SAM-N-2 Lark
| Type: | Experimental ship/surface-to-air missile |
| Warhead | Conventional high explosive |
| Guidance: | Radio command or radar beam riding |
| Propellant: | Dual solid-fuel booster, liquid-fuel sustainer |
| Range: | 30-35 miles (48-56km, intended) |
| Speed: | 700 miles per hour (1,126km/hr) |
| Length: | 173 inches (440cm) |
| Diameter: | 18 inches (45cm) |
| Front Wings: | 28 inches (71cm) |
| Rear Wings | 18 inches (45cm) |
| Weight: | 1,210 pounds (550kg) |
| First Fired: | 25 October 1950 |
In 1950, the US Navy’s Lark missile earned the distinction of being the first missile to intercept and destroy an aerial moving target. Development of the Lark anti-aircraft missile began during World War II, when the US Navy realized that it needed a new weapon to combat the increasingly frequent use of “Kamikaze” suicide planes by the remaining air forces of the Japanese Empire. Although the war ended before the Lark was operationally ready, testing continued in parallel under military contracts awarded to Fairchild Aircraft and Consolidated Vultee, the latter later known as Convair.
The Lark featured cruciform wings on its mid-body and tail fins for stability and control. Its booster assembly incorporated a box-fin for stability he Rocket Assisted Take-Off (RATO) booster used a set of two solid-fueled motors that were discarded after launch along with the box assembly. The missile was guided by remote control from the ground or by following a radar beam with its sensors. Once the onboard radar detects the target aircraft nearby, the proximity fuse detonates its high explosive warhead.
The two Lark programs also ran parallel to other air defense missile programs, such as the Navy’s Bumblebee Program, the Army’s Project Nike, and the Army Air Force’s (US Air Force after 1947) projects. The post-war environment saw project consolidation and cancellation for all but the most promising programs. As a sub-sonic system, it was obvious that the Lark was becoming increasingly obsolete against emerging jet-powered aircraft, especially when compared to the Navy’s RIM-2 Terrier and the Army’s MIM-3 Nike Ajax. The Larks were cancelled as standalone projects by 1953. However, the military continued to use experience and technologies, especially radar and guidance systems, from the Lark program through the 1950s. The Lark program as test/research vehicles, future Navy air-to-air guided missile programs, and the Army’s MGM-18 Lacrosse.
