S-25 Credit - © Mark Wade

Surface-to-air missile. IOC: 1955. Family:

First surface-to-air missile deployed by the Soviet Union. Under a crash program ordered by Stalin, development began in 1951, first guided launch was in 1953, and by 1956, 2,640 launchers were deployed in defence of Moscow. The system was upgraded with improved missiles and ground systems into the 1960's.

The ever-growing bomber force of the American Strategic Air Command left Stalin feeling defenceless against nuclear annihilation. By mid-1950 it was clear that the development work being conducted at NII-88 on surface-to-air missiles based on German technology was not producing any useful result. Although much had been accomplished, a lot of fundamental work remained to achieve an operational weapon. The effort spent on Wasserfall- and Schmetterling-derived missiles was now considered obsolete. The planned R-108, R-109, and R-112 successors had completed the design phase, but guidance system and propulsion technology were still not sufficiently advanced to support further development. So Stalin decided to start with a clean sheet of paper. He turned to his secret police chief, Lavrenti Pavlovich Beria, and ordered him to supervise a crash program to field an operational system to protect Moscow at the earliest possible date.

Design bureau MV SB-1 had been created in 1947, and staffed by prisoners - German and Russian scientists and engineers - dedicated to developing cruise missiles. The director was Pavel Nikolayevich Kusenko, and chief engineer was Sergei Laurentevich Beria (son of the secret police chief). One night in 1950 Kusenko received a call from Stalin. They were to drop everything and make the air defence of Moscow their top priority. SB-1 was renamed KB-1, and given the Moscow air defence project, code named Berkut. First tests of the missile were ordered to take place within 12 months from Kapustin Yar.

Berkut was to consist of concentric rings of radar stations around Moscow. The outer ring would search for and identify enemy incoming airborne targets. The stations would use the A-100 radar developed by L V Leonov, operating in the 10 cm band. Controllers would direct fighter aircraft to the targets, where they would fire G-400 air-to-air unguided barrage rockets to down the American bombers.

Targets that got within the outer defences would be handed over to two rings of fire control radars, which would guide surface-to-air missiles to their targets. These B-200 radars were to be developed by Kusenko and Beria. They would be collocated with V-300 surface-to-air missiles, which were to be developed by Lavochkin (KB-1's designation for this rocket was '205'). Other major subcontractors included Isayev for the liquid propellant engine, K I Kozorez for the Ye-600 high explosive fragmentation warhead, N S Rastogruev for the radio data command system, N S Lidorenko for the electrical system, and V P Barmin for the missile launcher-transporter. The 205 took full advantage of earlier work done at NII-88, with 10 specialists being transferred to OKB-301 to expedite development.

The outer ring of surface-to-air missile rings was 90 km from the centre of Moscow, the inner ring, 48 km. Each ring consisted of 66 sites, each with a B-200 radar and 20 V-300 rockets on 20 launchers. The sites included living quarters for the launch crews, and technical areas for systems maintenance. The head of KB-1 responsible for the laboratories, factories, and capital investments necessary for this vast system was A S Yelyan, Hero of Soviet Labour and former director of the Gorkov Artillery Factory.

Containerised modules were developed for control of the radar and missiles and mounted on mobile KZU-16 surface-to-air missile/artillery trailers. Apparatus 'L' provided a video link and automated lock-on capabilities, tracking, fire commands, and other radio links that guided the missile to its target. German specialists developed the AZh video monitor for use by the system controllers. They produced a very clear display that indicated in a natural manner the co-ordinates for the missile. In parallel with the German team, Vannikov and Ryabchilov led Russian engineers in development of an alternate approach.

As subcontractor to system integrator KB-1, OKB-301 began work on the V-300, the single-stage missile for the Berkut Moscow air defence system in September 1950. The crash development program resulted in the first factory trials of the missile in July 1951. These would be followed by tests of the live rocket in the Berkut defence zone around Moscow.

At the end of 1950 Isayev's Section 9 of OKB-2 NII-88 began development of the 9 tonne thrust engine for the missile. This was based on the four-chamber R101B-3600 in development for the R-101B SAM. The resulting engine for the 205, the S09.29.0-0 differed from the R101B-3600 only in a beefed-up structure and propellant feed lines. The engine was pressure-fed using a ram air compression system. In the week of 25-30 March 1951 the S09.29.0-0 completed control tests mounted to a 205 airframe and was accepted by the military for production.

In 1951 Lavochkin formed a special guidance and control group under G N Babakin. They were to study a canard aerodynamic scheme for the missile, with four wings aft and four canards forward. This was found to be the best solution over the whole range of velocities from zero velocity through supersonic.

Meanwhile the responsible sections at NII-88 were reorganised to accelerate the development work. Responsibility for further SAM development was transferred to MAP (the ministry in charge of air force procurement) in August 1951. Work on derivatives of the German SAMs was ended.

