Regulus
First Submarine-Based Nuclear Missile
The Loon program was the predecessor of the Regulus I. It was based heavily on the German V1 rocket. This Loon is outside of the Ft. Sill Artillery Museum, in Oklahoma.
The Loon was reconfigured into the Regulus I as the Loon was unable, due to its small size, to carry the nuclear warheads available at the time. This unit, painted a bold yellow and dark blue, is at the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum Annex, in Chantilly, Virginia.
Up until 1958, the Regulus used the W5 nuclear warhead. From 1958 onward, the missile could also be fitted with a far more powerful W27 thermonuclear warhead. This example is at the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Annex, in Chantilly, Virginia.
In the first half of its life the Regulus was carried by aircraft carriers and cruisers, in addition to submarines. At its peak in 1957, sixteen ships could carry the missile. At the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum Annex.
By the end of the 1950s, Regulus-capable submarines, which depending on the sub could carry either two, four, or five missiles, could conceivably deploy seventeen Regulus missiles at the same time, all aiming to deter the Soviet Union in the Pacific. This wingless example is at the Point Magu Missile Park, just south of Oxnard. California.
The Regulus I was not supersonic and needed constant guidance from a radio signal to reach its target. The Regulus II was self-guided, and flew much faster, allowing it a better chance of eluding enemy aircraft and anti-aircraft fire. At the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, Texas.
The Regulus II was an entirely new missile, despite its name. Several of the Regulus-capable subs were initially intended to carry Regulus IIs, but with the cancelation of the Regulus II the subs were modified to carry the Regulus I. At the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas.
Both the Regulus models look like fighter jets at first glance. While the Regulus I was undergoing testing for its first flight at Edwards AFB, crews would attach a fake canopy to the missile when it was outside of its hanger in an attempt to deceive any observers. This Regulus II is at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas.
Unlike the Regulus I, the Regulus II had folding wings, which assisted in quickly launching the missile, minimizing the time necessary for the submarine to stay on the vulnerable surface. Looking down at the missile at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas.
By the time the Regulus II missiles were no longer of use as missiles (in a testing program), due to the introduction of the Polaris, they had flown 1129 times–a missile often flew multiple times due to its landing gear and reusability. Later, both models of Regulus were used as target drones and very few survive today. At the Frontiers of Flight Museum, in Dallas.
Explosive Power
up to 120 kt. (W5, fission) or 1900 kt. (W27, thermonuclear)
Hiroshima Equivalent Factor
8x to 126.6x
Dimensions
32 ft x 4 ft., 8 inches x 21 ft wingspan
Weight
13,685 lbs.
Year(s)
1955-1964
Range
575 miles (greatly reduced by radio control limits)
Purpose
Navy nuclear submarine attack capability
Nukemap
NUKEMAP is a web-based mapping program that attempts to give the user a sense of the destructive power of nuclear weapons. It was created by Alex Wellerstein, a historian specializing in nuclear weapons (see his book on nuclear secrecy and his blog on nuclear weapons). The screenshot below shows the NUKEMAP output for this particular weapon. Click on the map to customize settings.
Videos
Click on the Play button and then the Full screen brackets on the lower right to view each video. Click on the Exit full screen cross at lower right (the “X” on a mobile device) to return.
Further Reading
- Wikipedia, Federation of American Scientists, Designation Systems, SkyTamer
- Photos of a Regulus II found, out back in the weeds, at an aerospace museum in Connecticut.
- The development of the Regulus, “Blasts from the Past,” outlined by David K. Stumpf at the US Naval Institute’s page.
- A short history of the Regulus by Edward C. Whitman. The page appears to be a PDF scan from some other publication, perhaps Undersea Warfare Magazine?
- The Vought Heritage Foundation (the Chance Vought Company built the missile) has page of links to information on the Regulus.
- Captain Peter l. Fullinwider was the Executive Officer on the USS Tunny, one of the Regulus-capable submarines, and he recounts his experiences at the Naval Submarine League’s site.
- The blog Navel Gazing tells the story of the Regulus in submarine operations.
- Nuclear historian Alex Wellerstein helped out on a USS Gowler Exhibit (the Growler) was one of the Regulus subs) at the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum, New York City (where the USS Growler now resides) and shares his experiences.
- The Navy Nuclear Weapons Association has a page of images of Regulus “landings,” showing the crashed missiles. They have a number of other interesting pages including images of the the Regulus subs, images of the missile being loaded onto the subs, and manned aircraft guiding the Regulus in flight, among others.
- I’m a sucker for oddball histories such as, “This Nuclear-Capable 1950s Missile Once Delivered the U.S. Mail,” by Chris Cantle, at The War Zone.