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The Mighty Mouse 2.75 Inch Rocket

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Air-Launched 2.75-Inch Rockets

Unguided air-launched rockets of 2.75 in (70 mm) diameter were originally developed in the late 1940s by the NOTS (Naval Ordnance Test Station) at China Lake. The rockets were to be used as more powerful supplements and/or replacements for guns in both air-to-air and air-to-ground applications. Many millions of rocket rounds have been built so far, and the latest versions are still widely used by all U.S. armed services.

Designation Note: No formal designations are allocated to all-up 2.75-inch rockets. Instead, the rocket type is generally identified by the designation of the motor assembly, which is the main body of the rocket and includes nozzle and fins. The various warheads are typically usable with all available motors, and are presumably often fitted to the rockets in the field only shortly before actual use. Therefore it was apparently deemed unnecessary to assign designations to every specific combination of rocket and payload. In fact, the original edition of the current designation system for rockets and missiles explicitly excluded unguided line-of-sight rockets from the system.

 

MK 4 Mighty Mouse, MK 40

The 2.75-inch FFAR (Folding-Fin Aircraft Rocket) was originally developed by the NOTS as an air-to-air weapon to be used by interceptors against heavy bombers. A salvo of rockets was considered much more effective than a stream of cannon shells. The original rocket model was the MK 4, which was spin-stabilized and featured four flip-out fins around the nozzle. Fitted with a 2.7 kg (6 lb) HE warhead, it was widely used in the 1950s as the Mighty Mouse air-to-air rocket by USAF interceptors like the F-86D Sabre, F-89J Scorpion, F-94C Starfire and F-102A Delta Dagger. Total length of the MK 4 Mighty Mouse was 1.2 m (4 ft), and it weighed 8.4 kg (18.5 lb). Maximum range was around 6000 m (6500 yds), but effective range was more like 3400 m (3700 yds). The rocket's accuracy was relatively poor, because its speed and spin rate were too low to effectively counter gravity drop, cross winds and dispersion.

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Mighty Mouse MK 4

The 2.75-inch rocket was soon adapted for air-to-ground use, and a variety of warheads were developed. These included the heavier M151 and M229 HE fragmentation, the WDU-4/A flechette, and various smoke warheads for target spot marking and/or incendiary effects . The 2.75-inch rocket was also adopted by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps as a primary weapon for its armed helicopters. For better performance when launched from these slow platforms, the MK 40 motor was developed. It has a modified nozzle for a greater spin and therefore higher accuracy.

Except for the specialized installations in early high-speed interceptors, the MK 4/40 rockets were almost exclusively employed from multi-tube launch pods. A wide variety of these pods were used, and the most important were:

The LAU-series was generally used by the fixed-wing aircraft of the Air Force and Navy, while the M-series launchers were used by the Army's helicopters. Most (possibly all) of these pods could be used with either the MK 4 or the MK 40 rockets.

 

 

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Last Updated

05/03/2009

 

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