Further factory trials of the engine planned for the 205 missile showed that the loss of the hermetic seal in the chamber head resulted in thrust oscillations. The fix was a version with a sealed chamber head, designated S09.29.0-0B. From 27 to 29 January 1952 this modification completed controlled stand trials mounted in a 205 airframe.

In October 1952 the first guided launch of a V-300 missile was made, with the rocket being steered by the B-200 radar to a designated point in space. In April 1953 the first test launch was made against a target Tu-4 aircraft (the Soviet copy of the B-29). These targets were crewed! The crews were provided with parachutes and were to bail out in case of a hit.

Series production of he 205 began in 1952, and the system entered service with the PVO in sites around Moscow in 1953.

In 1953, after the death of Stalin and arrest of L P Beria, his son was replaced in SB-1 by S M Vladimirskiy. The Berkut system was redesignated S-25, and A A Raspletin was named as the new Chief Designer. After these changes the German and Russian prisoner-engineers disappeared from SB-1.

The fixed-site S-25 was a multi-target system, capable of tracking and guiding missiles toward more than one target at a time. Several mobile versions were on the drawing board at the end of 1953. The S-75 truck-mounted system would give the missile mobility, but could be directed at only one target at a time. The S-50 was a train-mounted version of the S-25. All of these would have used a modernised version of the S-25 missile and its tracking and control systems. But they were all abandoned in favour of a new generation of surface-to-air missiles with double the range.

By the end of the 1950's Moscow and Leningrad would be protected by the S-25 system developed by SB-1. However with the closure of further research activities at SB-1, OKB-301 and other bureaux would be responsible for future development of Soviet surface-to-air missiles.

Radars: R-113 Gage target acquisition radar, E/F band, range 300 km. Yo-Yo target tracking radar, E/F band, range 150 km. P-14 Tall King early warning radar, A band, range 600 km. PRV-9 Patty Cake height finding radar, D/E band, range 200 km.

Manufacturer: Almaz, Grushin. Total Mass: 3,500 kg (7,700 lb). Core Diameter: 0.71 m (2.32 ft). Total Length: 12.00 m (39.00 ft). Standard warhead mass: 250 kg (550 lb). Maximum range: 45 km (27 mi). Boost Propulsion: Storable liquid rocket, F-1 or M50/TG-02, pressure-fed. Boost engine: S09.29.0B. Cruise Thrust: 83.300 kN (18,727 lbf). Guidance: Radio-command. Maximum speed: 1,500 kph (900 mph). Minimum range: 35 km (21 mi). Ceiling: 25,000 m (82,000 ft). Floor: 3,000 m (9,800 ft). Tracking Radar: Yo Yo /F. Version:

205. Launch System: Berkut. Complex: S-25. Missile: La-205.

Original missile of the S-25 system, development described above.

Version:

206. Launch System: Berkut. Complex: S-25. Missile: La-206.

The 206 was a version of the 205 using a single-chamber Isayev engine in place of the four-chamber design of the 205. Cancelled in April 1953.

Development was begun in March 1951. The engine would also use a charged accumulator for tank pressurization. Further development was cancelled in April 1953 and the missile never entered the test phase.

Version:

207. Launch System: Berkut. Complex: S-25. Missile: La-207.

This was an improvement of the 205 with an improved warhead and reduced cruise thrust. Trials were conducted of the missile in 1953, but it was decided not to put it into service.

Decree 1264-417 of 10 March 1952 authorised development of the 207 version with an accumulator warhead. This version had a four chamber engine, but two of the chambers were shut down after the initial boost, with the remaining two providing cruise thrust. This engine variant was designated S09.29.0-0V.

Boost Propulsion: Storable liquid rocket, AK-20F/TG-02, pressure-fed. Boost engine: S2.260. Cruise Thrust: 88.200 kN (19,828 lbf). Version:

207A. Launch System: Berkut. Complex: S-25. Missile: La-207A.

The 207A, with numerous improvements to the 205 which had been developed in a crash program, completed trials in 1955 and rapidly replaced the 205 in PVO service. It basically doubled all of the performance characteristics of the 205.

This upgrade of the V-300 missile was developed in 1953-1954 It blended features of the 205 and 206, resulting in increased range and capability against faster targets using the existing B-200 radar and other S-25 system elements. The warhead used a higher power explosive. The single chamber S2.260 engine was derived from the S2.253 engine developed by Isayev for the R-11 and R-11FM ballistic missiles. It used an air compressor for fuel feed and produced 8300 kgf. This development solved once and for all the problems of inadequate thrust and propellant feed that existed in earlier models. The problem of high frequency oscillations in the engine chamber were solved with a cross-shaped flange built into the injector face. The S2.260 was of smaller dimensions than the S2.253 thanks to the use of kerosene as a third component of the fuel mixture.

