The Little John was a small, highly mobile, nuclear-capable Cold War rocket and a smaller version of the Honest John Rocket System. It entered service in November 1961 as a light, very mobile weapon intended to give U.S. Army Airborne Divisions the heavier punch of medium- and long-range artillery, and it and the Lacrosse Missile were designed to eventually replace the Honest John Rocket. The rocket consisted of a conventional high-explosive or nuclear warhead attached to a solid-fueled rocket motor. A crew of eight men aimed it as a conventional artillery piece, and it was fin-stabilized and flew unguided toward its target. The system used a rail-type launcher on which the rocket was pre-spun for stability before launch. The rocket and launcher could be carried by small aircraft, sling-loaded under helicopters, or towed by a light wheeled vehicle such as a Jeep. Approximately 500 were made before Little John left active service in August 1969. It was 14 feet 4 inches long, weighed 779 pounds, had a range of 10 miles, and could carry a conventional warhead or a 10-kiloton nuclear warhead.