SSM-N-8 Regulus
Encyclopedia
The SSM-N-8A Regulus was a ship and submarine launched, nuclear armed cruise missile
Cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy...

 deployed by the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 from 1955 to 1964.

Design and development

In October 1943, Chance Vought
Vought
Vought is the name of several related aerospace firms. These have included, in the past, Lewis and Vought Corporation, Chance Vought, Vought Sikorsky, LTV Aerospace , Vought Aircraft Companies, and the current Vought Aircraft Industries. The first incarnation of Vought was established by Chance M...

 Aircraft Company signed a study contract for a 300 miles (482.8 km) range missile to carry a 4000 pounds (1,814.4 kg) warhead. The project stalled for four years, however, until May 1947, when the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....

 awarded Martin Aircraft Company a contract for a turbojet powered subsonic missile, the Matador
MGM-1 Matador
The Martin MGM-1 Matador was the first operational surface-to-surface cruise missile built by the United States. It was similar in concept to the German V-1, but the Matador included a radio link that allowed in-flight course corrections. This allowed accuracy to be maintained over greatly extended...

. The Navy saw Matador as a threat to its role in guided missiles and, within days, started a Navy development program for a missile that could be launched from a submarine and use the same J33 engine as the Matador. In August 1947, the specifications for the project, now named "Regulus," were issued: Carry a 3000 pounds (1,360.8 kg) warhead, to a range of 500 nautical miles (926 km), at Mach 0.85, with a circular error probable
Circular error probable
In the military science of ballistics, circular error probable is an intuitive measure of a weapon system's precision...

 (CEP) of 0.5% of the range. At its extreme range the missile had to hit within 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) of its target 50% of the time.

The design was 30 feet (9.1 m) long, 10 feet (3 m) in wingspan, 4 feet (1.2 m) in diameter, and would weigh between 10000 and 12000 lb (4,535.9 and 5,443.1 kg) After launch, it would be guided toward its target by two control stations. (Later, with the "Trounce" system, one submarine could guide it).

Army-Navy competition complicated both the Matador's and the Regulus' developments. The missiles looked alike and used the same engine. They had nearly identical performances, schedules, and costs. Under pressure to reduce defense spending, the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

 ordered the Navy to determine if Matador could be adapted for their use. The Navy concluded that the Navy's Regulus could perform the Navy mission better.

Regulus did have advantages over Matador. It required only two guidance stations while Matador required three. It could also be launched quicker, as Matador's boosters had to be fitted while the missile was on the launcher while Regulus was stowed with its boosters attached. Finally, Chance Vought built a recoverable version of the missile, so that even though a Regulus test vehicle was more expensive than a Matador to build, Regulus was cheaper to use over a series of tests. The Navy program continued, and the first Regulus flew in March 1951.

The SSM-N-9 Regulus II missile was a completely new design with improved guidance and double the range which was intended to replace the Regulus I missile. Regulus II-equipped boats and ships would have been fitted out with the Ships Inertial Navigation System (SINS), allowing the missiles to be aligned accurately before take-off.

Forty-eight test-flights of Regulus II prototypes were carried out, 30 of which were successful, 14 partially successful and only four failures. A production contract was signed in January 1958 and the only submarine launch was carried out from the USS Grayback (SSG-574)
USS Grayback (SSG-574)
USS Grayback , the lead ship of her class of submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the grayback, a small herring of great commercial importance in the Great Lakes....

 in September 1958.

Due to the high cost of the Regulus II (approx one million dollars each), budgetary pressure, and the emergence of the UGM-27 Polaris
UGM-27 Polaris
The Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fuel nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile built during the Cold War by Lockheed Corporation of California for the United States Navy....

 SLBM (submarine launched ballistic missile), the Regulus II program was canceled on 18 December 1958 by Secretary of the Navy Thomas S. Gates. At the time of cancellation Vought had completed twenty Regulus II missiles with 27 more on the production line. Production of Regulus I missiles continued until January 1959 with delivery of the 514th missile, and it was removed from service in August 1964.

Ships fitted with Regulus

The first launch from a submarine occurred in July 1953 from the deck of USS Tunny (SSG-282), a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 fleet boat modified to carry Regulus. Tunny and her sister boat USS Barbero (SSG-317) were the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

's first nuclear deterrent patrol submarines. They were joined in 1958 by two purpose built Regulus submarines, USS Grayback (SSG-574)
USS Grayback (SSG-574)
USS Grayback , the lead ship of her class of submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the grayback, a small herring of great commercial importance in the Great Lakes....

, USS Growler (SSG-577)
USS Growler (SSG-577)
USS Growler , an early cruise missile submarine of the Grayback class, was the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the growler, a large-mouth black bass.-Construction and training:...

