OR 10.596B

Conten ts

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Follow-On to Redstone Pershing 1 is Born Orlando Development Flight Tests at Cape Canavera l Battalion Activation Ice. Snow. and 50 Below Panama White Sands Testing Deployment in Europe Pershing Improved for QRA Eglin Environmental Testing Orlando Environmental Tests Green River Road March Operation SWAP - U.S. Preparation Operation SWAP - Delivery in Germany P1 -A in Europe Pershing Project Managers

Pershing 1 1s Born

1958

Persh ing 1 . as conceived in 1 958 by the Advanced Ballistic Missile Agency. weighed 10.000 pounds at liftoff. The 2-stage solid prope llant missile had a range of 400 m iles and was guided to the target by jam-proof inertial gu idance. A complete firing unit was composed of an erector-la uncher to transport the m issile to the launch site and serve as a launch pad. a programmer-test station to preset the missile trajectory and te st missile electrica l systems before flig ht. a power station to supply required electrica l power to launch the missile . a radio term ina l set to communicate with higher headquarters. and a wa rh ea d carrier. Four modified M - 11 3 t racked vehicles t ransported the missile and lau nch equipment to the firing site.

Pershing Missile and Erector- La uncher 2 Radio Te rminal Set 3 Warhea d Carrie r 4

Programmer-Test/ Power Stati on

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A member of the Pershing team c he cks out the azimu th laying device used to accurately target the missile.

Orlando Development

1958-60

In March of 1958 the Army Missile Command awarded the Orlando Division of Martin M arietta a contract to design and develop the Pershi ng system. Soon after the award the new Army- Industry team ente red the initi al design and development phases of the program. Engineers. designers. pla nners. logistics experts. and technicians all pitched in to get the program off to a good start. Eventually Pershing equi pment. mounted on modified M - 1 13 tracked ve hicles. was tested in mud-fi lled swa mps. boun ced over rugged terrain. assembled. erected. and disassembled seve ral tim es in preparati on for the first flight at Cape Ca naveral.

Technicians gave Pershing a hard pou nding during early deve lopment.

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Flight Tests at Cape Canaveral 1960-63

An early configuration R&D round blasts off at Cape Canavera l.

By January 1960 the first Pershing missile was ready for launch. Facilities at Cape Ca navera l were activated by the Army Corps of Engineers. and the test ve hic le was fired February 25 on a 30-m ile trajectory out over the Atlantic Test Range. This initia l fl ight marked the beginn ing of many successes for Pe rshing. In June of the same year. another successful launch te sted erratic motion programmed into the m issile's flight path to prove stability. In February of 1961. Pershing was launched and successfu lly demonstrated its inertial gu idance syste m. January 1962. Persh ing traveled downrange 400 miles ove r t he Atlantic for its first fu ll fl ight. And so it went until th e Cape Canavera l test program ended in April of 1963. Pershi ng had performed well ... so well in fact that it had scored more successful launches during a development p rogram than any previous majo r missile system. Lt. Col. Patrick Powers. first Commander of a Pershing batta li on. summarized the Army's feelings about Pe rshing w hen he sa id, "From the standpoint of the troops. we are high ly pleased with the Pershing Weapon System . .. We th ink Pershing will be a giant on the nuc lear battlefi eld."

Lt. Col. Patrick J. Powers receives the 2nd/ 44th's colo rs from Dr. Finn J. Larsen during an organization ceremony at Ft. Sill. Oklahoma.

Battalion Activation

1962

While flight testing contin ued at th e Cape . Pershing troops were being trained. In September of 196 1. the first of 2 50 key military and civi lian person nel from Redstone Arsenal and Fort Si ll arrived in Orlando to receive 16 weeks of training in 12 different Pershing specialities. In June of 1962 the first Pershing battalion. the 2nd/ 44th. was activa ted at Fort Sill. and in July classes opened at Fort Sill to familiarize the troops with the new Pershing system. By October the men were ready. and on the 13th of that month the 2nd/ 44th was forma lly orga nized. Dr. Finn J. Larsen. Assistant Secretary of the Army. was on hand to present the unit colors to Lt. Col. Patrick J . Powers. Commanding Officer of the new Pershing unit. Next. Pershing troops and Martin Ma rietta engineers would take the system to A laska fo r environmenta l testing. 6

Ice, Snow, and 50 Below

1962

Alaska with its ice. snow. and 50 degree below zero temperatures poses a formidable environmental challenge to any weapon system. The question was. then. how wou ld the Pershing system's 10.000 pounds of missile and tons of support equipment perform in this environment? Would system lubricants remain fluid at these temperatures. and could rubber-coated cables and tubing stand the extreme cold? How well would the tracked vehicles perform on A laska's frozen slopes? In December of 1962. test engineers and troops of the United States Army went to Alaska to find the answers. While in Alaska the Army- Industry team

performed normal assembly. erection. checkout. and countdown procedures to determine system performance in this environment. When the Arctic tests were over. Capt. Warfield Lewis. Testing Chief of the Test and Evaluation Branch of the Pershing Project Manager's Office. announced that the system had performed successful ly in the Alaskan environment.

