TM-61




	Specifications The Matador was the first operational guided missile in use by the U.S.

Aircraft - TM-61 Matador (U.S.A.)

The Matador was a surface to surface tactical missile which could carry a conventional or nuclear warhead. The missile age had started on September 8, 1944 when the first German V-2 missile hit London. While several attempts at missiles were attempted by the allies, and even a manned missile by he Japanese, the TM-61 Matador was the first operational guided missile in use by the U.S. The concept was modeled after a German V-1 "buzz bomb" of WWII. The Matador was launched by a booster rocket from a trailer and was controlled electronically from the ground during flight. I used a booster rocket to gain altitude, which fell away as the jet engine took over. There were over one thousand Matador's by 1957, but in 1959 they began to be phased out in favor of the more advanced Martin Mace.

"In July 1949, the Matador and Firebird missiles were canceled and other missile projects were downgraded to component developments or studies, or were canceled altogether. The Soviets' first atomic bomb test in August shook U.S. complacency but failed to generate progress in the missile program. At the start of the Korean War, the Air Force had only three missiles in development: Navaho, Rascal, and Falcon."

"...in January 1952, when the Air Force ... had to prevail upon Secretary of the Air Force Finletter not to cancel the Matador short-range (100-500 miles) missile, because the Army was certain to claim it or the close air support mission as a consequence."

-Source Ballistic Missiles in the United States Air Force 1945-1960 by Jacob Neufeld, Office of Air Force History 1990.

Matador