From the dawn of history, men have devoted themselves to the creation and improvement of weapons wherewith to impose their will upon their fellows. Improvement has come slowly and at long intervals, but in the past few generations it has been progressively speeded up. Today we have arrived at the point where it will shortly be possible, by pushing a button, to launch a missile that can travel halfway

around the world and at the end of its flight destroy a great city and kill millions of its inhabitants. Most of this immense and portentous technological progress has occurred in the short span of our national history.

The Army's weapons of war are collectively called ordnance, and the Ordnance Corps is the Army agency charged with their development, production, issue, and maintenance.

At the close of the 18th century ordnance development in Europe and America had made some progress. Gunpowder was in universal use and the need for varying the size of the grains had been discovered. Cannon were made by boring a hole in a solid metal casting. Both breech- and muzzle-loading were in use, the former at an elementary stage. The type of case shot known as shrapnel, very effective against personnel, was widely adopted. The handgun with stock, which had come into existence in the late Middle Ages as the "harquebus," had been developed through various stages to the flintlock musket, which was the standard infantry weapon in 1800 and for many years thereafter.

THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. This century, and the ensuing years up to the outbreak of World War I, saw revolutionary advances in the fields of ammunition, artillery, rifles, and machineguns.

Ammunition. Smokeless powder was

invented and became a far more efficient propellant than gunpowder. High explosives came into use for the bursting charges of shells, greatly increasing their destructive effect. Various types of fuses were developed; combinations of fusing and shell design made possible a shell which would penetrate deeply into the earth, or pass through armor plate, before exploding.

Artillery. Nineteenth century developments included the perfecting of the rifled cannon (adapted to our weapons at Springfield Arsenal in 1848); the use of elongated projectiles for such cannon, in place of the older spherical types; and the general adoption of various systems of breech-loading. Two inventions, which greatly aided in the improvement and scientific design of artillery and ammunition, were the chronograph to measure the velocity of projectiles and the crusher gage to estimate the pressures within a gun tube. By World War I the Ordnance Department had standardized the model 1902

3-inch field gun, and had developed guns and howitzers of 3-inch, 3.8-inch, 4.7-inch, and 6-inch caliber.

Rifles. The flintlock musket was replaced in our Army in 1842 by the percussion-ignition musket. The first breech-loading Springfield rifle was the model of 1866; with improvements, it was adopted as standard in 1873. Next followed the 1905 Springfield, an adaptation of the German Mauser. As early as 1900 the Chief of Ordnance proposed the design of a semiautomatic rifle, and during the period 1901-1916 effort was expended on various experimental models, both foreign and American.

Machineguns. Many attempts were made during the 19th century to develop small arms with high rates of fire. The first practicable machinegun was invented by Dr. Gatling of Chicago in 1862. This weapon employed a number of barrels, usually ten, which revolved around a central axis in the form of a cylinder. It was used to a limited extent during the Civil War and was the forerunner of the present-day Vulcan which is used in aircraft.

In 1884 Sir Hiram Maxim, a British American-born engineer, produced the first truly automatic machinegun. It employed a single barrel and utilized the force of recoil to obtain continuous and automatic functioning as long as the trigger was held down. The soundness of its principles of operation stimulated the development of other types. It also revolutionized combat tactics for machineguns.

In 1890 Mr. John M. Browning, an American, brought out the Colt machinegun (gas-operated) which utilized a small portion of the expanding powder gas to actuate the bolt mechanism. Later he developed the .50 caliber machinegun which was standardized by the Army in 1917.

Rockets. In the early 1800's an Englishman is credited with developing a rocket which served as an auxiliary to artillery. Our Army used rockets to a limited extent in the Mexican War, but thereafter interest in them subsided.

THE PERIOD 1914-1945. Between the outbreak of World War I and the close of World War II, the already rapid tempo of our Army's ordnance development was further accelerated.

Rifles. In January of 1936 the Garand (M1) semiautomatic rifle was adopted as the primary weapon of the infantry soldier. This rifle, and also the carbine and the Browning automatic rifle (BAR), are in use today. However, they will eventually be replaced by the Springfield M14 and M15 rifles, recently standardized. These are light weapons with a high rate of fire, using the 7.62mm cartridge which is standard for the NATO countries.

Machineguns. Improvement in existing machineguns and the testing of new ones was accomplished between World Wars I and II. The machinegun has evolved, through the series of Brownings used in World War II, up to the present M60 firing the NATO (7.62mm) cartridge, which will replace the current types of ground machineguns, cal. .30. This evolution has provided weapons with improved rates of fire, lighter in weight, and using ammunition which is interchangeable with the M14 rifle.

Tanks. The first appearance of tanks in combat occurred on the Somme on 15 September 1916. At the battle of Cambrai on 20 November 1916, the usual prebattle artillery barrage was dispensed with and tanks proved themselves to be an effective tool of warfare. When the United States entered the war, the Mark VIII 37-ton tank was standardized for production but the war ended before these tanks were available. From 1918 until shortly before World War II, tanks and other armored vehicles were developed little beyond the planning boards.

