The MGM-52 Lance was a mobile

field artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the early 20t ...

tactical

surface-to-surface missile A surface-to-surface missile (SSM) or ground-to-ground missile (GGM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea and strike targets on land or at sea. They may be fired from hand-held or vehicle mounted devices, from fixed ins ...

(

tactical ballistic missile A tactical ballistic missile (TBM), or battlefield range ballistic missile (BRBM), is a ballistic missile designed for short-range battlefield use. Typically, range is less than . Tactical ballistic missiles are usually mobile to ensure sur ...

) system used to provide both

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

and conventional

fire support Fire support is defined by the United States Department of Defense as " Fires that directly support land, maritime, amphibious, and special operations forces to engage enemy forces, combat formations, and facilities in pursuit of tactical and ope ...

to the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

. The missile's warhead was developed at

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a federal research facility in Livermore, California, United States. The lab was originally established as the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Livermore Branch in 1952 in response ...

. It was replaced by

MGM-140 ATACMS The MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) is a surface-to-surface missile manufactured by the U.S. defense company Lockheed Martin. It has a range of up to , with solid propellant, and is high and in diameter. The ATACMS can be f ...

, which was initially intended to likewise have a nuclear capability during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

Deployment

The first Lance missiles were deployed in 1972, replacing (together with the US-Navy's nuclear-tipped RIM-2D and RIM-8E/B/D) the earlier Honest John rocket and Sergeant SRBM ballistic missile, greatly reducing the weight and bulk of the system, while improving both accuracy and mobility. A Lance battery (two fire units) consisted of two M752 launchers (one missile each) and two M688 auxiliary vehicles (two missiles each), for a total six missiles; the firing rate per unit was approximately three missiles per hour. The launch vehicles were also able to carry and launch the MGR-1 Honest John with a special kit for operational war-zone mission-dependent flexibility. The missile's engine had an unusual arrangement, with a small sustainer engine mounted within a toroidal boost engine.A Rocket Engine Inside Another Rocket Engine - The Lance Missile
- Scott Manley

Payload

The payload consisted either of a

W70 W70 was a two-stage, thermonuclear warhead that was developed for the MGM-52 Lance missile by the United States. Designed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Mod 1 and Mod 2 version of the weapon entered service in 1973, while the enha ...

nuclear warhead with a yield of or a variety of conventional munitions. The W70-3 nuclear warhead version was one of the first warheads to be battlefield-ready with an "enhanced radiation" (

neutron bomb A neutron bomb, officially defined as a type of enhanced radiation weapon (ERW), is a low-yield thermonuclear weapon designed to maximize lethal neutron radiation in the immediate vicinity of the blast while minimizing the physical power of the b ...

) capability. Conventional munitions included single conventional shaped-charge warhead for penetrating hard targets and for

bunker busting A bunker buster is a type of munition that is designed to penetrate hardened targets or targets buried deep underground, such as military bunkers. Armor piercing shells Germany Röchling shells were bunker-busting artillery shells, developed ...

or a cluster configuration containing 836 M74 bomblets for anti-personnel and anti-materiel uses. The original design considered 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 ...

warhead option, but this development was cancelled in 1970.

Deactivation

The Lance missile was removed from service following the end of the Cold War and was partially replaced in the conventional role by the

Operators

Former operators

*1st Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment (1973–1992)

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...

, Oklahoma *1st Battalion,

32nd Field Artillery Regiment The 32nd Field Artillery Regiment is a distinguished and highly-decorated field artillery regiment of the United States Army, first Constituted in 1918. Lineage Constituted in the Regular Army as the 32nd Field Artillery and assigned to t ...

(1975–1991) Hanau, Germany *6th Battalion,

33rd Field Artillery Regiment The 33rd Field Artillery Regiment is an inactive field artillery regiment of the United States Army, first constituted in 1918 in the National Army (USA). A parent regiment under the U.S. Army Regimental System, the regiment has no active regi ...

(1975–1987); redesignated as 6th Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment (1987–1991) Fort Sill (One battery was forward deployed to South Korea) *2nd Battalion,

42nd Field Artillery Regiment The 42nd Field Artillery Regiment is a field artillery regiment of the United States Army, first Constituted 5 July 1918 in the National Army (USA). Lineage Constituted 29 June 1918 in the Regular Army as the 1st Battalion, 42d Artillery (C ...

(1974–1987); redesignated as 4th Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment (1987–1991) Crailsheim, Germany *3rd Battalion, 79th Field Artillery Regiment (1974–1986); redesignated as 2nd Battalion,

(1986–?) Giessen, Germany *1st Battalion, 80th Field Artillery Regiment (1974–1987); redesignated as 3rd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment (1987–1991) Aschaffenburg, Germany *1st Battalion,

333rd Field Artillery Regiment The 333rd Field Artillery Regiment is a regiment of the Field Artillery Branch of the United States Army. Part of the regiment's history can be traced to the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion, an African-American racially segregated United St ...

(1973–1986); redesignated as 3rd Battalion,

(1986–?) Wiesbaden, Germany *2nd Battalion,

377th Field Artillery Regiment The 377th Field Artillery Regiment is a field artillery regiment of the United States Army. A parent regiment under the U.S. Army Regimental System, the regiment's 2nd Battalion, 377th Field Artillery Regiment is assigned to the 2nd Infantry Bri ...

(1974–1987); redesignated as 2nd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment (1987–1992) Herzogenaurach, Germany

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

* 50 Missile Regiment Royal Artillery (disbanded and retired weapons in 1993)

Israeli Defence Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branch ...

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dutc ...

*129th Artillery Battalion (1979–1992)

Belgian Land Component The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard ...

*3rd Artillery Battalion (1977-1992)

Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

* 3rd Missile Brigade "Aquileia" (up to 1991, then from 1992 to 2001, 3rd Missile Rgt)

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

*150th Rocket Artillery Battalion *250th Rocket Artillery Battalion *350th Rocket Artillery Battalion *650th Rocket Artillery Battalion

References

External links

Video of Lance missiles being launched by British Army in 1992 – #1Video of British Army Lance launches in 1992 – #2Video of British Army Lance launches in 1992 – #3
– Lance
Herzobase.org
– Lance Missile base in Germany
Brookings Institution photos and data
{{Authority control Cold War nuclear missiles of the United States Short-range ballistic missiles Cold War missiles of the United States MGM-052 Military equipment introduced in the 1970s