U.S. MGM-31A Pershing I

U.S. MGM-31A Pershing I. . The Pershing I was the first of a family of powerful long-range nuclear missiles in service during the Cold War. The MGM-31A Pershing I Battlefield Support Missile entered service with the United States Army in 1964, replacing the aging Redstone Missile System. The Pershing I missile was a solid-propellant, two-stage, surface-to-surface ballistic missile. The Pershing I Missile platoon consisted of four M474 tracked vehicles. By comparsion the Redstone Missile required twenty vehicles. The first vehicle carried the missile and erector-launcher and a second vehicle carried the warhead. The third vehicle carried the Programmer Test Station and Power Station. The fourth vehicle carried the Radio Terminal Set, which included a large inflatable dish antenna. Guidance was by on-board radar, which steered the missile by maneuvering the steering vanes. The missile was steered until the received radar image matched with the internally stored map. The warhead was nuclear with a circular probability error of 1200 ft. The W50 nuclear warhead had three yield options: 60, 200 or 400 kiloton. The Pershing I served until it was replaced by the Pershing IA Missile System in 1969-70. , Length - 34 ft. - 10.5 m , Weight - 10,000 lbs. - 4,464 kg , Range - 100 to 400 miles - 162 to 650 km , Warhead - Conventional High Explosive or 400 kT Nuclear , CCN# 107999, 108000, 657964