Our tanks in World War II were mostly of the medium type. The General Sherman, 35-ton, mounting a 76mm high-velocity gun, saw much service. Toward the end of the war we had the 45-ton General Pershing, mounting a 90mm gun. Both of these were used in the Korean War, together with the General Patton M46 (medium) and the General Chaffee (light). Among the improvements in tank design made in this period were larger caliber highvelocity cannon, with stabilization to improve accuracy and penetration of fast-moving targets; and improved suspension systems, transmissions, and standardized engines. (See also chapter

18.)

Artillery. In the years preceding 1940, field artillery development centered chiefly on four types: the 75mm pack howitzer, the 37mm antitank gun, and the 105mm and 240mm howitzers. A standardized weapon system finally evolved and the approved weapons were produced in great numbers. The period was marked by an increase in the proportion of medium and heavy to light artillery, and by greater ranges for all types. Firepower was also increased many-fold by improved mortars, mounted antitank guns and other self-propelled artillery, recoilless weapons of 57mm, 75mm and 105mm caliber, and rockets and launchers of various calibers.

Ammunition. No lesson of World War

I was plainer to the Army than its need of modern ordnance, and the most complicated development task confronting the Ordnance Department at the end of the war was in the field of ammunition. Combat experience had shown the inadequacies of much of that used in 1917-1918—inaccuracies, failures, lack of safety features, and a host of needless complexities. The increased range, accuracy, and killingpower needed in artillery ammunition required a complete series of shells designed to produce the most effective fragmentation, striking velocities, penetration, and so on. A very significant achievement was a system of fuses which were interchangeable among practically all artillery projectiles.

When a uranium bomb was exploded over Hiroshima in the last days of World War II, a new era in warfare had begun. In the ensuing years it rapidly became evident that future weapons and tactics, even those employed in small-scale and limited fighting, would differ radically from anything known in the past. The early fission-type atomic weapons-which even at the beginning were powerful enough to wipe out a moderate-sized city-were improved So that their power, or "yield," was multiplied many times. They were followed by the fusion type or "hydrogen" bomb, whose power is measured in millions of tons of ordinary high explosive. Concurrently came the astonishing development of largesize long-range rockets and guided missiles. These devices in combination form the pattern of one field of contemporary ordnance development; projectile that can be directed, at extremely high speed, against a target anywhere from scores to thousands of miles away, and that can carry an appallingly destructive warhead, the exact power of which can be scaled to the nature of the target.

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CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS. Nuclear explosives have by no means rendered obsolete the so-called "conventional" weapons. Active research

and development in this field are principally directed to increased firepower and greater mobility, with special emphasis on transportability of weapons, vehicles, etc., by air. Much work has been done in the fields of self-propelled weapons to give better artillery support in fast-moving warfare; on the use of radar in fire-control devices for antiaircraft weapons; and on proximity fuses, shaped charge projectiles, and so on. Standardization, interchangeability, and ease of manufacture and maintenance are also being stressed. (See also chapter 18.)

ROCKETS AND GUIDED MISSILES. After years of inactivity, interest in rockets was reawakened during the closing days of World War I when Dr. Robert H. Goddard, of Clark University, undertook on a personal basis the development of high altitude rockets. By 1920 the United States had become first to demonstrate the basic principles later applied to missile development. Based largely on Dr. Goddard's work, Germany began to experiment in this field; and it was Germany who unveiled a new set of possibilities in weapons development when, on 6 September 1944, she launched the first V-2 rocket.

Meantime, in early 1944, our Ordnance Corps had started a development

program for a rocket to meet the following specifications: minimum pay load of high explosive, 1,000 lbs.; range, 75 to 100 miles; dispersion at maximum range not to exceed 2%, or alternatively the missile to be subject to remote control; and enough velocity to afford protection from fighter aircraft. Contracts were let on this basis. Included among them were several surface-to-surface missiles, (Private A, Private F, WAC Corporal, and Bumper) which were essentially research vehicles used to test various aspects of missile design, operation, and instrumentation. Bumper established a record with a flight of 250 miles altitude.

When the Allied armies landed in Europe, Army Ordnance agencies captured V-2 components. They were shipped to the United States and assembled, and missiles into which they were incorporated were tested during the period 1946-50. This and its other programs put the Ordnance Corps into full-scale missile development.

Since 1950 the Army's major research and development effort has been in the field of rockets and guided missiles. This new form of firepower falls into two categories, both of which are extensions of older forms. The first is the augmentation of artillery fire by surface-to-surface missiles, either free rockets or guided. The second is the replacement of conventional antiaircraft guns by surface-to-air or antiair guided missiles, designed to destroy manned enemy aircraft; these to be improved, as soon as possible, to the point where they can destroy enemy guided missiles -the so-called "antimissile missile."

Surface-to-surface missiles, destined to be the artillery of the future, enable the Army to extend radically its familiar artillery techniques against surface targets. With respect to antiair firepower, the Army has been charged, since the airplane first made its appearance as an instrument of war, with the antiaircraft defense of the continental United States and of oversea troops and installations. (See chapter 3.)

