U.S. M2 Corporal Missile

Introduced in July 1954, the Corporal was the first U.S. guided nuclear missile. This surface-to-surface, 46-foot-long missile was among the first liquid-fueled, rocket-powered ballistic weapons. Although the first Corporal was tested in 1947, development was slow and the first missile was not issued until 1954. Deployed by the U.S. and British armies in the mid-1950s, it was intended to strike enemy rear areas in any weather, with targets as far as 75 miles from the launching site. A missile battalion consisted of 250 troops and technicians, a lightweight launch pedestal, a hydraulic erector, ground-based guidance equipment, and support vehicles, while a field artillery battalion had two batteries with five launchers each. The missile and its launching equipment were highly mobile, but launch preparations took six to seven hours and no more than two missiles could be fired in one day, limiting target choices. The first Corporal battalion arrived in West Germany in 1955, and a total of eight battalions served in Europe until 1963 to counter a possible Soviet invasion. The Corporal Missile System began to be replaced by the Sergeant Missile System in March 1963. The missile was 46 feet long, weighed 12,000 pounds, had a range of 85 miles, and carried a 20 kT nuclear or conventional warhead.

Lawton, Oklahoma · United States