Troops and engineers tested Pershing equ ipment in subzero weather at Ft. Wainwright. Alaska .

Panama

1963

A few months after returning from Alaska test engineers and U.S. Army personnel were on the road aga in. This time they headed for Panama to te st Pershing 's performance in a tropica l environment. Once in Panama. the m issile and ground support equipment were su bjected to heavy rains. mud. high humidity. and oppressive heat. Exhaustive tests were conducted to identify and co rrect any problems indu ced by this tropical environment. In August of 1 963 Pershing was successfu lly demonstrated at Fort Sherman in the Canal Zone for Major General T. F. Bogart. Commanding Genera l. U.S. Army Southern Command. By September all tests were completed and the Pershing team began packing for home. Tests in Panam a had further demonstrated Pershing's rugged all-weather capabi lity.

White Sands Testing 1963

the south. This marked the first time Pershing was fired over populated areas to test the full range of the missile. The White Sands test se ri es ended late in 1963 w ith launches from the Devil Mountain area near Gallup, New M exico. by the 2nd/ 44th and the 4th/ 4 1st. the second Pershing un it to be activated. With the successful completion of this phase of the development program. the Pershing syste m was now ready for deployment.

Pershing round No. 32 blasts off from Heuco Range. Texas. and heads for a target area on the W hite Sands Missile Range. A second Pershing missile (foreground) has been counted down and st an ds ready for launch.

After Panama. the Pershing system was ready for its final tests ... tactical firings onto White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The plan ca lled for U.S. Army artillerymen to fire Pershing overland onto t he White Sands Range from launch sites in Texas. New Mexico. and Utah . .. the four Corners area of the Southwest. Troops of "A" Battery. 2 nd Battalion/44th Artillery. under the command of Capt. Donald Phipps. opened this series of tests with successful launches from Heuco. Texas. on August 20. 1963. In October the unit trave led 630 miles into the rugged desert and mountain areas nea r Blanding, Uta h. where. in a period of one week. they successfully fired five Pe rshing missiles over three st ates to impa ct on White Sands Missil e Ran ge nearly 400 miles to 9

Deployment

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Europe

1964

Pershing troops undergo a combat- readiness che ck at a firing site in Western Germany. These troops retu rn to the United States annually for operational test firings onto White Sands Missile Range. New Mexico.

In the Spring of 1964 the Pershing system was dep loyed in Western Germany. Tested in Arctic and tropical extremes and launched from rugged terrain under simulated combat cond itions. Pershing was now ready to assume its tactical role in the European theater. Taking the new missile system to Europe was the 4th/ 41 st. later to be joined by the 1 st/8 1st and the 3rd/ 84th . The 4th/ 41 st is now the 1st/41 st. Meanwhile. the 2nd/ 44th. today known as the 3rd/ 9th. took up its home station at Fort Sill. Oklahoma.

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Pershing I mproved for ORA

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The Pershing system had come a long way since the first 30-mile test flight at Cape Canaveral ea rly in 1 960. The Pershing Project Office. first under the com m and of Col. 0. M . Hirsch fo llowed by Col. Edwin I. Donley. had developed Persh ing into a ru gged. reliable. all-weather weapon. But late in 1965. Persh ing was given an add itiona l role ca lled Quick Reaction A lert. requirin g new improvements to the system. The improved system. called Pershing 1-A. included a new programme r-test station w ith a digital computer for se lf test and fault isolation. a battery control centra l to coordinate commands from headquarters to individua l firing batteries. and a new erector-launcher with fast erection capability and a faster rate of fire. Additionally. the improved system was mounted on w hee ls instead of tracks to speed Persh ing to the firing site faster and w ith fewer maintenance problems. W ith these im provements. Pershing would assume its new ORA role. prepared to serve as a nuclear dete rrent in support of NATO as well as perform its basic mission of providing massive firepower in support of the Field Army.

By early 1967. the new Pershing system was successfully demonstrated for A rm y officials at Martin Marietta's Orlando faci lity. and P1 -A was on its way.

