R-12 Dvina

R-12
Soviet R-12 (NATO designation SS-4) in Kapustin Yar museum, Znamensk, Russia.
TypeMedium-range ballistic missile
Service history
In service4 March 1959–1993
Production history
ManufacturerYuzhmash
Unit costunknown
Specifications
MassFully loaded: 41.7 t
Empty: 3.15 t
Length22,100 mm
Diameter1,650 mm
Wingspan2,940 mm (116 in)
WarheadThermonuclear
Blast yield1.0–2.3 Mt[1][2][3]

EngineRD-214[4]
635.2 kilonewtons (142,800 lbf)[4]
Payload capacity1.6 t
Propellantliquid (AK-27I / TM-185)[4]
Fuel capacity37 t
Operational
range
2,000–2,500 km (1,200–1,600 mi)[3]
Maximum speed 3,530 m/s (Mach 10)
Guidance
system
autonomous inertial
Accuracy2.4–5.16 km (1.49–3.21 mi) CEP[1][2]
Launch
platform
open-launch and silo-based
The cupola of the underground R-12U launching silo in Plokštinė missile base, Lithuania

The R-12 Dvina was a theatre ballistic missile developed and deployed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Its GRAU designation was 8K63 (8K63U or 8K63У in Cyrillic for silo-launched version), and it was given the NATO reporting name of SS-4 Sandal. The R-12 rocket provided the Soviet Union with the capability to attack targets at medium ranges with a megaton-class thermonuclear warhead and constituted the bulk of the Soviet offensive missile threat to Western Europe. Deployments of the R-12 missile in Cuba caused the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. A total of 2335 missiles were produced; all were destroyed in 1993 under the START II treaty.[5]

As well as the single-stage ballistic technology, the R-12 Dvina had a two-stage capability that allowed payloads to be placed into low Earth orbit.

The Iranian Shahab-4 missile is likely an offshoot of the R-12 Dvina.[6]

  1. ^ a b R-12. Encyclopedia Astronautica.
  2. ^ a b R-12U. Encyclopedia Astronautica.
  3. ^ a b R-12 / SS-4 SANDAL. Federation of American Scientists.
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference ea-rd214 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Berezovsky, Peter F. "Russian Ballistic Missiles, баллистические ракеты России". Independent Belorussian Site (in Russian). Archived from the original on 31 March 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2015. Демонтаж комплексов с последними изделиями серии Р-12У, согласно договоренностям по РСМД, закончен к 1993 году.
  6. ^ "Iran Missile Chronology" (PDF). Nuclear Threat Initiative. August 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2020.