The following Army missiles have been or are being developed

Surface-to-Surface Missiles. These inIclude two free rockets (Honest John

Honest John is a surface-to-surface free rocket. It is a large caliber, simple, reliable, all-weather weapon with a nuclear or nonnuclear capability and 15mile range. It provides a basic firepower element for Army divisions and missile commands. It is air transportable in conventional military transports and is soon to have lightweight launching equipment capable of being transported by helicopter. Although Honest John has been operational for some time, it has been greatly improved to enhance mobility and air-transportability.

Little John is being developed to supplement Honest John. A surface-tosurface rocket, its dimensions are about one third and its weight one sixth that of its predecessor. It can be carried by helicopter. It is not yet in production.

Corporal was the free world's first operational surface-to-surface ballistic guided missile. It can deliver atomic firepower on targets at ranges up to 100 miles. Together with Honest John and the 280mm gun, Corporal was shipped to Germany to provide atomic capability for the Seventh Army (our NATO commitment in that country).

Sergeant, one of the newer R&D projects, is the latest addition to the Army's tactical missile arsenal, and is to be a Corporal replacement. This ballistic surface-to-surface guided missile, with ranges up to 75 or more miles, will be invulnerable to electronic countermeasures and may be used regardless of weather, visibility, or terrain. Carrying nuclear or nonnuclear warheads, it will travel at several times the speed of sound. It will have generally the same range capabilities as its predecessor, but will be simpler in operation and handling.

Lacrosse is an all-weather, highly accurate, surface-to-surface guided missile. It will be equally useful as a general support weapon in close support of ground operations, and in the destruction of small hard targets such as enemy strong points or bunkers. Its launcher and guidance equipment are truck-mounted, providing great ground mobility for close combat support. It can also be airborne. It is in production. Dart, now under development, is a

surface-to-surface guided missile designed to smash the largest tank known. It can be mounted on an armored personnel carrier, giving it fast, easy mobility. Its range exceeds the effective range of any known tank armament. Its flight velocity and low trajectory make the chances of shooting it down negligible.

Redstone is one of the largest and most potent of the operational or nearoperational U. S. surface-to-surface missiles. It has a range of 175 nautical miles, and is designed for rough handling and typical field service transportation and environment. It will deliver a nuclear warhead at hypersonic speed. This medium-range ballistic missile is considered the prototype for the Jupiter IRBM (intermediate range ballistic missile.) It is in production, has been troop-tested, and became operational overseas in June 1958.

Jupiter, a continuation of the Redstone program developed for the accurate delivery of a nuclear warhead at hypersonic speed on a target about 1,500 nautical miles away, today is a distinct reality. It is air-transportable and highly mobile in the field. It is expected to be operational overseas in December 1958. It was a Jupiter which fired the full-scale heat-protected reentry nose cone which was recovered in the spring of 1958; and it was a modified Redstone called Jupiter C which launched Explorer I, the free world's first earth satellite. (See also chapter 18.)

The Army's newest surface-to-surface missile is called Pershing. It is now in the developmental stage. Pershing will use solid propellant. It is designed to carry a nuclear payload, but will be smaller, faster, and easier to handle in the field than Redstone.

Surface-to-Air Missiles. These are all guided missiles. They include the Nike family, Plato, and Hawk.

Nike-Ajax was the first of the Nike missiles. In its deliberate evolution of the Nike family, Army R & D has utilized Ajax to provide a surface-to-air defense system for our key cities and industrial centers over a period of several years, while the development of more advanced types was under way.

Nike-Hercules, a surface-to-air mis

sile now in development and production, is the second member of the Nike defense family. It is a preplanned supplement to Ajax with greatly increased range, power, altitude, speed, maneuverability, and accuracy. While Ajax can destroy any known fast high altitude aircraft and several known guided missiles, Hercules, which has an atomic capability, can destroy whole formations of attacking aircraft. The Army believes that this missile has put our air defenses markedly ahead of potential enemy aircraft development.

The Army's surface-to-air defense against the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is being made possible by an antimissile missile named Zeus. Components of Zeus are now in being, and the complete system is under development. Another Army approach to the antimissile missile is Plato. This weapon can be used to defend our land forces wherever they fight.

Hawk, the Army's low altitude killer now in final development, was designed as a highly mobile surface-to-air missile system for use with the Army in the field. Primary consideration was given to the very low altitude problem. The Hawk system, with its unique guidance scheme, has greater capabilities in this area than any other air defense system. Hawk will be employed with fast moving Army troops, by the Marine Corps, and for use in the United States. It can be installed in permanent semipermanent type installations, thus thickening our defenses and increasing the low altitude effectiveness of the defense system.

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ATOMIC WEAPONS. The Ordnance Corps entered the atomic weapons field in 1953 as a result of agreements between the Department of Defense and the Atomic Energy Commission, which gave the Department of the Army responsibility for the development and manufacture of nonnuclear parts of atomic artillery shells and adaption kits for Army missile and rocket atomic warheads and atomic demolition munitions.

The first atomic weapon that reached the field was the Mk9 or M354 shell for the 280mm gun. Since then, an atomic capability has been achieved