Hound Dog (missile):

The North American Aviation Corporation AGM-28 Hound Dog was a supersonic, jet powered, air-launched cruise missile. The Hound Dog was initially given the designation B-77, later re-designated GAM-77, and finally being designated AGM-28. Hound Dog was originally envisioned as a temporary stand off weapon for the B-52, to be used until the AGM-48 Skybolt air launched ballistic missile could be deployed. Instead the Skybolt was canceled and the Hound Dog was deployed for 15 years until the missile was replaced by newer weapons including the AGM-69 SRAM and the AGM-86 ALCM.

Development

The Hound Dog development was initiated on March, 15, 1956 when General Operational Requirement (GOR) 148 was released by the United States Air Force ^[1]. ^[2] This requirement called for a supersonic air-to-surface cruise missile with a weight of not more than 12,500 lb (fully fueled and armed) to be carried on the B-52.^[3]. One Hound Dog was located under each wing of the B-52, between the fuselage and the inboard engines., ^[4]. The mission of the Hound Dog was to attack segments of the Soviet Union's air-defense system so that the launching B-52 could penetrate to its primary target.

The importance of having the ability to penetrate the Soviet air defense system was described by then United States Senator John F. Kennedy in a speech to the American Legion convention at Miami Florida, on October 18, 1960: We must take immediate steps to protect our present nuclear striking force from surprise attack. Today, more than 90 percent of our retaliatory capacity is made up of aircraft and missiles which have fixed un-protectable bases whose location is known to the Russians. We can only do this by providing SAC with the capability of maintaining a continuous airborne alert and by pressing projects such as the Hound Dog air-ground missile which will enable manned bombers to penetrate Soviet defenses with their weapons.^[5].

Design

On 21 August 1957, North American Aviation was awarded a contract to develop Weapon System 131B which included the Hound Dog missile^[6].

The Hound Dog missile's engine, airframe, and warhead were adaptations of technology developed in the SM-64 Navaho ^[6],^[7]. The SM-64 Navaho was an earlier USAF project to build an intercontinental cruise missile that ran from 1946 to 1958. The Hound Dog design was based on the Navaho G-38 air-vehicle. The Hound Dog was configured with small delta wings and forward canards previously demonstrated on the Navaho G-38 air vehicle. ^[3]

A Pratt & Whitney J52-P-3 turbojet supplied the Hound Dog thrust. The J-52 engine was located in a pod located beneath the rear fuselage. The J-52-P-3 used in the Hound Dog unlike J-52's installed in aircraft like the A-4 Skyhawk or the A-6 Intruder was optimized to run at maximum power during the missile's flight. As a result, the Hound Dog's version of the J-52 had a short operating lifetime of only six hours^[5].

A derivative of the Navaho's North American Autonetics Division N-6 inertial navigation system the N5G, was utilized in the Hound Dog. A Kollsman Instruments star-tracker located in the B-52's pylon was used to correct inertial orientation errors with celestial observations while the Hound Dog was being carried by the bomber.^[3]

The Hound Dog's inertial navigation system could be used to determine the bomber's position after the initial calibration and "leveling" which took 90 minutes. The Hound Dog had a circular error probability of 2.2 miles (3.7 km), acceptable for weapon equipped with a nuclear warhead.^[1].

The thermonuclear warhead carried by the Hound Dog was the W28 Class D^[5]. The W28 warhead could be configured to yield an explosion between 70 Kilotons and 1.45 Megatons. Detonation of the Hound Dog's W28 warhead could be programmed to occur on impact or airburst at a pre-set altitude. An airburst would be used against a large area soft target. A hard surface impact would be used against a hard target such as a missile site or command control center

The Hound Dog could be launched from the B-52 mother ship at high altitude or low altitude (not below 5,000 feet). Three Hound Dog flight profiles were initially available for use by the bomber crew:

North American Aviation received a production contract to build Hound Dogs on 16 October 1958 ^[4]. The first production Hound Dog missile was then delivered to the USAF on 21 December, 1959. 722 Hound Dog missiles were produced by North American Aviation before production ended in March 1963 ^[3].

In May 1961 an improved GAM-77A was test flown for the first time. This upgrade incorporated upgrades to reduce the radar cross section of the Hound Dog ^[8]. The Hound Dog already had a low frontal radar cross section because of its highly swept delta wing and canards. This low radar cross section was enhanced by replacing the nose cap, engine intake spike and engine duct with new components that scattered or absorbed radar energy. It has been reported that these radar cross section improvements were removed as Hound Dogs were withdrawn from service.

