DF-2

First Chinese IRBM. The starting point for the design were R-12 construction drawings and a single exemplar of the missile provided by the Soviet Union prior to the break with Moscow in 1960. Following protracted development the design was accepted by the Chinese military for service in 1970.

Manufacturer: CALT. Launches: 6. Failures: 1. Success Rate: 83.33%. First Launch Date: 1962-03-21. Last Launch Date: 1966-10-27. Launch data is: incomplete. Apogee: 200 km (120 mi). Liftoff Thrust: 300.000 kN (67,440 lbf). Total Mass: 31,900 kg (70,300 lb). Core Diameter: 1.65 m (5.41 ft). Total Length: 20.61 m (67.61 ft). Span: 2.13 m (6.98 ft).

Single stage missile with the objective of carrying a 1500 kg warhead to Japan.

The first launch failure in 1962 led to a two year delay and a complete redesign.

Liftoff Thrust: 300.000 kN (67,440 lbf). Core Diameter: 1.65 m (5.41 ft). Total Length: 20.60 m (67.50 ft). Standard warhead mass: 1,500 kg (3,300 lb). Maximum range: 1,050 km (650 mi). Boost Propulsion: Storable liquid rocket. Guidance: Radio command.

Extended-range version of DF-2. The missile featured reduced thrust, but 20% more range, and used autonomous gyroscopic guidance in place of the DF-2's radio system.

Manufacturer: Tsien. Apogee: 200 km (120 mi). Total Mass: 31,900 kg (70,300 lb). Core Diameter: 1.65 m (5.41 ft). Total Length: 20.61 m (67.61 ft). Span: 2.13 m (6.98 ft). Standard warhead mass: 1,500 kg (3,300 lb). Maximum range: 1,250 km (770 mi). Number Standard Warheads: 1. Standard warhead yield: 20 KT. Standard warhead CEP: 3.71 km (2.30 mi). Boost Propulsion: Storable liquid rocket. Guidance: Gyroscope platform. Total Number Built: 50.

1958 September 19 - Launch Vehicle: R-2, DF-1, DF-2, DF-3 Tsien.

• Missile development plans set. Nation: China. Program: Long March. Fifth Academy finalizes plan to proceed development of indigenous Dong Feng missiles (original DF-1, DF-2, DF-3 designations) References: 87.

• Decision to withhold R-12 and nuclear warhead drawing package from China over Sidewinder affair Nation: China. Spacecraft: Project 581. The Soviet Central Committee advises China it will not provide prototype or drawings of atomic bombs as agreed previously. Khrushchev promised China that he would provide the drawing package for the R-12 IRBM as soon as testing was completed. However then came the affair of the Sidewinder. At the end of 1958 or early 1959 a complete missile fell into the hands of the Chinese. They promised to provide it to the Russians, but then dragged their feet. They were finally told in February 1959 that unless they provided the Sidewinder, they would not be given the R-12 package. The missile was finally delivered but it was found that the key crystal in the infrared homing sensor was missing. The Chinese had also been caught disassembling a P-15 cruise missile at a training facility in China. It had taken the Russian trainers two days to get it reassembled correctly. Therefore on June 20 1959 the decision was taken not to transfer the R-12 or the promised nuclear warhead design to China.

  The Soviets created a new design bureau to copy the Sidewinder. Fabrication of the crystal for the infrared sensor was the main obstacle. The initial production batches had a 99% rejection rate. A state commission was set up to get to the bottom of the problem, but couldn’t find a solution. The main problem seemed to be low-quality ore provided by the mines.References: 87.

• Soviet/China break. Nation: China. In the preceding months relations between the Soviet advisors and Chinese engineers had been strained by increasing Soviet secrecy. The Russians catch Chinese students at the Moscow Aviation Institute stealing restricted missile data. Finally Khrushchev declared the suspension of military assistance to China. All 1,343 Soviet specialists are withdrawn from the Fifth Academy in Beijing and return to Russia. They leave behind 343 uncompleted contracts. A total of 257 technical development projects were cancelled as a result.

• Last Russian advisers leave China. Nation: China. Program: Long March. The last Russian technical advisers are withdrawn from China. References: 87.

• Test mission Nation: China. Agency: PRC. First DF-2 launch attempt. The rocket impacted the earth after only 69 seconds of flight. Fundamental design errors were discovered in calculating flexing of the rocket in flight, placement of the guidance system, and engine mounting. The missile was completely redesigned for reduced thrust.References: 398.

• Test mission Nation: China. Agency: PRC. Apogee: 200 km (120 mi). This followed a two-year complete redesign and test program following the first launch failure in 1962. The reduced-thrust missile had a range of 1050 km with a 1550 kg warhead, barely enough to reach Japan. References: 398.

• Test mission Nation: China. Agency: PRC. Apogee: 200 km (120 mi). References: 398.

• Test mission Nation: China. Agency: PRC. Apogee: 200 km (120 mi). References: 398.

• Chinese missiles redesignated and new development plan adopted. Nation: China. Program: Long March. Tsien had conducted a series of meetings with the Chinese leadership during the year to redefine China's missile development plans. There are clashes between Tsien, who favours an American engineering approach, and his staff, who were trained in Russian and favour the Soviet approach. Finally the missiles were defined by their target objectives, and a new development plan was adopted, with definite goals. The 1059 missile (copy of Russian R-2) was redesignated DF-1. The DF-2 was to be improved to carry an atomic bomb to a range sufficient to hit Japan. The DF-3 ICBM was cancelled, and the new DF-3 project would involve development of a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the Philippines (earlier referred to as the DF-1). The DF-4 was to be capable of hitting Guam, and the DF-5 would be an ICBM capable of reaching the United States. The DF-2, DF-3 and DF-4 would use strap-down accelerometer guidance packages, while the DF-5 was to be equipped with a full-fledged inertial guidance unit.References: 87.

• First Chinese atomic bomb tested. Nation: China. Program: Long March. The warhead had a yield of 20 kilotons. References: 87.

• Go-ahead for DF-2A. Nation: China. Program: Long March. Decision to proceed with DF-2A extended range version of DF-2 References: 87.

• First successful test of DF-2A. Nation: China. Agency: PRC. Apogee: 200 km (120 mi). First launch of redesigned DF-2. The flight demonstrated a 20% improvement in range for the same 1500 kg payload, and replaced the radio guidance of the DF-2 with an autonoumous gyroscopic system.

• Nuclear test mission Nation: China. Program: Long March. Agency: PRC. Apogee: 200 km (120 mi). DF-2A launched with a 1290 kg, 12 kt warhead from Jiuquan flew over a range of 800 km to Lop Nor, where the warhead successfully exploded. The Ninth Academy was responsible for development of the nuclear package. Tsien protégé Guo Yonghuai was the liaison between the Fifth and Ninth Academies for the development.References: 87, 398.

• McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page, Harvard University, 1997-present. Jonathan McDowell's complete on-line listing of all objects orbited and over 20,000 rocket launches Accessed at: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.

• Chang, Iris, Thread of the Silkworm, Basic Books, New York, 1995. ISBN: 0465006787. The story of how America, in the grip of McCarthyism, expelled the Father of Chinese Rocketry from CalTech to his homeland. A relatively small event with great consquences. More at amazon.com...

• Natural Resources Defense Council, Nuclear Weapons Databook 5: British, French and Chinese Nuclear Weapons, Ballinger Publishing, 1990.