Little John

Little John was the Army's smallest nuclear-capable rocket ever deployed. It was a free flight artillery rocket, capable of carrying either nuclear or conventional warheads., Little John was an air-transportable, unguided rocket powered by a solid-fuel rocket motor. Designed to give airborne Army units a nuclear capability, the highly mobile Little John rocket system complemented the heavier self-propelled Honest John systems., Developmental studies began in 1953. Little John went through two stages of development. The one shown here with triangular fins was the earlier of the two, first launched in June 1956. This was essentially a rocket test vehicle, and was used for training and test purposes., The final tactical Little John had small square fins. Its development began in 1956, with test firings conducted between December 1958 and October 1959. Production began in late 1959 and the first rockets were deployed by airborne battalions in January 1961., Production and deployment were limited by the fact that Little John was designed for airborne operations and there were only two airborne Army units at the time. In August 1969, it was declared obsolete and withdrawn from service., At White Sands Missile Range, the first Little John was tested in 1956. Before it was declared obsolete, 636 rockets had been test-fired here. Between 1969 and 1977, 43 additional Little Johns were launched to test laser guidance, warheads and other components. It was a Range workhorse., Length: 14.5 feet , Diameter: 12 inches , Weight: 800 pounds , Propellant: Solid , Range: 11 miles , First Fired: 1956