, and, later, by the nuclear powered USS Halibut (SSGN-587)
USS Halibut (SSGN-587)
USS Halibut , a unique guided missile submarine turned special operations platform, later redesignated as an attack submarine SSN-587, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the halibut.-Operational history:...

]. So that no target would be left uncovered, four Regulus missiles had to be at sea at any given time. Thus, Barbero and Tunny, each of which carried two Regulus missiles, patrolled simultaneously. Growler and Grayback, with four missiles, or Halibut, with five, could patrol alone. These five submarines made 40 Regulus strategic deterrent patrols between October 1959 and July 1964, when they were relieved by the George Washington class submarines
George Washington class submarine
The George Washington class was a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines deployed by the United States Navy. The Navy ordered a class of nuclear-powered submarines armed with long-range strategic missiles on 31 December 1957, and tasked Electric Boat with converting two existing...

 carrying the Polaris missile system. Barbero also earned the distinction (and undying fame among philatelists
Philately
Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...

) of launching the only delivery of Missile Mail.

Regulus was deployed by the US Navy in 1955 in the Pacific on board the cruiser USS Los Angeles (CA-135)
USS Los Angeles (CA-135)
The third USS Los Angeles was a Baltimore class heavy cruiser, laid down by the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, on 28 July 1943 and launched on 20 August 1944. She was sponsored by Mrs. Fletcher Bowron and commissioned on 22 July 1945, with Capt. John A...

. In 1956, three more followed: USS Macon (CA-132)
USS Macon (CA-132)
USS Macon , a Baltimore-class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy was laid down on 14 June 1943 by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, New Jersey; launched on 15 October 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Charles F...

, USS Toledo (CA-133)
USS Toledo (CA-133)
USS Toledo was a Baltimore-class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy active during the Korean War.Toledo was laid down on 13 September 1943 at Camden, New Jersey, by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, launched on 6 May 1945, sponsored by Mrs Edward J. Moan, and commissioned at the...

, and USS Helena (CA-75)
USS Helena (CA-75)
The USS Helena , a Baltimore-class heavy cruiser, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the city of Helena, Montana. She was named Helena while building after the cancellation of CL-113....

. These four Baltimore class cruisers
Baltimore class cruiser
The Baltimore class cruiser was a type of heavy cruiser in the United States Navy from the last years of the Second World War. Fast and heavily armed, ships like the Baltimore cruisers were mainly used by the Navy in World War II to protect the fast aircraft carriers in carrier battle groups...

 each carried three Regulus missiles on operational patrols in the Western Pacific. Macon’s last Regulus patrol was in 1958, Toledo’s in 1959, Helena’s in 1960, and Los Angeles’s in 1961.

Ten aircraft carriers were configured to carry and launch Regulus missiles (though only six ever actually launched one). USS Princeton (CV-37)
USS Princeton (CV-37)
USS Princeton was one of 24 s built during and shortly after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the fifth US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for the Revolutionary War Battle of Princeton...

 did not deploy with the missile but conducted the first launch of a Regulus from a warship. USS Saratoga (CVA-60) also did not deploy but was involved in two demonstration launches. USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) and USS Lexington (CV-16)
USS Lexington (CV-16)
USS Lexington , known as "The Blue Ghost", is one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship, the fifth US Navy ship to bear the name, is named in honor of the Revolutionary War Battle of Lexington...

 each conducted one test launch. USS Randolph (CV-15)
USS Randolph (CV-15)
USS Randolph was one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. The second US Navy ship to bear the name, she was named for Peyton Randolph, president of the First Continental Congress. Randolph was commissioned in October 1944, and served in several campaigns in the Pacific...

 deployed to the Mediterranean carrying three Regulus missiles. USS Hancock (CV-19)
USS Hancock (CV-19)
USS Hancock was one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for John Hancock, president of the Second Continental Congress and first governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...

 deployed once to the Western Pacific with four missiles in 1955. Lexington, Hancock, USS Shangri-La (CV-38)
USS Shangri-La (CV-38)
USS Shangri-La was one of 24 s completed during or shortly after World War II for the United States Navy.Commissioned in 1944, Shangri-La participated in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations in World War II, earning two battle stars...

, and USS Ticonderoga (CV-14)
USS Ticonderoga (CV-14)
USS Ticonderoga was one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for historic Fort Ticonderoga, which played a role in the American Revolutionary War...

 were involved in the development of the Regulus Assault Mission (RAM) concept. RAM converted the Regulus cruise missiles into an unmanned aerial vehicle
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...

 (UAV): Regulus missiles would be launched from cruisers or submarines, and once in flight, guided to their targets by carrier-based pilots with remote control equipment.

