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Air-to-air missile. Year: 1952. IOC: 1952. Country: USA. Department of Defence Designation: AAM-N-5. Cancelled 1954 Historical Essay © Andreas Parsch MIT/Bell AAM-N-5 Meteor In November 1945, the U.S. Navy Bureau of Ordnance awarded the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) a missile development contract under the project name Meteor. The initial studies covered both surface-to-air and air-to-air missile components, and various types of propulsion (solid rocket, liquid rocket, ramjet) were considered. Eventually only the air-to-air missile was selected for development under the designation AAM-N-5, and Bell was selected to develop and build the airframe. The first XAAM-N-5 prototypes were launched in July 1948 from JD-1 Invader aircraft, and test launches from fighters (F3D Skynight) began in 1951. The XAAM-N-5 used a solid-propellant booster and a liquid-fueled sustainer rocket, and was guided by a semi-active radar homing system. For flight stabilization and control, the Meteor had fixed cruciform tail fins and forward-mounted control wings. It reached a speed of more than Mach 2 and range is quoted as up to 40 km (25 miles), although the latter figure was probably only valid for head-on engagements under optimum conditions. The missile was equipped with an 11 kg (25 lb) blast-fragmentation warhead. The AAM-N-5 development program was cancelled in 1953, presumably because the contemporary AAM-N-2/AIM-7 Sparrow was a more promising missile. SpecificationsNote: Data given by several sources show slight variations. Figures given below may therefore be inaccurate! Data for XAAM-N-5: | Length (w/o booster) | 2.90 m (9 ft 6 in); booster: 1.35 m (4 ft 5.25 in) | | Wingspan | 0.75 m (2 ft 5.4 in) | | Finspan | 1.02 m (3 ft 4.25 in) | | Diameter | 21 cm (8.25 in); booster: 22.6 cm (8.9 in) | | Weight (w/o booster) | 177 kg (390 lb); booster: 86 kg (190 lb) | | Speed | > Mach 2 | | Range | 40 km (25 miles) | | Propulsion | Sustainer: Liquid-fueled rocket; booster: solid-fueled rocket | | Warhead | 11 kg (25 lb) blast-fragmentation | Main Sources[1] Norman Friedman: "US Naval Weapons", Conway Maritime Press, 1983
[2] Frederick I. Ordway III, Ronald C. Wakeford: "International Missile and Spacecraft Guide", McGraw-Hill, 1960
[3] Bill Gunston: "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rockets and Missiles", Salamander Books Ltd, 1979
Manufacturer: MIT-Bell. Total Mass: 230 kg (500 lb). Core Diameter: 0.0900 m (0.2950 ft). Total Length: 4.57 m (14.99 ft). Span: 0.30 m (0.98 ft). Standard warhead mass: 18 kg (39 lb). Maximum range: 13 km (8 mi). Boost Propulsion: Solid rocket. Guidance: Semi-Active Radar Homing. Maximum speed: 2,260 kph (1,400 mph). Ceiling: 15,200 m (49,800 ft). Development Cost $: 52.600 million. in: 1950 average dollars.
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