AGM-28 Hound Dog
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| AGM-28 "Hound Dog" | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Hound Dog missile in flight | |
| Type | air-launched nuclear stand-off missile |
| Manufacturer | North American Aviation |
| Maiden flight | April 1959 |
| Introduced | December 1959 |
| Retired | 1976 |
| Primary user | United States Air Force |
| Number built | ~700 |
The North American AGM-28 Hound Dog was the first air-launched nuclear stand-off missile deployed by the United States.
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[edit] Development
The development of the nuclear stand-off missile was initiated by the USAF in 1956. Initially known as Weapon System 131B, it was intended to give Strategic Air Command heavy bombers the ability to attack the Soviet Union targets from outside Red airspace. The first powered flight of the prototype missile, designated XGAM-77, was made in April 1959. The missile's engine, airframe, and warhead were straightforward adaptations of existing technology, so the weapon's development period was quite short, and the production GAM-77 entered operational service in December 1959. It received the popular name Hound Dog, apparently inspired by the contemporary hit song by Elvis Presley.
Hound Dog was essentially an unpiloted jet airplane with small delta wings and forward canards . It was powered by a single Pratt & Whitney J-52-P-3 turbojet in a ventral pod beneath the rear fuselage, with 7,500 lb. (33 kN) thrust. It used inertial navigation for guidance, with heading updates provided by astro-trackers mounted in the launch pylon. The W28 warhead (the same as the B28 nuclear bomb) had an explosive yield of 1.1 megatons. The missile's maximum range was about 700 miles (1,100 km).
The Hound Dog was the first aircraft or missile in the Air Force inventory to have a totally "solid state" guidance & flight control system; no vacuum tubes of any kind were used in the GAM-77 guidance and flight control system. The GAM-77A had a two radar tubes for transmission and reception of the ground avoidance system radar signal. The terrain avoidance system was a forward facing microwave radar.
[edit] Operational Service
The Hound Dog was carried by B-52 Stratofortress bombers; the B-52D, B-52 E, B-52F, B-52G and B-52H were fitted with provision for the large under wing pylons to launch the weapons, each bomber normally carrying one under each wing. The Hound Dog's fuel tanks, interestingly, could be topped up from the B-52's own fuel supply, and during takeoff its engines could be used as auxiliary booster engines for the bomber. The missile's inertial navigation system (INS) could be used as a backup system for determining the aircraft's position after the initial calibration and "leveling" which took a minimum of 90 minutes.
The original GAM-77 had three flight profiles available:
- a. High Altitude Attack, where it flew at high altitude (up to 55,000 feet depending on amount of fuel on board) all the way to the target, then dived down to detonation altitude for the weapon,
- b. Low Altitude Attack, where it flew at a low barometric pressure altitude of up to 5,000 feet to the target, then detonated the weapon, which had the problem that the missile had to be launched over terrain that never exceeded the flight altitude (or you blew up a hill/mountain instead of the target),
or
- c. Dog Leg Attack, where it flew a designated heading (high or low) to a specific location, then turned to a new heading to the target and detonated the weapon over the target either by diving (if it was a High Altitude Flight) or simply detonation if low altitude.
The original GAM-77 could be launched from the B-52 mother ship at high altitude or low altitude (not below 5,000 feet). This made several "attack profiles" for flights available: High launch/High flight, High launch/Low flight, Low launch/High flight, and Low launch/Low flight. As well as adding a "Dog Leg" in any of these launch/flight combinations.
The GAM-77 was subsequently upgraded to GAM-77A standard, with improved astro-trackers mounted in launch pylon (to better update the INS navigation system before launch), and the major improvement, which was a radar altimeter which allowed terrain following, as low as 100 feet altitude above the ground. This made the missile virtually impossible to stop or find on radar. The upgrade made possible several different altitude profiles, such as high altitude launch/high altitude cruise (high/high) or high altitude launch/high altitude cruise followed by a descent to terrain following cruise (high/high/low). Other options were high/low, low/high, low/low and low/high.
The Hound Dog was, in a head on aspect, almost "stealthy" as there were no flat surfaces that reflected radar "back" to the seeking aircraft or ground radar site. In fact, the Hound Dog is sometimes referred to as the first "stealth" missile.
In June 1963 the GAM-77 and GAM-77A were redesignated AGM-28A and AGM-28B, respectively. An updated AGM-28C, with improved guidance, was proposed in the early 1970s, but never built. It would have had improved navigation (with an on board astro-tracker), weighed less, and had additional radar absorbent material included.
[edit] Retirement
A total of about 700 Hound Dogs were produced. They were intended to be replaced by the AGM-48 Skybolt, which did not enter service. The last Hound Dogs were retired in 1976.
They were replaced on SAC's B-52s by the AGM-69 SRAM missile, twelve SRAMS, six under each wing on pylons, rather than two Hound Dogs (one under each wing on pylons). Additional SRAM missiles could be carried in the bomb bay as well.
