN: USS BARBERO (SSG 317) CHAPTER TWELVE: USS GRAYBACK (SSG 574) CHAPTER THIRTEEN: USS Growler (SSG 577) CHAPTER FOURTEEN: USS HALIBUT (SSGN 587)
PART IV - APPENDICES AND GLOSSARY APPENDIX I: GUIDANCE SYSTEMS APPENDIX II: NAVY GUIDED MISSILE UNIT HISTORIES APPENDIX III: REGULUS I GUIDANCE SUBMARINES APPENDIX IV: NUCLEAR WARHEADS FOR THE REGULUS PROGRAM APPENDIX V: SELECTED REGULUS SUBMARINE CHARACTERISTICS, CONSTRUCTION AND DECK PLANS APPENDIX VI: REGULUS SUBMARINE STRATEGIC DETERRENT PATROL DATES APPENDIX VII: REGULUS I FLIGHT OPERATIONS AND PRODUCTION SUMMARY APPENDIX VIII: LIST OF INTERVIEWS GLOSSARY REGULUS INDEX
FOREWORD

In this unique document Dr. David Stumpf has put together a complete history of the Regulus Cruise Missile from its conception to its retirement from the Fleet. He has presented it from both the technical and the human side—which in itself is most unusual!
It is generally accepted that the most important part of any complex, successful and effective weapon system are the people involved. It is easy to have technical support in a matter of hours for anything except the “People System.” That required more time and more people that could work the problem. This was certainly my experience when I was head of the first Regulus Guided Missile Training Unit. skipper of a nuclear Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine, as well as Commander of a FBM submarine squadron.
This book covers the complete history of every unit that was involved with the missile program at Chance Vought and the Navy, as well as all key individuals identified with the background and previous involvement with the missile program. It would be impossible to fully cover the tremendous role of Nevin Palley or Sam Perry—outstanding engineers and problem-solving people at Chance Vought.
The Regulus missile was successful, cost effective, reliable and easy to support. It was a role model for cooperation and success between the contractor and the Navy, as was shown by the ease of the transfer of operational control to the Navy of a missile flying at 35000 feet on a mission. The program had to face tremendous technical problems—it started with conventional submarines dating from World War II and ended up on a nuclear submarine built specifically for Regulus missiles. It broke ground on the needed development of inertial navigation, missile guidance, impact accuracy and many others.
Putting this history of the Regulus Cruise Missile together took tremendous effort, dedication, sacrifice, and understanding. Dr. David Stumpf has provided anyone interested an insight into the complexities and difficulties encountered in order to achieve success. This will be a marvelous source of information to anyone involved in a complex program development.

W.E. Sims
Captain, USN (Ret.)

This book, of course, is interesting to people like myself who had a part in the operational life of the Regulus program as a part of the nation’s Strategic Deterrent System or who were involved in the research, development, testing and construction of the system components. At the same time, this subject will be interesting and instructive to anyone who wonders why it takes so long to bring a weapon system to an operational status. It is rewarding to note that the effort and resource expended to create this system provided much of the learning experience for the current and highly effective Tomahawk system.
The operational period of the Regulus system was really a story of the men who made up the crews struggling to meet their commitments. This book is a vivid reminder to me of those years and the wonderful and dedicated men who, because of their pride and professionalism, made the system work against every adversity.
The sea inself was an adversary, with our operating area being a region of the roughest weather in the Pacific Ocean. The Regulus submarines lost parts of their superstructure, encountered, damaging ice flows, experienced severe depth control problems and a rough ride for periods of over two months submerged.
Time was an adversary. Every ship in the system was working against the clock to repair the ship in port, train the crew in the local operating area, perform torpedo and missile training operations, load the ship for deployment, and make the sailing date so that you relieved your buddy on time! And then to do it all over again and handle the inevitable equipment casualities so as not to delay sailing. And, oh yes, for most of us there was a family to fit in there somewhere, but it doesn’t take much imagination to figure out what priority they got in the scheme of things - that would simply have to wait for a shore duty tour!
From my perspective as the Executive Officer of USS Growler (SSG 577) for three patrols and Commanding Officer of USS Grayback (SSG 574) for four, the ships themselves proved to be the greatest challenge. With unreliable main engines, aluminum superstructures that could not sustain the pounding they got and the poor hull design that made depth control marginal in high sea states, these ships were badlly beaten up by every deployment. The supply system and the logistics support bases and shipyards were hard pressed each cycle to get them back on line and keep them there. I can not say enough about the people who manned these ships. With few exceptions, they were magnificent. They took the hardships in stride and took pride making the system work. They knew they were the best and that nothing was too tough for them. They held the attitude that no other group of people could do this job - and as far as I am concerned, they were probably right!
Upon reflection, perhaps the real heroes of the operational period were the wives. They raised our kids, paid the bills and fixed the car, and then met us at the pier with the family looking like a million bucks as if it were a walk in the park!
Where did all these great people come from?

John J. Ekelund
Rear Admiral, USN (Ret.)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

After five years of research I obviously have many people to thank. While all of the interviews are listed in the appendices, I want to thank many individuals more completely. Jean Nott, the widow of Captain Hugh G. Nott, USN (Ret.), the first commanding officer of USS Grayback (SSG 574) provided names and addresses of several Regulus submarine program officers and this in a real sense was the start of the project. My initial contact and interviews with Captain Donald Henderson, USN (Ret.) and Commander Samuel T. Bussey, USN (Ret.), and Captain William Sims, USN (Ret.) in August 1989, led to a short contact list that eventually blossomed into 149 people. Captain Rex Rader, USN (Ret.), and his wife Betty, extended both their hospitality and enthusiasm to a perfect stranger during the very early stages of the project. While the book later turned in a different direction, Captain Rader’s assistance is greatly appreciated. Rear Admiral Robert Blount, USN (Ret.), took time from his active work schedule, on short notice, to respond to my questions about the first deterrent patrols conducted by USS Barbero (SSG 317). His continued full support with copious quantities of memorabilia and photographs made piecing together the early deterrent patrol history of Barbero much easier. David Alan Rosenberg, Ph.D., provided me with the unbelievable information that USS Growler (SSG 577) had just been added to the INTREPID Air-Sea-Space Museum in New York City. Dr. Rosenberg also informed me of the Ph.D. thesis of Berend D. Bruins. This thesis more then ever convinced me that the time had come to write the complete history of the Regulus program since Bruins’ work was being quoted so often and represents only one side of the program’s history. Captain Marvin S. Blair, USN (Ret.), was the first correspondent from my mass mailing. His enthusiasm and support over the past six years, including critical but helpful suggestions on the manuscript, and a wonderful scrapbook of photographs, were especially important. Captain Charles Priest, Jr., USN (Ret.), the first commanding officer of Growler and his wife Susan, are perfect examples of the kind of camaraderie that developed during the interview process. Captain Jack O’Connell, USN (Ret.) and Commander Eugene Lindsey, USN (Ret.), fleshed out the initial material on Barbero provided by Rear Admiral Blount. Considering my fi