US GAM-87 ''Skybolt'' Missile

By Crusader1307

The ''Skybolt'' GAM-87 was an early US Military air launched ballistic Missile first deployed in 1962. It was designed to be deployed with selected shot and long range strategic US Bombers then in inventory. The primary aim of ''Skybolt'' was to allow USAF air assets the ability to strike Soviet Russian targets from air at distances of 1,000-miles (thus removing the need for close or near air-drops of Nuclear devices over Enemy assets).

Each Missile weighed 11,000-pounds and were 40-feet in length. Each Missile could deploy a 1-MT device. A (2) stage solid fueled propulsion system, it was stabilized by a series of 2-foot ''wings''. ''Skybolt'' could travel 1,500-miles with a 300-mile operational ceiling. Inertial radio guidance served as control from it's air platform (Bomber).

Within it's first year of deployment, marked tests by The US and UK determined that ''Skybolt'' had too many system in-flight failures to be reliable. The 200 deployed were eventually pulled from Service.