Talk:UGM-27 Polaris

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Just out of curiosity, what was the point of adding the Bond movies? Elde 18:22, 22 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Those interested in this article are invited to participate in my rewrite in progress at User:Elde/Sandbox Elde 19:48, 22 Jan 2004 (UTC)

"The nuclear warhead was developed at the (now) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory by" well, what was it called back then?

Chevaline actually reduced the number of warheads, from the 3 carried on a standard A3 to 2. Elde 00:36, 21 Sep 2004 (UTC)

When they say that the Polaris wasn't meant for use against hardened targets, but rather for retaliation, does that mean that their main function was destruction of civilian populations?

In a word, NO. Think about it. Retaliation can be against hardened targets, unhardened targets, airfields, military bases, an enemy's gymnasium .... even the staff restaurant .... or even against strategic targets embedded within population centres. Which seems to suggest that if one chooses to live in a high-density neighbourhood, choosing one where there are strategic targets as neighbours is not a sensible life-enhancing decision. Brian.Burnell 14:00, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Chevaline decision date

The deleted ref to the date quoted in the Nuclear Weapon archive is not accurate, being based on data published originally in 1989 in Norris, Fieldhouse and Burrows 'Nuclear Weapons Databook Vol5 - British, French and Chinese Nuclear Weapons. Being published at that time (1984) the data can only be described as speculative, since this start date was not in the public domain in 1989. The correct date as originally stated as January 1975 originates from the refereed journal Prospero, also cited. Specifically the contribution of Dr Frank Panton CBE on page 127. Dr Panton was in a better position to know than most, being Assistant Chief Scientific Advisor (Nuclear) MoD 1969-75; and with oversight of the Chevaline project 1972-75. Brian.Burnell 14:53, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fiction

It is hard to see the relevence of references to James Bond books and movies in what is a technical, or encyclopaedic account of the Polaris missile system from conception to retirement. Brian.Burnell 13:06, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Jupiter

The two missiles named Jupiter are not the same design, nor evolved from the same origins. Although its not entirely clear where the US Navy plans originated, their Jupiter was short and fat (can I still say that?), and very, very ugly. The other Jupiter was designed at the US Army Redstone Arsenal (with help from Werner von Braun). However, Congress took away the US Army's right to field IRBM's and gave it exclusively to the USAF (who had their own Thor missile design competing with Jupiter). The USAF Jupiter was then deployed to land-bases in Italy, and Thor to the UK. But the 'not designed here' prejudice against Jupiter lingered in the USAF, and it was never widely deployed. The Navy Jupiter was configured as a cluster of six (a six-pack?) thin boosters strapped together, and were intended to be carried horizontally in submarine hangers similar to the Regulus modus operandi. How they were to be elevated prior to launch has never been explained. So when Teller offered the US Navy the prospect of a one megaton warhead that was small and light enough to be carried in a missile small enough to fit vertically, the Navy probably regarded it as a blessing. Brian.Burnell 16:32, 28 October 2006 (UTC)