Washington D.C. U.S.A.: Headquarters Department of the Army. Training Circular TC 1-135. Pictures available upon request. . Good. Soft cover. 1981. Headquarters, Department of the Army paperback
Washington DC: Departments of the Army and the Air Force 1965. Presumed First Edition First printing thus. Wraps. Good. 2 53 3 pages. Tables. Illustrations/Figures. References. Five-hole punched and stapled at the left side. Stamps and ink notation on front cover. Ex-library with usual library markings. This includes Change No. 1 dated 11 March 1966 stapled behind the front cover and in front of the page 1 of this manual. Cover has some wear and soiling. This manual supersedes TM 10-500-51-1/TO 13C7-3-261 6 November 1963; TM 10-500-51-3/TO 13C7-3-281 24 April 1963; TM-500-76-1/TO 13C7-32-11 28 May 1962; TM 10-500-76-3/TO 13C7-32-31 30 January 1963; TM 10-500-81-1/TO 13C7-32-41 15 June 1963; and TM 10-500-81-3/TO 13C7;32-61 18 March 1963. Under the heading Special Considerations it states that "b. All operations involving nuclear warheads will be performed in strict compliance with Department of Defense approved peacetime safety rules as promulgated in TM 9-1100-212-12. c. If nuclear units are to be airdropped tape container with weapon arming device and warhead section logbook to the rocket motor. ." The MGR-3 Little John was a free flight artillery rocket system designed and put into service by the U.S. Army during the 1950s and 1960s. Carried on the XM34 rocket launcher it could carry either nuclear or conventional warheads. It was primarily intended for use in airborne assault operations and to complement the heavier self-propelled MGR-1 Honest John rocket. Development of the missile was started at Army's Rocket and Guided Missile Agency laboratory at Huntsville Alabama the Redstone Arsenal in June 1955. In June 1956 the first launch of the XM47 Little John occurred. This initial model was spin-stabilized by larger triangular fins and a longer launch rail. It was stabilized by the fins alone until it began to spin. The production XM51 version had smaller rectangular fins too small to stabilize the rocket and was stabilized from launch by a unique "spin-on-straight-rail" system. The XM51 Little John was delivered to the field in November 1961 and remained in the regular Army's weapons inventory until August 1969. It was a spin-stabilized field artillery rocket that followed a ballistic trajectory to ground targets. The rocket XM51 consisted of a warhead a rocket motor assembly and an igniter assembly. The components were shipped in separate containers with the warhead and motor assembled before issue and the igniter inserted immediately before use. The Little John differs from the Honest John in not only its size but how it is stabilized in flight. The flight of the Honest John is stabilized by a spin that is imparted to the rocket by spin rockets after the round leaves the launcher. The XM51 Little John rocket flight is stabilized by applying spin to the rocket while on the launcher just before firing. This manual method of stabilization was called "spin-on-straight-rail" SOSR. A hand-wound mechanical clock spring on the launcher rotates the missile through gears when the firing lanyard is pulled. Once the rocket is rotating at 3½ rev. per second inertial switches connect the thermal batteries to the rocket motor's igniter. In flight the spin is maintained by canted fins. The system was manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company. The missile and launcher system were light enough to be easily transported by helicopters and other aircraft or towed by a vehicle. The Phase II Little John weapon system was initially deployed with the 1st Missile Battalion 57th Field Artillery in Okinawa Japan. The missile was retired beginning in July 1967 with the final missile removed from inventory in 1970. Five hundred missiles were produced during the life of the weapon program. Departments of the Army and the Air Force paperback