 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2013) |
| MGM-18 (M4) Lacrosse | |
|---|---|
 MGM-18 Lacrosse on an XM-398 Launcher | |
| Type | Tactical ballistic missile |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1959–1964 |
| Used by | United States Army |
| Wars | Cold War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Johns Hopkins University, Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory |
| Designed | 1947–1956 |
| Manufacturer | The Glenn L. Martin Company |
| Produced | 1959–1964 |
| No. built | Nearly 1200[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 2,300 pounds (1,000 kg)[2] |
| Length | 19 feet 2.4 inches (5.852 m)[2] |
| Diameter | 20.5 inches (520 mm)[2] |
| Wingspan | 9 feet (2.7 m)[2] |
| Maximum firing range | 12 miles (19 km)[2] |
| Warhead | Explosive or Nuclear |
| Warhead weight | 540 pounds (240 kg)[2] |
| Blast yield | Explosive or 1.5–10 kt Nuclear using the W40 nuclear warhead [3] |
| Propellant | Thiokol XM10 or XM10E1 solid-fuel rocket[2] |
| Maximum speed | Mach 0.8[2] |
Guidance system | Radio Command guidance |
Launch platform | XM-398 transporter/launcher truck[2] |
The MGM-18 Lacrosse was a short-ranged tactical weapon intended for close support of ground troops.[4] Its first flight test was in 1954 and was deployed by the United States Army beginning in 1959, despite being still in the development stage. The program's many technical hurdles proved too difficult to overcome and the missile was withdrawn from field service by 1964.
- ^ "Lacrosse Missile (MGM-18)". U.S. Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution. August 1998. Archived from the original on September 10, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Parsch, Andreas (26 January 2002). "Martin SSM-A-12/M4/MGM-18 Lacrosse". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
- ^ "List of All U.S. Nuclear Weapons". nuclearweaponarchive.org.
- ^ Knight, Clayton (1969). Blackwood, Dr. Paul E. (ed.). The How and Why Wonder Book of Rockets and Missiles. How and Why Wonder Books. Vol. 5005 (4 ed.). New York: Grosset & Dunlap. p. 6. ASIN B0007FD82K. LCCN 71124649.