2013 National Air and Space Museum: SS-20 (l) and Pershing II (r)
On the left, the SS-20
known as the "Pioneer" in Russian, is a two-stage, solid propellant missile with three multiple targetable reentry warheads.
The missile is almost 16.5 meters tall.
The exterior of the first stage is yellow fiberglass with numbers and Cyrillic letters printed along the circumference. The letters and numbers are used as guides in the manufacturing process when the solid fuel is covered with fiberglass. Two thirds of the way up the missile are the letters "CCCP" and a yellow five-point star.
The second stage has similar markings. The reentry vehicle consists of three warheads. The predominant color of the missile is green. Along the base of the missile are white fan stabilizers that assist in guidance.
The Votkinsk Machine Building Plant, USSR, constructed the missile for the exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum.
Exhibition of this missile complies with the Intermediate Nuclear Forces agreement between the US and USSR that provided for the preservation of fifteen SS-20 and Pershing II missiles to commemorate the first international agreement to ban an entire class of nuclear arms exhibition. It does not contain fuel or any live components. The Ministry of Defense of the USSR donated the missile to the Smithsonian.
Gift of USSR Ministry of Defense
Country of Origin
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Manufacturer
Votkinsk Machine Building Plant
Location
National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC
Exhibition
Milestones of Flight
Type
CRAFT-Missiles & Rockets
Materials
Metal (steel?), fiberglass, paint, plastic
Dimensions
Overall: 5 ft. 10 1/2 in. wide x 54 ft. 11 in. tall (179.1 x 1673.9cm)
airandspace.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19900275000
On the right, Pershing II
The Pershing II was a mobile, intermediate-range ballistic missile deployed by the U.S. Army at American bases in West Germany beginning in 1983.
It was aimed at targets in the western Soviet Union.
Each Pershing II carried a single, variable-yield thermonuclear warhead with an explosive force equivalent to 5-50 kilotons of TNT.
Under the terms of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union, all Pershing IIs and their support equipment were removed from the inventory and rendered inoperable.
This missile is a trainer, but its dimensions and weight are identical to an operational Pershing II. It was built by Martin Marietta and transferred by the Army Missile Command to NASM in 1990.
Transferred from the United States Army Missile Command.
Country of Origin
United States of America
Manufacturer
Martin Marietta Aerospace
Location
National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC
Exhibition
Milestones of Flight
Type
CRAFT-Missiles & Rockets
Materials
Metal
Dimensions
Other: 3 ft. 3 5/8 in. diameter x 34 ft. 9 5/8 in. tall (100.6 x 1060.7cm)
2013 National Air and Space Museum: SS-20 (l) and Pershing II (r)
On the left, the SS-20
known as the "Pioneer" in Russian, is a two-stage, solid propellant missile with three multiple targetable reentry warheads.
The missile is almost 16.5 meters tall.
The exterior of the first stage is yellow fiberglass with numbers and Cyrillic letters printed along the circumference. The letters and numbers are used as guides in the manufacturing process when the solid fuel is covered with fiberglass. Two thirds of the way up the missile are the letters "CCCP" and a yellow five-point star.
The second stage has similar markings. The reentry vehicle consists of three warheads. The predominant color of the missile is green. Along the base of the missile are white fan stabilizers that assist in guidance.
The Votkinsk Machine Building Plant, USSR, constructed the missile for the exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum.
Exhibition of this missile complies with the Intermediate Nuclear Forces agreement between the US and USSR that provided for the preservation of fifteen SS-20 and Pershing II missiles to commemorate the first international agreement to ban an entire class of nuclear arms exhibition. It does not contain fuel or any live components. The Ministry of Defense of the USSR donated the missile to the Smithsonian.
Gift of USSR Ministry of Defense
Country of Origin
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Manufacturer
Votkinsk Machine Building Plant
Location
National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC
Exhibition
Milestones of Flight
Type
CRAFT-Missiles & Rockets
Materials
Metal (steel?), fiberglass, paint, plastic
Dimensions
Overall: 5 ft. 10 1/2 in. wide x 54 ft. 11 in. tall (179.1 x 1673.9cm)
airandspace.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19900275000
On the right, Pershing II
The Pershing II was a mobile, intermediate-range ballistic missile deployed by the U.S. Army at American bases in West Germany beginning in 1983.
It was aimed at targets in the western Soviet Union.
Each Pershing II carried a single, variable-yield thermonuclear warhead with an explosive force equivalent to 5-50 kilotons of TNT.
Under the terms of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union, all Pershing IIs and their support equipment were removed from the inventory and rendered inoperable.
This missile is a trainer, but its dimensions and weight are identical to an operational Pershing II. It was built by Martin Marietta and transferred by the Army Missile Command to NASM in 1990.
Transferred from the United States Army Missile Command.
Country of Origin
United States of America
Manufacturer
Martin Marietta Aerospace
Location
National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC
Exhibition
Milestones of Flight
Type
CRAFT-Missiles & Rockets
Materials
Metal
Dimensions
Other: 3 ft. 3 5/8 in. diameter x 34 ft. 9 5/8 in. tall (100.6 x 1060.7cm)