a nuclear missile that pursued goals

In 1945 the Second World War. He did not do it with him Atomic bombardment From the United States to Japan, but it is evident that these two events marked a turning point in the conflict. However, tranquility did not last long, since the US and the USSR entered the Cold war. In technological, it was a period in which both powers entered a war of spatial, technological and military development

And, perhaps, one of the biggest follies was the United States Diamondback missile.

Nuclear explosion. In that period, the two blocks They took run in the development of Nuclear bombs. Only 10 years after the end of World War II, the world’s nuclear arsenal was from some 3,000 heads. In 1965, they exceeded 37,000 nuclear weapons, and followed the climb to the peak of 1986: 7,300 nuclear weaponsbelonging 40,159 to the USSR and 23,317 to the United States.

Not only were many bombs, but also bombs as devastating and unimaginable as the Tsar pump. And beyond these pumps of several tons of weight, from the ground and sea the ballistic missiles could be launched that were huge again and weighed very much. An idea occurred to the United States: what if we develop a nuclear missile that can be armed in airplanes and is not focused on destroying terrestrial objectives, but aerial?

Sidewinder. In the middle of the century, the US was investigating the development of an air-aire missile with objective monitoring capacity. It was not an American idea, but of Nazi researchers who designed missiles with rocket propulsion systems. They did not implement it, but they did create a prototype: the Blohm & Voss BV 143. It was an anti-buque plain pump.

The allies collected this information when the war ended and, in 1946, in the Naval Ordnance Test Station (or NOTS) in California, an American research team began to develop an air-Aire missile that could persecute its “prey”. In 1951 the project received official financing and, after years of evidence, in 1956 the missiles Sidewinder They went into service.

Diamondback. Seeing the success of the Sidewinder program, the United States Navy wondered if they could do something like that missile, but big. In 1956, in the NOTS they began to make designs for a missing missing objectives that, in addition, had the ability to carry a nuclear head. They baptized him as Diamondback.

It would be very far in power of other nuclear weapons of the time, since it would have “only” 0.75 kilotons, but in an air-air missile, the resulting explosion would be a real barbarity. Its specifications were much more advanced than those of a Sidewinder and would be faster, reaching higher speeds. Mach 3 Thanks to a double impulse system with liquid propulsion, it would have a much larger operational range and a flight roof of up to 24,000 meters.

In this video, we can see some of the developments and prototypes of the American base:

Air-Aire, but to the beast. The idea of ​​putting a nuclear head on a missile may seem curious, but in the marine minds it made sense to end entire formations of enemy bombers flying in closed formation. The explosion of a Sidewinder could end enemy fighters and a bomber if it gave at the indicated point, but a missile of 0.75 kilotons would spray in the air to its goal and those who fly next to it.

It was also designed to supply the deficiencies of the original Sidewinder not only in terms of scope, speed and destructive capacity, but in mobility. The liquid fuel allowed it to maintain energy and speed throughout the flight, optimizing those possible final maneuvers if the objective intended to escape.

In addition, the guide system did not settle for infrared, but also had a passive radar that not only increased the probability of impact, but allowed to achieve objectives from any angle. The Air-Aire missiles of the moment could only be guided by the heat of the propellants, so they had to launch while behind the target.

He did not set. In spite of everything, the project just lasted a year. Prototypes were not created and the missile did not leave the design table because the Navy did not have, in those moments, specific needs to assemble nuclear missiles and its development with the technology of the time would have been complete and extremely expensive.

The Sidewinder prevailed. A year later, the United States did developed an air-aire missile with a 1.5-kilotons nuclear eyes and deployed for almost 30 years in the US and Canadian air forces. He Air-2 Genie It had more power than diamondback, a similar weight, it also reached Mach 3 speeds … but it wasn’t guided. Precisely, the terrifying diamondback was not so much the nuclear eye, but the very advanced monitoring system, a characteristic that the AIM-26a Falcon of the 60s (less powerful and slower than what Diamondback wanted to be).

Thus, Diamondback remained a sample of that nuclear ecstasy in which the two powers entered. The one who followed on his way, and with an overwhelming success, was the Sidewinder. Over the years, the missile evolved with greater speeds and benefits, as well as the implementation of semi -active radar systems with which he wanted to flirt the diamondback.

And, since its launch in the mid -50, it is part of the military arsenal of countries throughout the world, inspiring Soviet developments such as the K-13 or the PL-2 Chinese. Maybe, as they point out in TWZDiamondback was a “too much and very soon” for the navy, but it is evident that it would have been an incredible technological piece and – another deterrence in nuclear war.

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