[edit] Service history
[edit] Numbers in Service
The number of AGM-28 missiles in service, by year:
| 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 |
| 1 | 54 | 230 | 547 | 593 | 593 | 542 | 548 | 477 | 312 | 349 | 345 | 340 | 338 | 329 | 327 | 308 | 288 | 249 | 0 |
[edit] Units using the Hound Dog[1]
- 5th Bombardment Wing, Heavy - Travis AFB, California
- 23d Bombardment Squadron
- 6th Bombardment Wing, Heavy - Walker AFB, New Mexico
- 40th Bombardment Squadron
- 11th Bombardment Wing, Heavy - Altus AFB, Oklahoma
- 26th Bombardment Squadron
19th Bombardment Wing, Heavy - Homestead AFB, Florida
-
- 28th Bombardment Squadron
28th Bombardment Wing, Heavy - Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota
-
- 77th Bombardment Squadron AGM-28
- 42d Bombardment Wing, Heavy - Loring AFB, Maine
- 69th Bombardment Squadron
- 70th Bombardment Squadron
- 72d Bombardment Wing, Heavy - Ramey AFB, Puerto Rico
- 60th Bombardment Squadron
- 92d Bombardment Wing, Heavy - Fairchild AFB, Washington
- 325th Bombardment Squadron
- 97th Bombardment Wing, Heavy - Blytheville AFB, Arkansas
- 340th Bombardment Squadron
- 379th Bombardment Wing, Heavy - Wurtsmith AFB, Michigan
- 524th Bombardment Squadron
- 4038th Strategic Wing
- 341st Bombardment Squadron - Dow AFB, ME
- 4039th Strategic Wing
- 75th Bombardment Squadron - Griffiss AFB, NY
- 4042nd Strategic Wing
- 526th Bombardment Squadron - K.I. Sawyer AFB, MI
- 4043rd Strategic Wing
- 42nd Bombardment Squadron - Wright-Patterson AFB, OH
- 4047th Strategic Wing
- 347th Bombardment Squadron - McCoy AFB, FL
- 4123rd Strategic Wing
- 98th Bombardment Squadron - Clinton-Sherman AFB, OK
- 4126th Strategic Wing
- 31st Bombardment Squadron - Beale AFB, CA
- 4130th Strategic Wing
- 335th Bombardment Squadron - Bergstrom AFB, TX
- 4133rd Strategic Wing
- 30th Bombardment Squadron - Grand Forks AFB, ND
- 4134th Strategic Wing
- 72nd Bombardment Squadron - Mather AFB, CA
- 4135th Strategic Wing
- 301st Bombardment Squadron - Eglin AFB, FL
- 4136th Strategic Wing
- 525th Bombardment Squadron - Minot AFB, ND
- 4137th Strategic Wing
- 342nd Bombardment Squadron - Robins AFB, GA
- 4138th Strategic Wing
- 336th Bombardment Squadron - Turner AFB, GA
- 4228th Strategic Wing
- 492nd Bombardment Squadron - Columbus AFB, MS
- 4238th Strategic Wing
- 436th Bombardment Squadron - Barksdale AFB, LA
- 4239th Strategic Wing
- 93rd Bombardment Squadron - Kincheloe AFB, MI
- 4241st Strategic Wing
- 73rd Bombardment Squadron - Seymour Johnson AFB, NC
[edit] Survivors
Below is a list of museums which have a Hound Dog missile in their collection or locations where a static display exists:
- National Museum of the United States Air Force - Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
- Air Force Space and Missile Museum - Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
- Air Force Armament Museum - Eglin Air Force Base, Florida
- Travis Air Museum - Travis Air Force Base, California
- Minot AFB Housing - Minot AFB, North Dakota
- White Sands Missile Range Missile Park - White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico
(The above list is incomplete, please help us complete this list)
[edit] Specifications (AGM-28)
This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.General characteristics
- Length: 42 ft 6 in (12.95 m)
- Wingspan: 12 ft (3.66 m)
- Height: ()
- Loaded weight: 10,000 lb (4,500 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney J52-6 turbojet, 7,500 lbf (33 kN)
- Diameter: 28 in (0.71 m)
Performance
- Maximum speed: Mach 2.1 (1,600 mph / 2570 km/h)
- Range: 700 miles (1,100 km)
- Service ceiling: 55,000 ft (16,800 m)
- CEP: 13,000 feet
Armament
- 1 × W28 thermonuclear bomb (1.1 MT)
Avionics
Inertial guidance with astro-tracker heading correction
[edit] References
- ^ [Dorr, R. & Peacock, L. (2000). B-52 Stratofortress: Boeing's Cold War Warrior. Osprey Aviation: Great Britain. ISBN: 1-84176-097-8]
[edit] Related content
Comparable missiles
Designation sequence
|
LGM-25 I | - AIM-26 - UGM-27 - AGM-28 - MGM-29 - LGM-30 - MGM-31 |
| LGM-25 II |
Related lists
See also
Timeline of aviation
Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines
Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft
Notable military accidents and incidents · Notable airline accidents and incidents · Famous aviation-related deaths
Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft
