First submarine guided missile is tested in 1953...
Item # 726663
March 31, 1953
THE DETROIT NEWS, March 31, 1953
* SSM-N-8 Regulus is 1st demonstrated
* Submarine launched cruise missile launched
* United States Navy USS Tunny (SS-282)
The front page has a one-column heading: "A-Missile Submarine Joins Navy" with 2 related photos. (see mages) Coverage continues inside with another related photo. (see images)
Complete with all 42 pages, light toning and a little wear at the margins, small binding holes along the spine, generally in good condition.
Background: The demonstration of the SSM-N-8 Regulus on March 30, 1953, represented a transformative pivot in naval doctrine, marking the official birth of the submarine-launched cruise missile and redefining the submarine's role from a tactical commerce raider to a strategic nuclear deterrent. Launched from the USS Tunny, this successful test proved that a vessel could surface, deploy a turbojet-powered missile capable of carrying a nuclear payload, and strike targets up to 500 miles inland—effectively extending the reach of American power far beyond the coastline. While the Regulus was technically complex, requiring the submarine to remain on the surface to provide radio guidance commands, its deployment closed a critical gap in the early Cold War "missile gap" and established the operational foundations for the Navy’s Strategic Deterrence Program. This event directly paved the way for the development of more advanced systems like the Polaris ballistic missile and the modern Tomahawk cruise missile, fundamentally altering global geopolitics by ensuring that the world's oceans could serve as a hidden, mobile launchpad for strategic weapons.
* SSM-N-8 Regulus is 1st demonstrated
* Submarine launched cruise missile launched
* United States Navy USS Tunny (SS-282)
The front page has a one-column heading: "A-Missile Submarine Joins Navy" with 2 related photos. (see mages) Coverage continues inside with another related photo. (see images)
Complete with all 42 pages, light toning and a little wear at the margins, small binding holes along the spine, generally in good condition.
Background: The demonstration of the SSM-N-8 Regulus on March 30, 1953, represented a transformative pivot in naval doctrine, marking the official birth of the submarine-launched cruise missile and redefining the submarine's role from a tactical commerce raider to a strategic nuclear deterrent. Launched from the USS Tunny, this successful test proved that a vessel could surface, deploy a turbojet-powered missile capable of carrying a nuclear payload, and strike targets up to 500 miles inland—effectively extending the reach of American power far beyond the coastline. While the Regulus was technically complex, requiring the submarine to remain on the surface to provide radio guidance commands, its deployment closed a critical gap in the early Cold War "missile gap" and established the operational foundations for the Navy’s Strategic Deterrence Program. This event directly paved the way for the development of more advanced systems like the Polaris ballistic missile and the modern Tomahawk cruise missile, fundamentally altering global geopolitics by ensuring that the world's oceans could serve as a hidden, mobile launchpad for strategic weapons.
Category: The 20th Century
