Little Terrapin

Modern high-altitude rockets are not always complex monsters like their ancestral V2. They are steadily growing smaller, simpler and cheaper. This week Republic Aviation Corp. told about a non-military rocket that it is manufacturing for a Defense Department project administered by the University of Maryland. Called the Terrapin (after the university's mascot), it is a two-stage, solid-propellant rocket that climbs 80 miles.

The extraordinary thing about the Terrapin is its small size and simplicity. It is less than 15 ft. long, 6 1/4 in. in diameter, and weighs only 224 lbs. It has none of the expensive valves, pumps, turbines, etc., that cram the innards of liquid-propellant rockets. Its propulsive mechanism is nothing but two strong-walled "bottles" tightly filled with a slow-burning explosive. When the first bottle fires, the rocket reaches the speed of 1,900 m.p.h. in six seconds. The second bottle takes over at 40,000 ft. and boosts the speed to 3,800 m.p.h. Only the simplest gear is needed for the launching, and the whole outfit costs less than the fins of one wellknown military rocket.

Ostensibly, the Terrapin is intended for research only, but both of its propulsive units are of military design. Its payload has not been released, and this suggests strongly that it may be able to carry a lightweight nuclear warhead. Suitably modified for military purposes, the Terrapin may not be very different from the small, atom-armed rocket that the Army calls Little John. A modest increase in size would give it atomic capability.

Armed with an atom bomb, even the peaceful Terrapin would be a formidable weapon. A dozen or more could be carried in an Army truck. They could be unloaded, aimed and fired by the truck's crew. Each rocket could have its own launching gear, allowing salvo firing and the range would be something like 150 miles. Accuracy would not be good, but this would make little difference. The cheap, light missiles could be fired in dense patterns like shot from a chokebore shotgun, and each would have enough power to knock out a good-sized city.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.