The GAM-77A variant of the GAM-77 also included a new Kollsman Instruments KS-140 star-tracker that was integrated with the N-6 inertial navigation system. This unit replaced the star-tracker that was previously located in the B-52's pylon. The fuel capacity of the GAM-77A was increased during this upgrade. A radar altimeter was added to provide terrain following capability to the Hound Dog. 428 Hound Dog missiles were upgraded to the GAM-77A configuration^[9]

66 GAM-77B missiles were launched for testing and training through 1 April 1973^[5].

In June 1963 the GAM-77 and GAM-77A were re-designated AGM-28A and AGM-28B, respectively.

A Hound Dog test missile was flown with a Terrain Contour Matching (TERCOM) navigation system in 1971. Reportedly the designation AGM-28C was reserved this variant of the missile if development had been continued. While a Hound Dog with TERCOM was not deployed, this technology was eventually used in the AGM-86 ALCM.^[10]

In 1972, the Bendix Corporation was awarded a contract to develop a passive anti-radiation seeker to guide the Hound Dog missile to radar emissions. A Hound Dog with this seeker was flight tested in 1973 but never deployed.^[11]

Operational History

On December 21, 1959, General Thomas S. Power, Commander in Chief of the USAF Strategic Air Command (SAC), formally accepted the first production Hound Dog missile^[4]. Just two months latter in February, SAC launched its first Hound Dog at Eglin Air Force Base.

In 1962, SAC activated missile maintenance squadrons to provide maintenance for both the Hound Dog and the ADM-20 Quail decoy missile.

In July 1960, the Hound Dog reached initial operational capability with the first B-52 unit. The Hound Dog was used on airborne alert for the first time in January 1962. Full operational capability was achieved in August 1963 when 29 B-52 Bomber wings were operational with the Hound Dog.

In 1960, SAC developed procedures so that the B-52 could utilize the Hound Dog's J-52's engine for additional thrust while the missile was located on the bomber's pylon. The Hound Dog could be refueled from the B-52's wing fuel tanks.^[9]

One Hound Dog missile crashed near the town of Samson, Alabama after failing to destruct after a test launch at Eglin AFB^[5]. In 1962, a Hound Dog was accidentally dropped to the ground during an under-wing check^[5].

In May 1962, operation "Silk Hat" was conducted at Eglin AFB. During this exercise a Hound Dog test launch was conducted before an audience of international dignitaries headed by U.S. President John F. Kennedy and U.S. Vice President Lyndon B Johnson^[5].

On 22 September, 1966 then U.S. Secretary of Defense McNamara recommended retiring the remaining AGM-28A Hound Dogs. The AGM-28B Hound Dogs would be retained pending the outcome of the Terrain Matching Guidance (TERCOM) development program^[5].

After thirteen years of service in the USAF, the last Hound Dog missile was removed from alert on 30 June 1975. The last Hound Dog was retired on 15 June, 1978 from the 42nd Bomb Wing at Loring Air Force Base, Maine^[4].

Missile Tail Numbers

Numbers in Service

Units using the Hound Dog

Variants

Operator

Survivors

Popular Culture

Where it received the name Hound Dog has been the source of argument for decades. In recent years however people have given credit to fans of Elvis Presley in the military. ^[3].

References

^ ^a ^b ^c AGM-28 Missile Hound Dog Missile Hound Dog [1] Access date: 8 October 2007.
^ AGM-28A Hound Dog [2] Access date: 8 October 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g A Brief Account of the Beginning of the Hounddog (GAM 77) [3] Access date: 28 October 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d AGM-28 Hound Dog Missile [4] Access date: 8 October 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h AGM-28 Missile Memos [5] Access date: 8 October 2007.
^ ^a ^b Mark Wade. Navaho. Encyclopedia Astronautica Website. [6] Access date: 20 October 2007.
^ ^a ^b Mongrel Makes GoodTime Magazine. [7] Access date: 21 October 2007.
^ David C. Aronstein and Albert C. Piccirillo. Have Blue and the F-117A: Evolution of the Stealth Fighter, AIAA, 1997, ISBN 1-56347-245-7.
^ ^a ^b National Museum of the Air Force. North American AGM-28B Hound Dog. [8] Access date: 20 October 2007.
^ Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles. AGM-28. [9] Access date: 28 October 2007.
^ IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN WEBSITE. [3.0] Cruise Missiles Of The 1950s & 1960s. [10] Access date: 28 October 2007.
^ Dorr, R. & Peacock, L.B-52 Stratofortress: Boeing's Cold War Warrior, Osprey Aviation: Great Britain. ISBN 1-84176-097-8

Hound Dog (missile)

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