17 Facts About PGM-19 Jupiter

PGM-19 Jupiter was the first nuclear armed, medium-range ballistic missile of the United States Air Force .

PGM-19 Jupiter was originally designed by the US Army, which was looking for a highly accurate missile designed to strike enemy states such as Communist China and USSR.

PGM-19 Jupiter retained the short, squat shape intended to fit in naval submarines.

PGM-19 Jupiter saw the Navy interest as a reasonable argument to continue the Army project in any event, and on 8 November 1955 approved both programs.

However, as von Braun's team went from success to success, and with Atlas still years from operational deployment, it was clear that PGM-19 Jupiter represented a threat to the Air Force's desired hegemony over strategic forces.

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PGM-19 Jupiter's solution was to limit the Army to weapons with 200-mile range, and those involved in surface-to-air defense to only 100 miles .

Primary complaint about PGM-19 Jupiter was that the design's shorter range placed it within relatively easy striking distance of Soviet weapons, both missiles and aircraft.

The PGM-19 Jupiter flipped upside down, dumping out the contents of the RP-1 tank, followed by total vehicle breakup at T+13 seconds, just before the Range Safety Officer could issue the flight termination command.

PGM-19 Jupiter missiles were used in a series of suborbital biological test flights.

On 13 December 1958, PGM-19 Jupiter AM-13 was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a Navy-trained South American squirrel monkey named Gordo on board.

One squadron totaling 15 missiles was deployed at five sites near Izmir, Turkey from 1961 to 1963, operated by USAF personnel, with the first flight of three PGM-19 Jupiter missiles turned over to the Turk Hava Kuvvetleri in late October 1962, but USAF personnel retaining control of nuclear warhead arming.

All PGM-19 Jupiter MRBMs were removed from service by April 1963, as a backdoor trade with the Soviets in exchange for their earlier removal of MRBMs from Cuba.

PGM-19 Jupiter squadrons consisted of 15 missiles and approximately 500 military personnel with five "flights" of three missiles each, manned by five officers and 10 NCOs.

PGM-19 Jupiter MRBM was modified by adding upper stages, in the form of clustered Sergeant-derived rockets, to create a space launch vehicle called Juno II, not to be confused with the Juno I which was a Redstone-PGM-19 Jupiter-C missile development.

PGM-19 Jupiter is displayed in the Rocket Garden at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

PGM-19 Jupiter is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

PGM-19 Jupiter is on display at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds in Columbia, South Carolina.