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— CH. 1 · DEVELOPMENT ORIGINS AND DESIGN —

Pershing II

~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
6 sections

  • In 1973, the United States Army began a new project to replace its aging Pershing 1a missile system. The existing weapon carried a warhead with a yield of 400 kilotons, which was far too powerful for its intended tactical role. Military planners needed a smaller explosive that could still destroy hardened targets like underground command bunkers. Achieving this required a massive leap in precision accuracy. Martin Marietta won the development contract in 1975 after years of evaluation. The first test launch occurred on the 22nd of July 1982 from Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Engineers designed the Pershing II to carry either a W85 warhead with variable yields between 5 and 80 kilotons or an earth-penetrating W86 bunker buster. Requests from Israel to purchase the new system were rejected by American officials in 1975. The Soviet Union had begun deploying their RSD-10 Pioneer missiles in 1976, prompting changes to the American range requirements. Planners increased the Pershing II range to ensure it could strike targets deep inside eastern Ukraine, Belarus, or Lithuania.

  • The Pershing II utilized solid-fueled two-stage rocket motors built by Hercules Corporation. To keep weight down, engineers spun the rocket cases from Kevlar material with aluminum attachment rings. A Goodyear Aerospace active radar guidance system provided terminal phase accuracy. This system compared live video returns against pre-stored reference maps of the target area. The missile achieved a circular error probable of just 30 meters when using radar correlation. If the radar failed, an inertial navigation system would still guide the weapon to its general target area. The reentry vehicle contained three distinct sections: a radar section, a warhead section, and a guidance and control adapter. Radar maps stored on disk were transferred to quarter-inch cartridges for use during countdown operations. A DEC PDP-11/70 computer programmed these targeting data files before launch. The missile used swivel nozzles for pitch and yaw control during powered flight phases. Roll control came from movable air vanes located on both the first stage and the reentry vehicle.

  • On the 12th of December 1979, NATO Foreign and Defence Ministers adopted the Double-Track Decision in Brussels. They resolved to deploy 108 Pershing II launchers across Western Europe to replace older systems. The agreement also included 464 Ground Launched Cruise Missiles to strike targets further east. West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl pledged to dismantle his country's remaining Pershing 1a missiles if the United States and Soviet Union agreed to scrap all intermediate-range nuclear forces. The first Pershing II launchers arrived in West Germany beginning in late November 1983. Initial Operational Status was achieved on the 15th of December 1983 when A Battery of the 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery Regiment rotated into position at Mutlangen. By late 1985, the deployment was complete with 108 launchers stationed at Neu-Ulm, Mutlangen, and Neckarsulm. The U.S. Army 56th Field Artillery Brigade managed these three missile battalions throughout the Cold War era.

  • The deployment sparked significant protests across Europe and the United States organized by groups like the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. In October 1981, 300,000 protesters assembled in Bonn to oppose short-range nuclear weapons. European Nuclear Disarmament launched a campaign for total disarmament in 1982. The Seneca Women's Encampment for a Future of Peace and Justice formed in 1983 specifically to protest the new missile deployments. On the 19th of April 1985, the U.S. Army informed Congress that security reviews found the missiles extremely vulnerable to terrorist attacks following an explosion earlier that year. A fire on the 11th of January 1985 killed three soldiers at Camp Redleg near Heilbronn during an assembly operation. Investigators determined that Kevlar rocket bottles had accumulated triboelectric charges in cold dry weather which ignited the propellant. This incident led to a moratorium on missile movement through late 1986 while new grounding procedures were implemented. Plowshare activists damaged equipment at Martin Marietta plants in Orlando, Florida and Wilmington, Massachusetts between 1983 and 1984.

  • The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was ratified on the 27th of May 1988, triggering the elimination of Pershing systems. Missiles began withdrawal from Europe in October 1988 under international supervision. The final destruction occurred in May 1991 at the Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant near Caddo Lake, Texas. Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev and U.S. President Reagan signed the treaty on the 8th of December 1987 after years of negotiations. West Germany unilaterally agreed to remove its Pershing 1a missiles from inventory by 1991 despite not being covered by the treaty. These German weapons were also destroyed within the United States. The treaty mandated the static burning of motors followed by crushing operations for all launchers and rocket stages. This process ensured no functional components remained that could be reused for military purposes.

  • Scrap material from the decommissioned Pershing II and SS-20 missiles found new life as art and memorabilia. Sculptor Zurab Tsereteli created a monumental bronze statue called Good Defeats Evil using sections from both missile types. The dragon figure in the sculpture represented nuclear war and was made entirely from missile scrap. The United Nations donated this artwork to their headquarters grounds in New York City in 1990. Parker Pen Company produced ballpoint pens featuring crests formed from Pershing and SS-20 scrap metal. Five living presidents received these pens at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library opening on the 4th of November 1991. Leonard Cheshire's World Memorial Fund sold badges made from missile fragments with proceeds going to disaster relief efforts. Seven inert Pershing II missiles were retained for display under treaty allowances. One now sits in the Smithsonian Institution alongside a Soviet SS-20 missile while another resides in Moscow's Central Armed Forces Museum. Veterans groups like the Pershing Professionals Association work to preserve the history of these systems today.

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Common questions

When did the United States Army begin developing the Pershing II missile system?