Programmer-Test/ Pow er Station 2 Radio Terminal Set 3 Battery Control Centra I 4 Pers hing Missile and Erector- Launcher

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Eglin Environmental Testing

Green River Road March

1967-68

1968

Late in November 1967, a 13-vehicle Pershing convoy ro lled through early morn ing fog to begin a road ma rch from Martin Marietta's Orlando Division to Eglin A ir Force Base in northern Florida where Pershing would undergo severe environmental testing in a mammoth climatic laboratory.

Early in August 1968, men of the 2nd Battal ion/ 44th A rtill ery under the command of Capt. Thomas Fitzgera ld. left Fort Sill . Okl ahoma, and road -m arched Pe rsh ing to Gilson Butte near Green River. Utah . There. under simulated combat conditions. P1 -A underwent its first service test firings when troops successfu lly launched three missil es to impact on W hite Sands Missile Range .

For 12 weeks the missi le and grou nd support equ ipment were subjected to temperatures ranging from 1 50 ° F to -55 ° F. In addition. ra in. snow. ice. and sleet were hurled at the system and rapid temperature changes were set up to induce thermoshock in vital electrical and mechanica l components. A countdown and simulated launch followed each temperature change.

P1 -A firing s were conducted as a combined effort of the Army Test and Eva luat ion Command. Aberdeen Proving Grounds. and the Army Artillery Board at Fort Sil l.

With the successful completion of these tests. all P 1-A equ ipment returned to Orlando.

Orlando Environmental Tests

1968

Once back in Orlando. the P1 -A system was subjected to another series of rigorous environmenta l tests. P1 -A equipment mounted on M -757 trucks was driven t hrough mud.

tested on a rugged road course. and frozen in an environmental test chamber. A simulated countdown and launch followed each test to determ ine system integrity.

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Operation SWAP - U.S. Preparation 1968

U.S. Army and Martin Marietta representatives at Cape Canaveral prepa re documentation for new P1 -A equipment shipped to Europe u nder Project SWAP.

Once the P1 -A syste m had been developed and tested. there was the problem of supplying troops in the fi eld with t he new gear whi le maintaining co mbat read iness. In July of 1968. M artin Marietta. working closely w ith the U.S. Army Missile Command. solved this problem through a massive logistics program to supply Pershing units in Europe and the United States w ith t he new P1 -A ground support equipm ent. This program. called Project SWAP. centered around Hanger N of the Air Force Eastern Test Range at Cape Ca navera l. The mission was to exchange . item by item. the new equipment for the old in a direct contractor-to-troop del ivery system. bypassing the traditional Army supply line. By April of '69. the first of several t ra inloads of missile and launch support equ ipment for the new P1 -A system wa s on its way to Fort Si ll. Oklahoma . to equip the 2 nd/ 44th. In Au gust of the same year. the Adm. William Callaghan. the world's largest dry ca rgo vesse l. sh ipped out of Port Canaveral with the first battalion-sized package of new P 1 -A gear for troops in Germany.

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Operation SWAPDelivery in Germany

1969-71

From Port Canaveral the shipload of new ground support equipment headed for the North Sea port of Bremerhaven. Germany. There. P1 -A rolled off the Callaghan and headed for a staging area at Fischstein. Germany. where old P1 gear was swapped for the new Pershing 1-A equipment. One by one Pershing firing batteries moved into Fischstein. exchanged their equipment and. after a concentrated training period. returned to their firing sites in the forests of Western Germany. Three such SWAP shipments were completed by mid- 1970. and U.S. Army Pershing missile units were then fully equipped with the new fast- reacting Pershing 1-A system . By early 1971 Federal Republic of Germany Air Force troops had also received the new P1 -A gear through the same contractor-to-troops SWAP program .

P1 -A gear was shipped to West German Air Force troops early in 1971 .

U.S. Army troops check Pershing equipment lists after de livery to Fi schstein . Germany.

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P1 -A m Europe

1970

In October of 1972, Pershing marked its te nth yea r of active duty. Deployed in Europe w ith troops of the U.S. Army and the Federa l Republi c of Germany Air Force. rugged. reliable Pershing with its massive. mobile f irepower is playing a major rol e in defense of the free world.

At sites throughout Western Germany troops keep Pershing ready to meet any threat.

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Pershing Project Managers

Col. Oliver M. Hirsch (1962 - 1963) Col. Edwin I. Donley (1963 - 1966) Mr. Carl A. Pinyerd - acting - (1966) Col. Edwin A. Rudd (1966 - 1969) Col. Rutledge P. Hazzard (1969 - 1970) Col. Samuel C. Skemp, Jr. (1970 -

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