R-1 (missile)

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The R-1 rocket (NATO reporting name SS-1 Scunner) (and its evolved version R-2 or SS-2 Sibling) was a copy of the German V-2 rocket manufactured by the Soviet Union. Even though it was a copy, it was manufactured using Soviet industrial plants and expertise, and gave the Soviets valuable experience which later enabled the USSR to construct its own much more capable rockets.

In 1945 the Soviets captured several key production facilitities of the V-2 rocket, and also gained the services of some German scientists and engineers connected to the project. In particular the Soviets gained control of the main V-2 manufacturing facility at Nordhausen, and had 30 V-2 missiles assembled there by September, 1946.

In October, 1946 the Soviets transferred the German missile engineers working for them to a special research facility near Moscow, where they were forced to remain until the mid-1950's. However, the best members of the German V-2 design team ended up in the USA, and the group in Moscow played only a secondary, though still useful, role in the Soviet effort. The Soviets established a missile design bureau of their own (OKB-1), under the direction of Sergey Korolev. This team was directed to create a Soviet capability to build missiles, starting with a Soviet copy of the German V-2 and moving to more advanced, Soviet-designed missiles in the near future.

In April, 1947 Stalin authorised the production of the R-1 missile, the designation for the Russian copy of V-2. The GRAU index 8A11 was also used. The first tests of the missile began in September, 1948. The system was accepted by the Soviet army in November,1950. The R-1 missile could carry a 785 kg warhead of conventional explosive to a maximum range of 270 km, with an accuracy of about 5 km.

[edit] R-2 rocket

The R-1 was quickly followed by an evolutionary improvement, the R-2 rocket (SS-2), which had more range. The weight was increased by 50%, but the range more than doubled, to 600 km (370 miles). The test flight of the R-2 rocket took place in September 1949, and it was accepted for service in November, 1951, actually entering service in large numbers around 1953. A grand total of 1,545 R-1 and R-2 missiles were produced.

The successful R-2 missile was the last Soviet missile based on German designs. In the future, while some German influences would clearly remain, the Soviet missile designs would be fully home grown.