Version:

207T. Launch System: Berkut. Complex: S-25. Missile: La-207T.

The 207T was an alternative derivative of the 207A with a nuclear warhead. It was developed during 1958 but does not seem to have entered service.

Version:

208. Launch System: Berkut. Complex: S-25. Missile: La-208.

In this version of the V-300 the warhead was increased to 430 kg to compensate for accuracy problems in the original production version. Cancelled in favour of the 207A.

Trials began in 1953, initially with poor results due to guidance system problems. The modified S09-29.0-0B engine with an air compression feed system worked well. By the beginning of 1954 good results were being obtained with the less-modified 207A version of the missile, so the 208 was cancelled, and not put into service.

Version:

215. Launch System: Berkut. Complex: S-25. Missile: La-215.

The 215 was a derivative of the 207A with a nuclear warhead. It entered service in 1957.

Factory trials were completed in 1956. One such missile would be capable of destroying an entire American bomber group. It was accepted into PVO service in 1957, and deployed together with the 207A conventional warhead missile.

Version:

217. Manufacturer's Designation: 5Ya25. Launch System: Berkut. Complex: S-25MA. Missile: La-217.

The 217 was a version of the V-300 with a variable thrust engine. Entered production.

Isayev and D D Sevruk at OKB-3 of NII-88 developed competing engine designs. In 1958, before development was completed, Sevruk's operation was closed down and his staff combined with Isayev's. Isayev considered his S5.1 design in a more advanced stage of development than Sevruk's S3.42A, so the Sevruk design was cancelled. The missile with the modified engine completed factory trials in 1958 and was accepted for PVO service in combination with the B-200M improved radar and other S-25 system elements. The new engine significantly increased the missile's performance, and this was the first version with hypersonic flight capability.

Boost Propulsion: Storable liquid rocket, AK-20I/TG-02 OT-155, pump-fed. Boost engine: S5.1. Cruise Thrust: 166.000 kN (37,318 lbf). Version:

217M. Manufacturer's Designation: 5Ya25M. Launch System: Berkut. Complex: S-25MAM. Missile: La-217M.

Developed together with the improved S-25M missile system, the 217M entered production and gave the S-25 an enormous performance in improvement.

The 217M was developed together with the improved S-25M missile system. It used the new engine of the 217, but added a new guidance system, and improved radio receivers. It used a new triplane aerodynamic scheme that doubled the missile's manoeuvrability. The body was thinner, thanks to the use of integrated propellant tanks. The missile was put through service trials in 1959-1960, and accepted for military service in 1961 as part of the S-25M system. The missile had higher speed and manoeuvrability than its predecessors.

Version:

218. Manufacturer's Designation: 5Ya24. Alternate Designation: 44N6. Launch System: Berkut. Complex: S-25Mr. Missile: La-218.

The 218 was a version of the 217M with a nuclear warhead, which entered service in 1964.

It was part of the B-200Mr system, which completed trials in 1963 to 1964.

Version:

32B. Launch System: Berkut. Complex: S-25. Missile: 32B.

Alternate missile developed for the S-25 system. Technically superior but not put into production, it led to the S-75 and later Soviet surface-to-air missiles.

The 32B (ShB) rocket was the competing design to the V-300/205 for the Berkut air defence system. The missile was designed by D L Tomashevich of Section 32 of KB-1. Forty of these rockets were built, and 36 fired during trials in 1953-1954. These tests showed that the 32B was superior to the 205. It was lighter, cheaper, and had more potential for use in future mobile versions of the system. But it would take time to organize production, and in the meantime the S-25 system was already being deployed with the 205 missile, since this had completed state trials first. The 32B experimental surface-to-air missile featured a solid propellant booster developed by I I Kartukov, a liquid propellant second stage powered by Isayev S2.168 and S2.168L engines, and the design group also completed a new launcher concept. These experimental systems provided the basis for the next generation of PVO surface-to-air missiles. Chief Engineer for this work was Pavel Dmitrevich Grushin, who would figure prominently in future surface-to-air missile systems development.

Version:

RM-205. Manufacturer's Designation: RM-205. Launch System: Belka. Missile: RM-205.

Drone version.

Version:

RM-207. Target drone. Manufacturer's Designation: RM-207. Launch System: Sobol. Missile: RM-207.

Retired 207A missiles converted to use as target drones were given this designation and the code name Belka.

Version:

RM-217. Manufacturer's Designation: RM-217. Launch System: Svezda. Missile: RM-217.

Drone version.

Version:

RM-217M. Target drone. Manufacturer's Designation: RM-217M. Launch System: Strizh. Missile: RM-217M.

Retired 217M missiles converted to use as target drones were given this designation and used in a large number of versions (code named Zvezda-1, -2, -3, -4, -4MV, -5, -5F).