Cavalier in Pembina County, North Dakota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Spartan Interceptor Missile
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, August 28, 2022
1. Spartan Interceptor Missile Marker
This missile is a full-scale model of a United States Army interceptor called a Spartan. Cavalier Air Force Station was originally part of a 6-part system known as SAFEGUARD designed to provide an anti-ballistic missile capability for defending North Dakota from Soviet attack. The Perimeter Acquisition Radar and Attack Characterization System (PARCS) at Cavalier would detect inbound missiles and pass the information to the Missile Site Radar at Nekoma, which would launch and control “Spartan” long range interceptors to destroy the enemy warheads. Today, the men and women of the 10th Space Warning Squadron at Cavalier AFS use a Spartan warrior as their unit mascot to acknowledge the site’s heritage. This model “Spartan” was designed, built and donated by Lorrich Industries at Cavalier, North Dakota in recognition of the teamwork and friendship between Cavalier AFS and the surrounding community.
Erected by Lorrich Industries, Inc.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • War, Cold.
Location. 48° 48.242′ N, 97° 37.31′ W. Marker is in Cavalier, North Dakota, in Pembina County. Marker is on Division Avenue North (State Highway 5/18) just south of 96th Street Northeast
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 1 other marker is within walking distance of this marker. Pembina County Courthouse (approx. 0.9 miles away).
Also see . . .
1. LIM-49 Spartan.
The LIM-49 Spartan was a United States Army anti-ballistic missile, designed to intercept attacking nuclear warheads from Intercontinental ballistic missiles at long range and while still outside the atmosphere. For actual deployment, a five-megaton thermonuclear warhead was planned to destroy the incoming ICBM warheads.(Submitted on November 3, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)The Spartan was the final development in a long series of missile designs from the team of Bell Laboratories and Douglas Aircraft Company that started in the 1940s with the Nike. Spartan was developed directly from the preceding LIM-49 Nike Zeus, retaining the same tri-service identifier, but growing larger and longer ranged, from the Zeus' 250 nautical miles to approximately 450 nautical miles.
2. Spartan.
The first stage had four fixed tail fins which were in line with the four fixed tail fins of the second stage. The third stage had four fins, which possibly provided control in the atmosphere, but were(Submitted on November 3, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)offset by 45 degrees to the 1st and 2nd stage fins. Although Spartan was a direct descendant of Nike Zeus B, it appears slightly fatter, longer and heavier with a much-improved performance and a much bigger warhead. The warhead was a single W-71 thermonuclear device with a 5Mt yield. It was designed not to kill the RV by blast (which was not possible due to the altitude that it was designed to intercept the RVs at), but by thermal X-ray flux.Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, August 28, 20222. Spartan Interceptor Missile Marker(marker is on right side of missile model base)
3. First SPARTAN Launch.
On Saturday, March 30, 1968, the first Spartan missile, the Army's biggest and most powerful missile, completed its first flight test at the Kwajalein Test Site in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Larger and heavier than its predecessor the Zeus anti-missile missile, the Spartan was designed to give the BMD system a broader range and wider coverage per battery. With the combination of the long-range Spartan and the long-range Perimeter Acquisition Radar, experts believed that the system could protect the entire nation, including Alaska and Hawaii with only 15-20 missile sites.(Submitted on November 3, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, August 28, 2022
3. Spartan Interceptor Missile Exhibit
Credits. This page was last revised on November 3, 2022. It was originally submitted on November 1, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 160 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 3, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
