MGR-1 Honest John
| Type: | Surface-to-surface rocket artillery |
| Guidance: | Spin-stabilized ballistic trajectory |
| Warhead: | Conventional, chemical, nuclear |
| Propulsion: | Solid propellant rocket motor |
| Range: | 15 miles (25km) |
| Length: | 27 feet (8.2m) |
| Diameter: | 30 inches (76cm) |
| Weight: | 5,800 pounds (2,630kg) |
| First firing: | June 1951 |
Honest John was an Army surface-to-surface unguided missile used as an artillery weapon. Its 27-foot body is characterized by the bulging nose or warhead section. Four fixed fins and spin rockets provide flight stability; guidance is by the trainable rail mounted on a mobile self-propelled launcher. The solid propellant motor was manufactured by Radford Arsenal, the airframe by Douglas Aircraft and Emerson Electric Co. High mobility, reliability, and simplicity of operation are Honest John’s primary advantages. Its range is in excess of 15 miles and its warheads could be conventional high explosive, chemical, or nuclear.
Of all the US Army’s nuclear-capable missiles of the 1950s, Honest John was the easiest to assemble and operate. Its three basic parts, the warhead, motor, and fins, were assembled and mounted on a six-wheel launcher with a crane by a crew of six. The rocket was then ready for aiming and firing. However, because it had no guidance system, it proved to be no more accurate than conventional artillery.
Development began in May 1950 for a large-caliber, unguided, solid-fuel field artillery rocket with nuclear capability. Flight testing began at White Sands Proving Ground in June 1951. In January 1953, the first Honest John systems reached US Army units. It was deployed in Europe starting in 1954. In 1961, the Improved Honest John replaced the earlier model with reduced weight, shortened length, and increased range.
The Lance began to replace Honest John in 1973, relegating all Honest Johns to US Army National Guard units. In 1982, Honest John was declared obsolete. From 1951 to 1977, 1,711 Honest Johns were fired at White Sands. After 1962, most Honest John rockets were used to test different warheads being developed.
