ASM-N-5 Gorgon V
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| ASM-N-5 Gorgon V | |
|---|---|
| Type | Air-to-surface missile |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| Used by | United States Navy |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1950-1953 |
| Manufacturer | Glenn L. Martin Company |
| Number built | 0 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 2,600 pounds (1,200 kg) |
| Length | 28 feet 10 inches (8.79 m) |
| Warhead | Chemical warfare agents |
|
|
|
| Engine | None |
| Wingspan | 10 feet (3.0 m) |
|
Operational
range |
34 mi (55 km) |
| Flight ceiling | 35,000 feet (11,000 m) |
| Speed | Mach 0.95 |
|
Guidance
system |
Autopilot |
The ASM-N-5 Gorgon V was an unpowered air-to-surface missile, developed by the Glenn L. Martin Company during the early 1950s for use by the United States Navy as a chemical weapon delivery vehicle. Developed from the earlier PTV-N-2 Gorgon IV test vehicle, the program was cancelled without any Gorgon Vs seeing service.
Design and development
The Gorgon V project was begun in 1950 as a project to develop an air-to-surface missile capable of dispersing chemical warfare agents over a combat area.[1] The design of the missile was contracted to the Glenn L. Martin Company, which used the company's earlier PTV-N-2 Gorgon IV ramjet test missile as a basis for the weapon's design.[1] The Gorgon V was to be a long, slender missile, with swept wings and conventional tail.[1] The Gorgon IV's ramjet engine, slung underneath the missile's tail, was replaced in the Gorgon V with a X14A aerosol generator, developed by the Edo Aircraft Corporation.[2]
Operational use of the Gorgon V was intended to be based on two missiles being carried by a launching aircraft.[2] These would be released at an altitude of 35,000 feet (11,000 m), the Gorgon V would be piloted by autopilot in a high-subsonic dive.[2][N 1] Upon reaching an altitude of 500 feet (150 m) or less, as measured by a radar altimeter, the aerosol generator would be activated, dispersing chemical agent over an area of up to 12 mi (20 km) by 5.6 mi (9 km).[1]
Development of the Gorgon V continued throughout the Korean War; in 1953, it was projected that the weapon would be ready for operational service by 1955.[2] However later that year, the Gorgon V was cancelled by the U.S. Navy;[4] it is unknown if any prototype vehicles had been constructed before the termination of the project.[1]
References
- Notes
- ↑ One source indicates that the weapon may have been command-guided based on a television signal from the missile.[3]
- Citations
- Bibliography
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