Missile, Air-to-Air, Gorgon 3A

Object Details

Summary: Shown here is the Gorgon 3A, one of a series of World War II-era air-to-air missiles developed by the U.S. Navy. It never became operational, but the Gorgon 3A served as a productive test vehicle that provided much information about the design, handling, and performance of guided missile technology.; Reaction Motors, Inc., a division of the Thiokol Chemical Corporation, built the engine, which burned for 130 seconds and produced 350 pounds of thrust. The propellant consisted of monoethyl-aniline and a mixture of sulfuric and nitric acid. The range of the Gorgon 3A was 12 miles at a maximum speed of 525 miles per hour. It carried a 257-pound fragmentation bomb, a television guidance system, and a homing device.; The U.S. Navy transferred this missile to the Museum in 1966.

1947

Materials: Fuselage and wings entirely of wood, excluding steel screws and hinges for panels, internal pipe bracings for wings and fuselage interior; motor, non-ferrous metal, nozzle possibly of aluminum; interior also with wire bundles, with white plastic insulation.; Wood; Paint; Aluminum; Steel; Zinc Chromate; Stainless Steel; Plastic; Synthetic Rubber; Natural Fabric; CadmiumResin
Dimensions: Overall: 12 ft. 6 1/4 in. x 50 1/4 in. x 11 ft. x 50 1/4 in. (381.6 x 127.6 x 335.3 x 127.6cm)

National Air and Space Museum

GUID (Link to Original Record): http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv9a3f273c1-e2b3-42a9-ad74-8159cd7d3ba9