R-13 (missile)

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R-13 monument at Severomorsk naval base

The R-13 (

GRAU
index 4K50.

History

Development of the R-13 was authorised by the Soviet Supreme Council on 25 July 1955 for use on the

intelligence services during the Cold War
. The missiles were phased out from 1965 to 1975.

This missile was the first Soviet design to use a small set of

stabilizers
were used to keep the missile on-course during initial flight.

During initial testing before the missiles were deployed, 26 of 32 missiles (81%) were successfully launched. While the systems were deployed from 1961 to 1975, 225 of 311 launches (72%) were successful.

Operators

 Soviet Union

Specifications

  • Length: 11.8 m (38 ft 9 in)
  • Diameter: 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in)
  • Diameter (to stabilizers): 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in)
  • Launch weight: 13.7 t
  • Warhead: single thermonuclear: 1.2 to 2.0 Mt (perhaps as low as 1.0 Mt)
  • Propulsion: liquid-fuel rocket, single stage
  • Range: about 600 km (370 mi)
  • Launching technique: surfaced
  • CEP: 1.8 to 4 km (1.1 to 2.5 miles)

See also

References