R-12 Dvina
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The R-12 Dvina was a theatre ballistic missile developed and deployed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It as given the NATO reporting name SS-4 Sandal and carried the industrial designation 8K63. It was designed by OKB-586 under Mihail Kuzmich Yangel (Dnepropetrovsk).
This single stage missile, powered by a storable, liquid propellants, was officially introduced into the Soviet arsenal in March 1959. It is in effect an advanced version of the R-5 or SS-3 Shyster. It was primarily designed to be used in a counter-strategic capacity, that is, against large economic/civilian targets. It was armed with either a high explosive warhead or a 1 megaton nuclear warhead.
As originally designed, the missile was fired from soft surface launchers. However, a later refinement to the design (the R-12U, first tested in 1961) was fired from both surface launchers and hardened silos. The liquid-fuelled rocket could be held in a state of high alert for some hours (when used with surface launchers) or even days (in the silo configuration).
It is notable for being the missile that caused the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. It was orginally guided by radio command but by 1962 it was changed to a simple inertial guidance. It was deployed in large numbers with field armies. But by 1977 the missile began to be phased out to be replaced by the RT-21M Pioneer (NATO reporting name SS-20). The last R-12U was destroyed in 1990.
General Characteristics
- Length: 22.4m (73.5ft)
- Diameter: 1.65m (5.5ft)
- Launch Weight: 27,000 kg (59,536lb)
- Guidance: Inertial
- Propulsion: single-stage liquid
- Warhead: HE or 1MT nuclear
- Range: 2000km (1250 miles)
See also
External link:
References
- Hogg, Ian (2000). Twentieth-Century Artillery. Friedman/Fairfax Publishers. ISBN 1-58663-299-X
| Russian and former Soviet surface-to-surface missiles |
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The SS designation sequence: SS-1 Scud | SS-2 Sibling | SS-3 Shyster | SS-4 Sandal | SS-5 Skean | SS-6 Sapwood | SS-7 Saddler | SS-8 Sasin | SS-9 Scarp | SS-10 Scrag | SS-11 Sego | SS-12 Scaleboard | SS-13 Savage | SS-14 ScampScapegoat | SS-15 Scrooge | SS-16 Sinner | SS-17 Spanker | SS-18 Satan | SS-19 Stiletto | SS-20 Saber | SS-21 Scarab | SS-22 Scaleboard | SS-23 Spider | SS-24 Scalpel | SS-25 Sickle | SS-26 ? | SS-27 ? | |
| List of Russian and former Soviet missiles Missiles |
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