Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
February 8, 2012
IWG Report 2009
Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
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SS-N-1
| Country: | Russian Federation |
|---|---|
| Alternate Name: | Scrubber, P1 KSSch |
| Class: | SLCM |
| Target: | Ship |
| Length: | 7.60 m |
| Diameter: | 0.90 m |
| Launch Weight: | 3100.00 kg |
| Payload: | 730 kg HE, nuclear |
| Propulsion: | Turbojet w/ solid booster |
| Range: | 80.00 km |
| Guidance: | INS |
| Status: | Obsolete, Unknown |
| In Service: | 1958-1975 |
Details
The SS-N-1 “Scrubber” (P-1 KSShch) was a short-range, ship-launched, single-warhead, surface-to-surface cruise missile developed and manufactured by the Soviet Union.
The SS-N-1 is believed to have been the first Russian anti-ship, surface-to-surface missile. It was developed by the Chelomei Design Bureau, which began work in 1955, and tested the missile two years later. The SS-N-1 was developed to carry both conventional high explosive and nuclear warheads. It was initially fitted on four “Kilden” class destroyers, each of which carried up to 14 missiles and a single launcher. From 1960, the SS-N-1 was also deployed on the “Krupny” class destroyers.
Sources indicate that SS-N-1 was a large, unsophisticated, inaccurate missile. It was cylindrical in shape with two folding delta-shaped wings, was 7.6 m in length, had a body diameter of 0.9 m, a wingspan of 4.6 m, and had a launch weight of 3,100 kg. It was powered by a solid propellant booster rocket in the launch phase and an AM-5A turbojet engine in the midcourse phase. Terminal guidance was provided by an active radar seeker, and the missile is believed to have had a maximum range of around 80 km. The SS-N-1 purportedly cruised 150 m above the water at a speed of Mach 0.6.
The SS-N-1 did have one unusual feature. During its approach to the target, the suspended warhead separated from the missile and descended several meters into the water. The warhead, which weighed 730 kg, was supposed to strike the underwater part of the target ship’s hull while the remainder of the missile struck above water.
Reports indicate that the SS-N-1 entered service in 1958, but was never widely deployed because of its low reliability and poor accuracy. The missile is believed to have been retired from operational service between 1966 and 1975.(1)
Footnotes
