Malkara missile
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| Malkara | |
|---|---|
| Type | Anti-tank guided missile |
| Place of origin | UK/Australia |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1958 to 1960's |
| Used by | UK |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1954 |
| Number built | 1000 |
| Variants | none |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 93.5 kg |
| Length | 1.9 m |
| Diameter | 0.20 m |
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|
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| Warhead | 26 kg HESH |
| Detonation mechanism |
impact |
|
|
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| Engine | solid rocket |
| Wingspan | 0.80 m |
| Operational range |
4000 m |
| Flight ceiling | n/a |
| Guidance system |
wire guided line of sight |
| Steering system |
control surfaces |
| Launch platform |
Vehicle |
The Malkara missile (from an Aboriginal word for "shield") was one of the earliest anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). It was jointly developed by Australia and the United Kingdom between 1951 and 1954, and was in service from 1958 until gradually replaced by the Swingfire missile in the late 1960s. It was intended to be light enough to deploy with airborne forces, yet powerful enough to knock out any tank then in service.
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[edit] Development and operations
The concept of the Malkara was probably inspired by the WWII German X-7 anti-tank missile.[citation needed] Design was principally undertaken at the Australian Government Aeronautical Research Laboratory, and this phase was also one of the first examples of computer simulation in engineering design. Development testing was carried out at Woomera Prohibited Area, and approval testing at the tank training range at Lulworth Cove, Dorset. Although testing at Dorset apparently achieved an impressive 90% Pkill, in service the missiles were not considered a great success, due to two principal failures:
- They were considered too heavy. As they were too heavy for manpacking, they could only be operated from their specialist vehicles, reducing flexibility; and
- Accuracy achieved in practice was poor. This may have been because the awkward control system required a lot of practice, and there was neither a simulation system nor sufficient missiles for practice firing. In their memoirs, some operators state that they only fired one missile in their careers.
- Finally, their speed was low, with almost 30 secs to the maximum range
However, lessons learned from the Malkara project led to improvements in later programs. In addition, the basic airframe and expertise were directly used in the development of the Ikara anti-ship missile and the Sea Cat surface-to-air missile.
Malkara was unusual amongst anti-tank missiles in that it had a HESH (High Explosive Squash Head - US name HEP - High Explosive Plastic) warhead instead of the more usual shaped charge HEAT (High Explosive Anti Tank) warhead. The United Kingdom showed always interest for HESH, the main HE anti-tank ammunition in British tanks like the Centurion. A 26/27 kg anti-tank warhead was well above the average, but Malkara had a caliber of 203 mm and this should lead to an HEAT potential really high (it depends much from the caliber), as example SS-11 missiles had 164 mm caliber and 600 mm RHA piercing power, so with the same 4:1 ratio Malkara could reach something like 800 mm, much more than enough against all tanks of the time, fitted only with normal steel armour.
The Malkara formed the basis of the successful Sea Cat surface-to-air missile.
[edit] FV1620 Humber Hornet
A specialised air-deployable armoured fighting vehicle was developed to carry the Malkara. Based on the British Army's FV1611 Humber Pig armoured truck, it carried two Malkara missiles on a retractable boom at the rear, and could be air-dropped on a cluster of 6 parachutes. While this did mean that airborne forces could pack a weapon that could destroy tanks from outside the effective range of tank gunnery, by the time the AT-3 Sagger appeared it must have looked like an awfully complicated way to deploy just two missiles.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Specifications
- Length: 1.9 m (6.3 ft)
- Diameter: 200 mm (8 in)
- Wingspan: 800 mm (2.6 ft)
- Range: 4000 m (4400 yd)
- Propulsion: Dual thrust solid rocket
- Speed: 146.19 m/s (327 mph) - low-subsonic, 28 sec to 4 km max range
- Overall weight: 93.5 kg (206 lb)
- Warhead: 26 kg (57 lb) HESH
- Guidance: Wire guided MCLOS, using a thumb joystick and visual observation of two flares on the wings.
- Number built: 1000
[edit] References
- War Machine encyclopedia, Aerospace Publishing Ltd., pag. 253 (in Italian version printed by De Agostini, 1984).
- Rockets and Missiles - John W. R. Taylor - Hippo Books No 8 - Hamlyn, 1971 - ISBN 0-0600-37528-5
[edit] See also
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