LACROSSE MISSILE SSP

The MGM-18 Lacrosse is an American-class, US-based surface-to-ground missile from the Cold War period. Its first prototypes appeared in the early 1950s, and serial production continued in 1957-1960. In total, around 1,200 missiles of this type were produced. The length of the missile was 5.8 meters with a wingspan of 2.7 meters. The maximum range was up to 20 kilometers, while the weight of the conventional warhead was 245 kilograms. The MGM-18 Lacrosse was originally developed for the needs of the US Marine Corps, which saw the missile as a possibility of providing direct fire support to combatants after leaving the Marines landing areas. What's more, the possibility of using a tactical nuclear warhead in the MGM-18 was also to enable precise and effective destruction of surface targets. Initially, the work was carried out quite slowly, but the Korean War (1950-1953) significantly accelerated the work on the MGM-18. The first unit armed with these missiles reached operational readiness in 1959. In the course of service, however, it turned out that the Lacrosse is very susceptible to interference with the steering system, which led to its rapid replacement (by 1964) in the line by the MGR-1 Honest missile John.