Traveling Back to the 1960s: The Entire Internet Teaches Me How to Build Missiles

In the sky above Target Range 17, the Hongqi-1 missile roared toward the target of the Tu-2 bomber.

Soon, the orange-red tail flames around the missile body began to extinguish, and the solid rocket booster was almost simultaneously melted and unlocked by the high temperature. The four tail fins were thrown off to the side and rear, forming a spectacular "Korolev Cross".

Since surface-to-air missiles at this time did not have advanced guidance heads, ground fire control radars needed to manually correct the positional relationship between the missile and the target and "remotely control" its flight.

In the microscopic world, one can see beams of increased-power radio waves shooting toward the missile, establishing an invisible electronic bridge between it and the radar.

The Hongqi-1 missile's second-stage ignition continuously receives information on the target's flight speed and altitude, which is simultaneously displayed on the radar screen.

"500 meters..."

"300 meters..."

"100 meters..."

"30 meters!"

"Detonate!"

As the missile approached the metal target towed by the Tu-2 bomber, the proximity fuse detected the radio echo that "matched the characteristics of the enemy aircraft" and triggered the explosion without hesitation.

Bang!

Zhou Yunxiao imagined this adrenaline-pumping scene in his mind, then looked up at the dazzling spectacle in the sky.

As it was an experimental missile, the warhead of the Hongqi-1 was not a live missile filled with high explosives, but was replaced with a telemetry module.

The interior of the cabin is equipped with a magnetic tape recorder and a wire recorder to record the high-frequency vibrations of the missile, the deflection angle of the servo motor, and the working status of the fuse. The exterior is equipped with a smoke and flash device to simulate the effect of an explosion.

At this moment, the horizon was filled with billowing smoke, flashbangs and thick smoke simulated the appearance of a target being hit, and at the same time, the telemetry cabin separated from the main body of the missile and slowly fell towards the Gobi Desert with a parachute.

The remaining projectiles, accompanied by the nitric acid fuel detonation, rose into a cloud of yellowish-brown toxic smoke before scattering down like petals from a fairy.

Meanwhile, the Tu-2 bomber leisurely dragged an 800-meter-long steel cable as it landed back on the airport runway.

Several high-speed cameras, protruding from several bunkers, snapped more than ten photos before being sent to the darkroom for processing.

Seeing that the No. 1 target drone test was completed, Shen Weidong from the other group didn't bother to watch the test of the remaining two missiles. He quickly led his group out of the control room to help retrieve the telemetry cabin and verify the results.

Xiao Su, standing to the side, scratched his head: "Comrade Yunxiao, isn't this a live-fire test?"

Zhou Yunxiao explained to her, "The missiles are live ammunition, just without warheads. After all, they are still in the testing phase, and sacrificing three missiles would be too costly. Moreover, by testing them in this way, the electron tubes and gyroscopes in the telemetry cabin can be salvaged and reused, saving the base some funds."

Xiao Su gave a thoughtful "oh," and then asked, "How do we determine whether the missile hit the plane?"

Zhou Yunxiao shrugged. "We'll just have to wait and see."

Then, the remaining two Tu-2 bombers and the Red Chess No. 1 missile were used in the same manner.

The high-speed cameras on the ground recorded three sets of footage capturing the "detonation moment" of intense light and thick smoke. After being developed in the darkroom, the footage was placed on the table in the control room.

The crowd gathered around, eagerly examining the instantaneous explosion photos of their respective groups.

Tian Fulin picked up the first photo and showed it to everyone.

Those were missiles from Shen Weidong's team; the flash landed near the back of the target.

Although it did not miss the target, people speculated that if the missile had detonated at that location, it would have only caused negligible damage to the enemy aircraft.

Then comes the second photo.

This is an improvement plan by Chief Engineer Li Difeng. The flash point is exactly in the center of the target drone, and the fuse is successfully triggered 30 meters away, seemingly covering the entire target.

The third and last photo is of Zhou Yunxiao's group.

