Minneapolis-Honeywell Wagtail
In September 1956, Minneapolis-Honeywell received a development contract for the Wagtail air-to-ground missile. Wagtail was a solid-fuel rocket-powered short-range missile, to be used for nuclear attacks by low-flying supersonic aircraft. It was equipped with retro-rockets which fired before main motor ignition to decelerate it rapidly after drop. This gave the delivery aircraft enough time to escape the thermonuclear explosion. The missile had flip-out tail fins, and used an inertial navigation system together with a terrain-following radar. The latter features gave it some stand-off range and the capability to clear obstacles when launched at low altitude.
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| Drawing: David McKinney |
| Wagtail * |
Wagtail was flight tested in 1958, but was not put into production. The program was cancelled before 1962, most likely around 1960/61. One of the aircraft, which would have used Wagtail, was the B-58 Hustler. Wagtail was also adapted for use as a rearward-firing air-to-air missile (presumably for bomber defense), and the missile was flight-tested in that configuration as well.
Note: The drawing is from source [3], and is obviously a very coarse sketch only. There is also a (very small) drawing in source [5] of a proposed B-58 configuration with Wagtail missiles, and the Wagtails there look quite different.
Specifications
Data for Wagtail:
| Length | 4.39 m (14 ft 5 in) |
| Diameter | 40.6 cm (16 in) |
| Weight | 970 kg (2130 lb) |
| Propulsion | Dual-thrust solid-fueled rocket; boost phase: 44 kN (10000 lb) for 7.4 s terminal phase: 11 kN (2500 lb) for 2.5 s |
| Warhead | Nuclear |
Main Sources
[1] Bill Gunston: "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rockets and Missiles", Salamander Books Ltd, 1979
[2] John W. R. Taylor (ed.): "Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1960-61", Jane's, 1961
[3] Norman J. Bowman: "The Handbook of Rockets and Guided Missiles", Perastadion Press, 1963
[4] Frederick I. Ordway III, Ronald C. Wakeford: "International Missile and Spacecraft Guide", McGraw-Hill, 1960
[5] Jay Miller: "Convair B-58 Hustler", Aerofax
[6] Air Research and Development Command (ARDC) Monthly Report, March 1960
Back to Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 4
Last Updated: 23 October 2024