US Cruise Missile Submarines, the Regulus II
A second generation supersonic Vought SSM-N-9 Regulus II cruise missile with a range of 1,200 nautical miles and a speed of Mach 2 was developed and successfully tested, including a test launch from Grayback, but the program was canceled in favor of the UGM-27 Polaris nuclear ballistic missile.
The Regulus II missile was a completely new design with improved guidance and double the range, and was intended to replace the Regulus I missile. Regulus II-equipped submarines and ships would have been fitted with the Ships Inertial Navigation System (SINS), allowing the missiles to be aligned accurately before take-off.
Forty-eight test flights of Regulus II prototypes were carried out, 30 of which were successful, 14 partially successful, and four failures. A production contract was signed in January 1958 and the only submarine launch was carried out from Grayback in September 1958.
Due to the high cost of the Regulus II (approximately one million dollars each), budgetary pressure, and the emergence of the UGM-27 Polaris SLBM (submarine-launched ballistic missile), the Regulus II program was canceled on 18 December 1958. At the time of cancellation Vought had completed 20 Regulus II missiles with 27 more on the production line. Like its fore-bearer, the Regulus II ended its service life as target drones.
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The reason that the American Army does so well in wartime, is that war is chaos, and the American Army practices chaos on a daily basis.
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