ASM-N-5 Gorgon V

ASM-N-5 Gorgon V
TypeAir-to-surface missile
Place of originUnited States
Service history
Used byUnited States Navy
Production history
Designed1950–1953
ManufacturerGlenn L. Martin Company
No. built0
Specifications
Mass2,600 pounds (1,200 kg)
Length28 feet 10 inches (8.79 m)
Wingspan10 feet (3.0 m)
WarheadChemical warfare agents
EngineNone
Operational
range
34 mi (55 km)
Flight ceiling35,000 feet (11,000 m)
Maximum 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 to develop an air-to-surface missile capable of dispersing chemical warfare agents over a combat area.[1] Designing 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 beneath the missile's tail, was replaced in the Gorgon V with a X14A aerosol generator, developed by the Edo Aircraft Corporation.[2][N 1]

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 2] 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] Later that year, the Gorgon V was cancelled by the US Navy.[5] It is unknown if any prototypes were constructed before the termination of the project.[1]

References

Notes

  1. ^ One source suggests that ASM-N-5 was intended to be a ramjet-powered, low-altitude, high-speed weapon.[3]
  2. ^ One source indicates that the weapon may have been command-guided based on a television signal from the missile.[4]

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e Parsch 2005
  2. ^ a b c d Friedman 1982, p.201.
  3. ^ Ordway and Wakeford 1960, p.182.
  4. ^ Fahey 1958, p.32.
  5. ^ Gunston 1979, p.121.

Bibliography

  • Fahey, James Charles (1958). The Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet (7 ed.). Washington, D.C.: Ships and Aircraft Publishers. ISBN 9780870216466. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
  • Friedman, Norman (1982). U.S. Naval Weapons: every gun, missile, mine, and torpedo used by the U.S. Navy from 1883 to the present day. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-735-7.
  • Gunston, Bill (1979). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Rockets & Missiles. London: Salamander Books. ISBN 0-517-26870-1.
  • Ordway, Frederick Ira; Ronald C. Wakeford (1960). International Missile and Spacecraft Guide. New York: McGraw-Hill. ASIN B000MAEGVC.
  • Parsch, Andreas (4 January 2005). "Martin ASM-N-5 Gorgon V (and other NAMU Gorgon variants)". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 1: Early Missiles and Drones. Designation-Systems. Retrieved 2011-02-11.