Aviation and Military History
The name Fritz-X was one of several applied to the German guided anti-ship bomb which was the world’s first precision-guided weapon, and the first to sink a ship in combat. Other names for this important weapon were Ruhrstahl SD-1400 X, Kramer X-1, PC-1400X and FX-1400. Together with the similar Azon weapon developed for the US …
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Succeeding the turbojet-powered Raduga KS-1 Komet and K-10S (AS-1 ‘Kennel’ and AS-2 ‘Kipper’) subsonic and supersonic missiles in the stand-off role against major surface forces, especially those centred on an aircraft carrier, the Raduga Kh-22 is known to NATO as the AS-4 ‘Kitchen’. This substantial long-range missile is still in service, and in an air-launched …
Where the first US stand-off nuclear missile to reach operational status, the Bell GAM-63 Rascal, was a rocket-powered weapon of typical ‘missile’ configuration, an early Soviet counterpart was of turbojet-powered aeroplane layout. This was the Raduga Kh-20 which, in the absence of firm intelligence data about its real designation, received the NATO reporting designation/name AS-3 …
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The North American AGM-28 Hound Dog was an air-launched stand-off missile developed from the late 1950s, and was created primarily to attack Soviet ground-based air defence installations and thereby open the way for Boeing B-52 Stratofortress manned bombers to attack the USSR. The missile was allocated the initial designation B-77, then GAM-77 and finally AGM-28. …
A history of the US Air Force’s standard cannon, the M61 Vulcan, with details its development, models, service history and specifications.
A history of Soviet aircraft guns after World War II, covering the Universal Beresin, Afanayesev, Nemenov-Suranov-Rikhter-Gribkov N-37 and later weapons
A history of the Hughes AIM-47 Falcon air-to-air missile, with details of the developments that lead to the missile not entering service.
The history of the Hughes AIM-54 Phoenix, a US heavyweight air-to-air missile, with details of its development, service history and specifications.
The history of the Hughes AIM-26 Super Falcon, a US bomb killer, with details of its development, service history and specifications.
A history of the Hughes AIM-4 Falcon air-to-air missile, with details of its development, operational use and specifications.