MGM-5 Corporal
| Type: | Surface-to-surface missile artillery |
| Guidance: | Remote command guidance |
| Warhead: | Conventional, nuclear (intended) |
| Propellant: | Liquid aniline-furfuryl alcohol |
| Range: | 75 miles (120km) |
| Speed: | Mach 3 (885m/s) |
| Altitude: | 22.5 miles (36km) |
| Length: | 45 feet (13.7m) |
| Diameter: | 30 inches (76.2cm) |
| Weight: | 11,000 pounds (5,000kg) |
| First firing: | 22 May 1947 (Corporal E) |
Corporal was America’s first designed, engineered, and fabricated family of surface-to-surface missiles. It was also the first US guided missile system to be approved for nuclear armament. It evolved as a part of the series of missiles named after Army ranks. Other missiles in the “Ranks” series were the Private, the Sergeant, and the lesser known Shavetail (Lieutenant).
Corporal’s immediate forerunner was the Corporal E test vehicle, a WAC Corporal redesigned for increased performance, decreased weight, and easier production. Corporal E first flew in May 1947 to evaluate basic principles of ballistic guided missile construction, flight, and guidance. In 1950, it was decided to develop the Corporal E into a tactical nuclear-armed ballistic missile, designated Corporal.
Essentially a modified research missile, Corporal was launched by a rocket motor that used liquid red fuming nitric acid (RFNA) as an oxidizer. The missile’s trajectory and velocity was tracked by ground radar. It was steered by rudders and jet vanes, and its range was controlled by sending a motor shut-off command after a predetermined amount of time. It traveled at Mach 3 with a range of 75 miles.
In 1955, the first Corporal battalion, the 259th and the 96th Direct Support Company, was the first US missile unit to be deployed to Europe. A Corporal battalion consisted of about 35 vehicles and was rather cumbersome to move. After a launch site had been determined and occupied, it could take up to nine hours before the first missile could be fired.
The Improved Corporal, introduced in 1957, had an improved guidance system and quick-disconnect fins for faster missile setup. Although the Improved Corporal slightly improved the system’s reliability, the Corporal’s basic problems were not fully addressed and overcome during its lifecycle in active service.
A planned Corporal Type III missile with a further improved guidance system was cancelled in 1958, replaced by the much more advanced Sergeant. After the Sergeant became operational in 1962, the Corporal was quickly phased out and finally retired in 1964.
At White Sands Proving Ground, the first Corporal, a Corporal E, was fired on 22 May 1947. A total of 614 were fired at WSPG until 1962. In June 1960, a Corporal was launched as a target missile and became the first ballistic missile to be killed by another missile, after a Nike Hercules anti-aircraft guided missile tracked and shot it down.
