An all-aspect rocket capable of flying quickly in any direction from the carrier aircraft. A versatile weapon adapted for bombers, interceptors, and even for attacks on ground targets. The fate of one of the most promising developments of the US Air Force in the 60s is in our material.
In 1947, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, research began on arming bombers with defensive missiles.
Why? I'm telling you. The speed of jet fighters grew, and more powerful and longer-range weapons were required to intercept them. This led to an increase in the weight of the rifle turrets on the bombers. But their effectiveness did not increase much. The US Air Force began to fear that traditional defense methods would soon simply stop working.
General Electric was the first company to receive a contract from the Air Force for such research. However, the task turned out to be too tough for the corporation. The project literally went from hand to hand.
Who just took on the development of miracle missiles - and the Hughes corporation, which created the AIM-4 Falcon weapon for fighters, and the McDonnell company, known for developing weapons for the latest B-58 Hustler bomber. However, in 1956 the work was stopped again - the task turned out to be too heavy, almost fantastic in reality.
By that time, the development of a promising bomber was already in full swing, which eventually became the XB-70 Valkyrie. The new engineering marvel had to be somehow armed against the red threat.
A once-secret drawing from a test report.
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In 1958, North American and Convair joined forces to develop a missile capable of protecting the new aircraft from high-speed interceptors and surface-to-air missiles.
Three missiles were tested: a slightly modified AIM-47, which was armed with F-108 fighters; a cylindrical rocket with jet rudders and, finally, something in the shape of a flying saucer.
This form, in theory, made it possible to launch a rocket in any direction at once, without wasting its kinetic energy to turn the body towards the target. And further guidance along the course was provided by small spoilers on the hull.
Plate with motor
In 1959, tests of two models of lenticular rockets began at the Arnold Research Center in Tennessee (one model for different air pressures, the other for different air velocities and angles of attack). The prototypes of the Pye Wacket - the so-called "saucer" - were blown in a wind tunnel. Incidentally, the title was probably derived from the 1958 film Bell, Book and Candle. That was the name of the cat of the main character-witch.
Testing the model.
The rocket was stable in flight up to six speeds of sound. Its length was about 180 cm, thickness - up to 23 cm with a weight of only 230 kg. An infrared homing head was placed at one end of the "flying saucer". On the opposite side there are two jet engines providing a range of up to about 133 km (or 72 nautical miles) at a speed of up to 2 km / s.
In the summer of 1959, the prototypes of the rocket were added with a blunt "stern", which improved streamlining at supersonic. After successful tests in a wind tunnel, it was time to try out the full-size model, accelerating it with three solid-fuel engines.
Testing the model.
Tests have shown that the Pye Wacket is capable of withstanding 60 g overloads, as well as sharp turns at supersonic speeds without losing control.
It was assumed that a combat missile 120 cm in diameter would carry a 23-kg high-explosive warhead and maneuver sharply even at six speeds of sound.
To accommodate the Pye Wacket, vertical pylons would be placed in front of the Valkyrie's bomb bay, onto which the “plates” would be “strung” by means of a screw thread (through their central part).
The bomb bay contained two pylons with five missiles each. If necessary, the pylon was rotated so that the lower means of destruction was "nose" to the approaching target, and threw it out. Thus, it started from the compartment already aimed at the enemy. Further, the rocket was stabilized by gyroscopes, and only then its own engines were launched.
The arrival of the forester or beware of the car
An all-aspect rocket capable of flying quickly in any direction from the carrier aircraft. This seemed promising not only for bombers, but also for interceptors, and even for attacks on ground targets. Pye Wacket had real launches from the ground stand.
Rockets in the background of the Valkyries - unfulfilled future.
However, in February 1961, John F. Kennedy became the new president of the United States, and Robert McNamara, the former head of the Ford automobile company, became his new secretary of defense. McNamara, for the sake of budgetary savings, made all promising developments a fun life. He closed almost all projects or reduced funding.
Even attempts to develop a reusable triple spacecraft similar to the Pye Wacket shape (which could extend the life of the rocket project) have not yielded any results. "Flying Saucer" found full life only in the novel of aviation historian Stuart Slade "Flight of the Valkyries". And if the documents about the project were not declassified these days, hundreds of readers would have considered the miracle rocket a product of the author's imagination.
I wonder what other fantastic projects, known to us only from books and films, are gathering dust on the shelves with classified documents? We can only guess.
Evgeny Belash