The United States Army began a new project to replace its aging Pershing 1a missile system in 1973. Martin Marietta won the development contract for this program in 1975 after years of evaluation.

What was the circular error probable accuracy of the Pershing II missile during terminal phase guidance?

The Pershing II achieved a circular error probable of just 30 meters when using radar correlation against pre-stored reference maps. Engineers designed the weapon with an inertial navigation system as a backup if the active radar guidance failed.

Where were the first Pershing II launchers deployed in West Germany and when did they arrive?

The first Pershing II launchers arrived in West Germany beginning in late November 1983. Initial Operational Status was achieved on the 15th of December 1983 at Mutlingen, Neu-Ulm, and Neckarsulm by late 1985.

Why did the U.S. Army implement a moratorium on missile movement through late 1986?

A fire on the 11th of January 1985 killed three soldiers at Camp Redleg near Heilbronn because Kevlar rocket bottles accumulated triboelectric charges that ignited the propellant. This incident led to a moratorium on missile movement while new grounding procedures were implemented.

When was the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty ratified and what happened to the Pershing II missiles?

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was ratified on the 27th of May 1988 triggering the elimination of all Pershing systems. The final destruction occurred in May 1991 at the Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant near Caddo Lake Texas following static burning and crushing operations.

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All sources

41 references cited across the entry

  1. 1webThe Pershing Missile: Peace Through Strength1 October 2020
  2. 3inlinehttps://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/missile-surface-surface-pershing-ii/nasm_A19910037000
  3. 4webPershing IICape Canaveral Space Force Museum
  4. 5magazineMissiles for Peace29 September 1975
  5. 6bookResponse to PRM-38 Presidential Review Memorandum 38 Long-Range Theater Nuclear ForcesChristine Dodson — Special Coordinating Committee, National Security Council — 19 August 1978
  6. 7journalRaining FireHearst — January 1984
  7. 8journalU.S. Has Other Defense OptionsJoseph. Harsch — 22 June 1983
  8. 9journalThe Pershing Rocket MotorLauris T Jones III — United States Army Ordnance Corps Association — Winter 1986
  9. 10webMartin Marietta M14/MGM-31 PershingAndreas Parsch — 2002
  10. 11webNuclear Files: Library: Media Gallery: Still Images: At Work in the Fields of the Bomb by Robert Del Tredici
  11. 12journalPershing II: The Army's Strategic WeaponChristopher Paine — October 1980
  12. 13journalTarget Reference for Pershing IIJanuary 1984
  13. 14reportThe Soviet "War Scare"President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board — President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board — 15 February 1990
  14. 15newsPERSHINGS PUT MOSCOW ON 6-MINUTE WARNINGCharles Mohr — 1983-02-27
  15. 16webNATO Basic Documents2009-02-27
  16. 17webPresident Reagan's plan to deploy 572 intermediate range missiles... – UPI Archives
  17. 18newsWhen Deployed in 80's, the New Missiles in West Europe Could Strike at SovietDrew Middleton — 1979-12-13
  18. 19newsKOHL MOVES TO CAPITALIZE ON PERSHING DECISION2023-12-30
  19. 20newsFIRST U.S. PERSHING MISSILES DELIVERED IN WEST GERMANYJames M. Markham — 1983-11-24
  20. 21newsPershing Missiles Now All in Place2023-12-28
  21. 22newsA Missile Protest Prepared in Bonn9 October 1981
  22. 23newsHundreds of Thousands Protest Missiles in Europe: Urge U.S. to Match Soviet Halt8 April 1985
  23. 24webWest Germany. "Anti-Nuke" protests. 1983
  24. 25journalPershing II Worries Hit a Once-Content German TimeFrederick Kempe — 1 September 1983
  25. 26newsQUIET PROTEST AT U.S. BASE IN GERMANYJames M. Markham — 1983-09-02
  26. 27newsARMY TERMS PERSHING 2 MISSILES VULNERABLE TO TERROR IN GERMANYBill Keller — 1985-05-01
  27. 28newsProtesters Smash Missile Vehicle at U.S. Base in West Germany5 December 1983
  28. 29journalThe Accident in HeilbronnGary A. Green — July 1985
  29. 30journalTechnical Investigation of ll January 1985: Pershing II Motor FireJames A. Knaur — Defense Technical Information Center — August 1986
  30. 31journalSensitivity of Solid Rocket Motors to Electrostatic Discharge: History and FuturesAlain Davenas et al. — July–August 2002
  31. 32webMissiles of the Cold War and the Contribution of Pershing IIRaymond Haddock — 6 December 2006
  32. 33bookPershing II RRUnited States Army
  33. 34journalPershing II and U.S. Nuclear StrategyWilliam M. Arkin — June 1983
  34. 35journalResurrecting the Coast ArtilleryStephen L. Melton — Department of the Army — 17 June 2014
  35. 36webThe Pershing Weapon System and Its EliminationUnited States Army
  36. 37journalTheater Missile Defense Targets for Interceptor Test and EvaluationNat Thongchua et al. — 7 November 1994
  37. 38magazineCharity: Writing Off The Weapons28 August 1991
  38. 39webFive PresidentsTony Fischier
  39. 40webPershing Professionals Association
  40. 41webTraditionsgemeinschaft Flugkörpergeschwader 1
  41. 42webTraditionsgemeinschaft Flugkörpergeschwader 2