The flash appeared very strangely in a blank space to the side of the target, barely touching it, and was even less effective than Shen Weidong's photo.

A low chuckle rippled through the crowd.

Isn't that a case of missing the target?

However, Shen Weidong and Li Difeng's expressions were noticeably more serious, each with their brows furrowed, seemingly calculating something.

Tian Fulin did not make a final judgment on the spot, but instead waved his hand and gave the order:

"Demolition team, prepare explosives for the second phase—ground aluminum target static blast test!"

It turns out that the first stage of the airborne telemetry missile was simply using flashbangs to locate the missile's "explosion coordinates".

Looking at the flashes in the photos alone is not enough to prove the missile's destructive power.

Therefore, in the second stage, the coordinates in the air need to be transferred proportionally to the ground static blasting field.

Just like the time stop button being restarted, it allows the original "warhead explosion" to continue.

As everyone emerged from the launch control room, they saw three proportionally scaled airplane models, made of thin aluminum plates, standing on an open ground not far away.

A group of technicians are using film to take photos and set up a theodolite to replicate the flash coordinates and relative intersection attitude of the Hongqi-1 missile.

After replicating the position, the warhead filled with high explosives was suspended by a steel frame and hung near the airplane model.

Instructor Tian led Xu Haifeng around to check on the situation.

The warhead of model number 1 is mounted near the rear of the aircraft;

The warhead of model number 2 is mounted under the fuselage of the aircraft;

The warhead of model number 3, mounted in mid-air on the side and front of the aircraft, looks like it was fired off at an off-target.

After Xu Haifeng finished his rounds, he returned and said, "The detonation points have all been determined. In addition, each of your missiles will exhibit different azimuth angles when detonating at the target. Considering the different dynamic dispersion cones, the detonation angle of the warhead must also be taken into account."

He found a blackboard that had been prepared beforehand, picked up the chalk, and wrote:

"The missile's aiming angle is very clear in these photos, so I'll assume it's flying at Mach 3 and directly calculate the deflection angle of the fragment's kinetic energy. Do the three of you have any objections?"

Zhou Yunxiao, Engineer Li, and Technician Shen all nodded.

Due to the inertia of the missile during flight, these fragments will form a large net of fragments that tilts forward, much like splashing water while running.

In order to simulate this inertia of "splashing water forward", the detonation angle of the warhead must be taken into account.

Xu Haifeng then established three rectangular coordinate systems on the blackboard, performed spatial vector operations, and calculated the dynamic dispersion cones of the three missiles.

He was adept at using all mathematical equations, from the dynamic scattering angle equation of the fragments and the initial velocity equation at the moment of detonation, to calculating the difference in deflection angle and the coordinates of the target plate in reverse translation, and he wrote out the analytical solution in one go.

Even Xiao Su, who prides himself on being good at math, was full of praise.

"The flight speed of the No. 1 warhead is 850 m/s, and the static initial velocity of the fragments is approximately 2000 m/s. Substituting these values..."

Xu Haifeng turned to Technician Shen and said, "The dynamic dispersion cone of your warhead should be tilted forward by 15 degrees compared to the static dispersion cone. The detonation angle should also be adjusted according to this error, right?"

Shen Weidong did not question the calculation results of the overseas-educated PhD, and nodded convincingly, "Okay!"

Then, the angles that needed to be adjusted for the No. 2 and No. 3 warheads were calculated.

Then, everyone stepped back to make room for a safe distance.

After the three combat units adjusted their angles in front of their respective aircraft models, they detonated one after another in the open ground.

Rumble—Bang!

Zhou Yunxiao kept his head down behind the bunker. First, he heard the sound of an explosion, followed by the screeching sound of metal scraping against each other, which sounded like thunder.

Then countless flying stones and gravel rained down on the track.

Once the smoke cleared, everyone quietly looked up at the three aluminum plate models still ablaze. After confirming that everything was safe, they rushed out of their bunkers and excitedly ran to "examine the bodies"!