Replacement and legacy

Production of Regulus was phased out in January 1959 with delivery of the 514th missile, and it was removed from service in August 1964. A number of the obsolete missiles were expended as targets at Eglin Air Force Base
Eglin Air Force Base
Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 3 miles southwest of Valparaiso, Florida in Okaloosa County....

, Florida. Regulus not only provided the first nuclear strategic deterrence force for the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 during the first years of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

 and especially during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...

, preceding the Polaris missile
UGM-27 Polaris
The Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fuel nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile built during the Cold War by Lockheed Corporation of California for the United States Navy....

s, Poseidon missile
UGM-73 Poseidon
The Poseidon missile was the second US Navy ballistic missile system, powered by a two-stage solid fuel rocket. It succeeded the Polaris missile beginning in 1972, bringing major advances in warheads and accuracy...

s, and Trident missiles that followed, but it also was the forerunner of the Tomahawk cruise missile
BGM-109 Tomahawk
The Tomahawk is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile. Introduced by General Dynamics in the 1970s, it was designed as a medium- to long-range, low-altitude missile that could be launched from a surface platform. It has been improved several times and, by way of corporate divestitures...

.

Surviving examples

The following museums in the United States have Regulus missiles on display as part of their collections:

Carolinas Aviation Museum
Carolinas Aviation Museum
The Carolinas Aviation Museum is an aviation museum on the grounds of Charlotte/Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina. The mission of the Museum is to educate the public about the importance of aviation to our society and inspire the next generation to excel academically in the...

, Charlotte, North Carolina
A 1956 Chance-Vought SSM-N-9a Regulus II
Chance-Vought SSM-N-9a Regulus II
The SSM-N-9 Regulus II cruise missile was designed as a supersonic cruise missile armed with a nuclear warhead, for launch from surface ships and submarines of the United States Navy .-History:...

 cruise missile (Serial 67195) can also be seen ready for launch at the Carolinas Aviation Museum
Carolinas Aviation Museum
The Carolinas Aviation Museum is an aviation museum on the grounds of Charlotte/Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina. The mission of the Museum is to educate the public about the importance of aviation to our society and inspire the next generation to excel academically in the...

 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Regulus in Charlotte is mounted on a very rare launching stand designed to enable the missile to be launched via catapult from an aircraft carrier. This missile was previously on display at the now closed Florence Air and Missile Museum in Florence, South Carolina. This Regulus was fully restored in the fall of 2006 after having been on outdoor display for a number of years.

Frontiers of Flight Museum, Dallas Love Field, Texas
A Regulus II missile

Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum
Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum
The Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum is a military and maritime history museum with a collection of museum ships in New York City. It is located at Pier 86 at 46th Street on the West Side of Manhattan. The museum showcases the World War II aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, the submarine , a Concorde...

, New York City, New York
A Regulus I cruise missile can be seen ready for simulated launch on board USS Growler (SSG-577)
USS Growler (SSG-577)
USS Growler , an early cruise missile submarine of the Grayback class, was the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the growler, a large-mouth black bass.-Construction and training:...

 at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum
Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum
The Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum is a military and maritime history museum with a collection of museum ships in New York City. It is located at Pier 86 at 46th Street on the West Side of Manhattan. The museum showcases the World War II aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, the submarine , a Concorde...

 in New York City.

Point Mugu Missile Park, Naval Air Station Point Mugu
Naval Air Station Point Mugu
Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu or NBVC Point Mugu is a military airbase located in Point Mugu, Ventura County, California, United States. Due to realignment actions which occurred in 2000, the base is now part of Naval Base Ventura County , a consolidated organization that also includes...

, California
The museum's collection includes both a Regulus and a Regulus II missile

USS Bowfin Museum, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Veterans Memorial Museum, Huntsville, Alabama
A Regulus II missile

Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...

, National Air and Space Museum
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...

A Regulus I is on display at the museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum 's annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia, United States....


New Jersey Naval Museum, Hackensack, NJ - Regulus Missile with engine intact
US Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility
Pacific Missile Range Facility
The Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands is a U.S. Naval facility and airport located five nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Kekaha, in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States....

, Barking Sands, island of Kauai, Hawaii
A Regulus I beautifully restored in 2011 is on static display just inside the North Gate

Description

The Regulus missile was a large turbojet powered missile. Its barrel-shaped fuselage resembled that of numerous fighter aircraft designs of the era, but without any cockpit. Its swept wings and rear fin were also smaller than those of most aircraft, while additionally, when the missile was ready for launch, it was fitted with two large booster rockets on the aft end of the fuselage.

Variants

A second generation supersonic Vought Regulus II cruise missile with a range of 1,200 nautical miles (2,200 km) and a speed of Mach 2 was developed and successfully tested, but the program was canceled in favor of the Polaris ballistic nuclear missile.

Operators

: The Regulus was only used by the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

, with whom it served from 1955 to 1964.

External links

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