M50 Honest John Rocket - Florence, AL
N 34° 48.717 W 087° 37.430
16S E 442943 N 3852366
M50 Honest John Rocket displayed at the Veterans Memorial Park, Florence, AL.
Waymark Code: WMJAPE
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 10/20/2013
Views: 1
The Honest John was a free flight, solid propellant rocket, 762mm (approximately 30 inches) in diameter. The highly mobile Honest John system was designed to fire like conventional artillery in battlefield areas, but could deliver a conventional explosive, chemical, biological (M79 or M190 warhead) or nuclear warhead. The M31 Honest John system was first deployed in 1954 and was replaced by the M50 Improved Honest John in 1961. The M50 reduced the system's weight, shortened its length, and increased its range.
The Honest John could deliver a 1,500-pound warhead against land targets ranging from 5.3 miles to 15.7 miles distant. The nuclear warhead (W7 or W31) had a yield from 10 to 60 kilotons. The Honest John Missile Launcher Truck was the M289 or M386 (M39-series), 5 Ton, 6x6 or it could be launched from a special M329 trailer launcher.
In 1970, the Honest John rocket battalions were eliminated as divisional units. In July 1982, all Honest John rockets, launchers and equipment items were type classified obsolete.
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