LANCE

Description

The Lance was a short/medium-range tactical surface-to-surface missile, which replaced the MGM-29 Sergeant and MGR-1 Honest John in U.S. Army service. It was also the last nuclear-armed tactical ballistic missile of the U.S. Army.

In the late 1950s, the Army began to formulate requirements for a new series of ballistic missiles, called Missile "A" through "D". Missile "A" was to become a replacement for the MGR-3 Little John, Missile "B" for the MGR-1 Honest John, Missile "C" for the MGM-29 Sergeant, and Missile "D" (which evolved into the MGM-31 Pershing) for the PGM-11 Redstone. In 1962, Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) was selected as prime contractor for Missile "B", which at that time was expected to become a short-range (50 km) missile. In November 1962 the name Lance was assigned, and in June 1963 the designation MGM-52 was allocated.

The Lance used a new variable-thrust boost/sustain liquid-fueled rocket engine, using storable liquid propellants. The engine was built by Rocketdyne, and its development turned out to be rather troublesome, causing many delays. Additionally, the Lance used 4 spin motors immediately after launch which produced the charactersitic black smoke which accompanied every Lance firing. The Lance was guided by a completely self-contained inertial system (AN/DJW-48) using the principle of DCAM (Directional Control Automatic Meteorological) Compensation. In this system the missile's accelaration was constantly monitored by an accelerometer, and the variable-thrust sustainer engine provided exactly the amount of thrust to keep the missile on the predetermined trajectory, compensating for any atmospheric changes or disturbances. The first test flight of an XMGM-52A missile occurred in March 1965, and the tests continued through 1965/66, including validation of the DCAM guidance principle.