The ASM-N-5 Gorgon V was an unpowered

air-to-surface missile An air-to-surface missile (ASM) or air-to-ground missile (AGM) is a missile designed to be launched from military aircraft at targets on land or sea. There are also unpowered guided glide bombs not considered missiles. The two most common prop ...

, developed by the

Glenn L. Martin Company The Glenn L. Martin Company—also known as The Martin Company from 1957-1961—was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company founded by aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin, and operated between 1917-1961. The Martin Company produc ...

during the early 1950s for use by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as a

chemical weapon A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as a ...

delivery vehicle. Developed from the earlier

PTV-N-2 Gorgon IV The PTV-N-2 Gorgon IV was a subsonic ramjet-powered missile developed by the Glenn L. Martin Company for the United States Navy. Originally intended as an air-to-surface weapon, it materialized as a propulsion test vehicle, and between 1947 and 19 ...

test vehicle, the program was cancelled without any Gorgon Vs seeing service.

Design and development

The Gorgon V project was begun in 1950 to develop an air-to-surface missile capable of dispersing

chemical warfare agent A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized Ammunition, munition that uses chemicals chemical engineering, formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be an ...

s over a combat area.Parsch 2005 Designing of the missile was contracted to the

, which used the company's earlier PTV-N-2 Gorgon IV ramjet test missile as a basis for the weapon's design. The Gorgon V was to be a long slender missile, with

swept wing A swept wing is a wing that angles either backward or occasionally forward from its root rather than in a straight sideways direction. Swept wings have been flown since the pioneer days of aviation. Wing sweep at high speeds was first investigate ...

s and conventional tail. The Gorgon IV's

ramjet A ramjet, or athodyd (aero thermodynamic duct), is a form of airbreathing jet engine that uses the forward motion of the engine to produce thrust. Since it produces no thrust when stationary (no ram air) ramjet-powered vehicles require an ass ...

engine, slung beneath the missile's tail, was replaced in the Gorgon V with a X14A aerosol generator, developed by the

Edo Aircraft Corporation EDO Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturing company known primarily for manufacturing pontoons for floatplanes. History The EDO Aircraft Corporation began operations on October 16, 1925 in College Point, New York. Although ...

.Friedman 1982, p.201. Operational use of the Gorgon V was intended to be based on two missiles being carried by a launching aircraft. These would be released at an altitude of . The Gorgon V would be piloted by autopilot in a high-subsonic dive. Upon reaching an altitude of or less, as measured by a

radar altimeter A radar altimeter (RA), also called a radio altimeter (RALT), electronic altimeter, reflection altimeter, or low-range radio altimeter (LRRA), measures altitude above the terrain presently beneath an aircraft or spacecraft by timing how long it t ...

, the aerosol generator would be activated, dispersing chemical agent over an area of up to by . Development of the Gorgon V continued throughout the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. In 1953 it was projected that the weapon would be ready for operational service by 1955. Later that year, the Gorgon V was cancelled by the US Navy.Gunston 1979, p.121. It is unknown if any prototypes were constructed before the termination of the project.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{USN missiles Cold War air-to-surface missiles of the United States Chemical weapon delivery systems Abandoned military rocket and missile projects of the United States ASM-N-005