The ASM-N-5 Gorgon V was an unpowered air-to-surface missile, developed by the Glenn L. Martin Company during the early 1950s for use by the United States Navy as a chemical weapon delivery vehicle. Developed from the earlier PTV-N-2 Gorgon IV test vehicle, the program was cancelled without any Gorgon Vs seeing service.
Design and development
The Gorgon V project was begun in 1950 to develop an air-to-surface missile capable of dispersing chemical warfare agents over a combat area.[1] Designing of the missile was contracted to the Glenn L. Martin Company, which used the company's earlier PTV-N-2 Gorgon IV ramjet test missile as a basis for the weapon's design.[1] The Gorgon V was to be a long slender missile, with swept wings and conventional tail.[1] The Gorgon IV's ramjet engine, slung beneath the missile's tail, was replaced in the Gorgon V with a X14A aerosol generator, developed by the Edo Aircraft Corporation.[2][N 1]
Operational use of the Gorgon V was intended to be based on two missiles being carried by a launching aircraft.[2] These would be released at an altitude of 35,000 feet (11,000 m). The Gorgon V would be piloted by autopilot in a high-subsonic dive.[2][N 2] Upon reaching an altitude of 500 feet (150 m) or less, as measured by a radar altimeter, the aerosol generator would be activated, dispersing chemical agent over an area of up to 12 mi (20 km) by 5.6 mi (9 km).[1]
Development of the Gorgon V continued throughout the Korean War. In 1953 it was projected that the weapon would be ready for operational service by 1955.[2] Later that year, the Gorgon V was cancelled by the US Navy.[5] It is unknown if any prototypes were constructed before the termination of the project.[1]
References
Notes
- ^ One source suggests that ASM-N-5 was intended to be a ramjet-powered, low-altitude, high-speed weapon.[3]
- ^ One source indicates that the weapon may have been command-guided based on a television signal from the missile.[4]
Citations
Bibliography
- Fahey, James Charles (1958). The Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet (7 ed.). Washington, D.C.: Ships and Aircraft Publishers. ISBN 9780870216466. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
- Friedman, Norman (1982). U.S. Naval Weapons: every gun, missile, mine, and torpedo used by the U.S. Navy from 1883 to the present day. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-735-7.
- Gunston, Bill (1979). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Rockets & Missiles. London: Salamander Books. ISBN 0-517-26870-1.
- Ordway, Frederick Ira; Ronald C. Wakeford (1960). International Missile and Spacecraft Guide. New York: McGraw-Hill. ASIN B000MAEGVC.
- Parsch, Andreas (4 January 2005). "Martin ASM-N-5 Gorgon V (and other NAMU Gorgon variants)". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 1: Early Missiles and Drones. Designation-Systems. Retrieved 2011-02-11.