MGM-1 Matador

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Martin MGM-1 Matador
Type	Surface-to-surface cruise missile
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1952 - 1962
Production history
Designed	1949 (first flight)
Manufacturer	Glenn L. Martin Company
No. built	1,200[1]
Specifications
Mass	12,000 lb (5,400 kg)
Length	39 ft 6 in (12.04 m)
Diameter	4 ft 6 in (1.37 m)
Wingspan	28 ft 7 in (8.71 m)
Warhead	Nuclear W-5 (50 kt yield)[1][2]
Engine	4,600 lbf (20,000 N) thrust Allison J33-A-37 turbojet sustainer engine; 55,000 lbf (240 kN) thrust Aerojet General solid fuel rocket, 2 s burn
Operational range	250 mi (400 km) (TM-61A)[1] 620 mi (1,000 km) (TM-61C)[1]
Flight altitude	35,000–43,000 ft (11,000–13,000 m)[1][3]
Maximum speed	650 mph (1,050 km/h; Mach 0.85)[1] (supersonic terminal dive)[3][4]
Guidance system	"A" Radar directed radio command guidance system; "C" same plus Shanicle
Accuracy	2,700–1,600 ft (820–490 m) CEP[3]
Launch platform	Transporter erector launcher

The Martin MGM-1 Matador was the first operational surface-to-surface cruise missile designed and built by the United States. It was developed after World War II, drawing upon their wartime experience with creating the Republic-Ford JB-2, a copy of the German V-1. The Matador was similar in concept to the V-1, but it included a radio command that allowed in-flight course corrections. This allowed accuracy to be maintained over greatly extended ranges of about 600 miles (1,000 km). To allow these ranges, the Matador was powered by a small turbojet engine in place of the V-1's much less efficient pulsejet.

Matador was armed with the W5 nuclear warhead, essentially an improved version of the Fat Man design that was lighter and had a smaller cross section. A single U.S. Air Force group, 1st Pilotless Bomber Squadron, was armed with the weapon, keeping them on alert with a six-minute launch time. It could be easily retargeted, unlike weapons using inertial guidance systems. Accuracy at maximum range was about 1 mile (1.6 km), which allowed it to be used against any large target like troop concentrations or armored spearheads.

First flown in 1949, Matador entered service in 1952 and left service in 1962. Matador carried several designations during its lifetime, originally known under the War Department's system as SSM-A-1. By the time it was introduced to service, the Air Force had been created, and they referred to them as bombers and assigned it the B-61 designation.^[5] It was later re-designated TM-61, for "tactical missile", and finally MGM-1 when the U.S. Department of Defense introduced the tri-service rocket and guided missile designation system in 1963.