Surface-to-surface missile

A ground -to-ground rocket is a missile, which is fired from the ground against ground targets.

The range of ground - to-ground missiles ranging from anti-tank weapons of the infantry (like bazooka or rocket grenades, such as RPG-7 ) to intercontinental nuclear missiles.

General

Commonly used is to use the name for rocket artillery for indirect fire. These include rocket launchers fired by unguided rockets, so when Katjuscha ( " Stalin Organ" ), reach the range between 10 and 90 km, sometimes even 300 km.

Also mines can be placed in a ground - to-ground missiles (eg butterfly mines ).

The English name is Surface-to -surface missile. The abbreviated form thereof, SSM or SS, is used for the naming of numerous ground - to-ground missiles (eg, SS -20), which is originally dealing here with the NATO code.

Missiles, which can reach targets that are out of sight of the shooter, also known as Beyond Visual Range missiles.

Development in Germany

Due to the stipulations in the Treaty of Versailles, the German Empire was allowed to develop or possess any heavy artillery. Long-range missiles were not mentioned in the contract. The Reichswehr command of the late 1920s, Walter Dornberger for Mechanical Engineering studies at the Technische Hochschule Charlottenburg.

There he met Arthur Rudolph know who worked on rocket experiments in the Heylandt plants. Rudolph was interested and from then on worked in his spare time with Walter HJ Riedel Valier's rocket projects.

On May 17, 1930, one day after Arthur Rudolph had started work on the missile project, died rocket pioneer Max Valier in the explosion of a rocket engine prototype. More rocket experiments were initially banned by Paul Heylandt, Rudolph continued his work, however, continues together with Riedel and Alfons Pietsch.

After studying Dornberger in 1932 was entrusted with the development of solid fuel rockets in the Army Ordnance Department. He campaigned on Wernher von Braun and others. 1936 Dornberger was transferred to the responsible management of missile development of the army, leading to the development of unit 4 (A4, better known as V2 ) resulted.

From 1936 to 1943, Dornberger head of the rockets Department of the Army Ordnance Office. In 1943 he became commander of the Army Research Center Peenemünde.

Ballistic missiles

Also ballistic missiles are ground -to-ground missiles, which usually use a separate control system to achieve better hit accuracy (CEP ). They are classified according to the Range Association, London, and the Centre for Defence and International Security Studies ( CDISS ) since 1996 as follows:

The payload of these missiles is very diverse, ranging from simple explosives to thermonuclear warheads.