PGM-11 Redstone

The PGM-11 Redstone was the first large American ballistic missile. A short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), it was in active service with the United States Army in West Germany from June 1958 to June 1964 as part of NATO's Cold War defense of Western Europe. It was the first US missile to carry a live nuclear warhead, in the 1958 Pacific Ocean weapons test Hardtack Teak.

The Redstone was a direct descendant of the German V-2 rocket, developed primarily by a team of German rocket engineers brought to the United States after World War II. The design used an upgraded engine from Rocketdyne that allowed the missile to carry the 6,900 lb (3,100 kg) W39 and its reentry vehicle to a range of about 175 miles (282 km). Redstone's prime contractor was the Chrysler Corporation.

The Redstone spawned the Redstone rocket family which holds a number of firsts in the US space program, notably launching the first US astronaut. It was retired by the Army in 1964 and replaced by the solid-fueled MGM-31 Pershing. Surplus missiles were widely used for test missions and space launches, including the first US man in space, and in 1967 the launch of Australia's first satellite.

History

Redstone was a direct descendant of the German V-2 rocket, developed by a team of predominantly German rocket engineers under the leadership of Wernher von Braun, that had been brought to the United States after World War II as part of Operation Paperclip.

A product of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, Redstone was designed as a surface-to-surface missile for the U.S. Army.