US Guided Missiles: The Definitive Reference Guide Hardcover – December 14, 2012

it contains the history of the evolution of American missiles. Not bad, it's a good catalog.

Several years ago, I tried to do what Yenne has attempted, to gather up information on missiles and cross-references of designation systems from various disparate sources but eventually gave up in frustration when I found that Blaugher and Parsch had already done it. So, as a former Missileer, I was quite excited when "U.S. Guided Missiles" was announced last March (2012) as a pre-order. That it took nine months from announcement to delivery (in mid-December), and included one cancellation (by Amazon) of my order along the way is an indication of the literature swamp that Mr. Yenne found himself swimming through in to deliver a readable product on time and within a reasonable cost. Missiles are funny things. Most have a shelf life of years but a service /flight life measured in minutes or seconds. By and large ( except for some target or Recon drones) they fly one sortie and that's it. Likewise , their "neither fish nor fowl" status has dogged and obscured how the services have viewed them and designated them. not counting WWII designations , there have been four or so attempts to categorize them, in 1947,1951,1955 and 1963. The alphabet soup of letters ( XSSAM-A-1, RTV-N-7, CIM-10,etc.) and the multiple designations early missiles had during their service life ( ex: ,B-75,XSM-75A, PGM-17A Thor ) just added to the general confusion.Mr Yenne's text deals primarily with those 174 airframes and devices that have had the "M for Missile" designation applied to them in the 1963 revision, and only references the birds of the 1947, 1951 and 1955 designations (that didn't make the 1963 cut) in separate Appendices and Addenda. While this gives a definite structure to the text , it also imposes a limitation that removes any claim to a "definitive reference guide" as the title suggests. Several (20 - 30) of the Missiles reviewed are not provided with any picture, all have only brief specifications , while even the most thorough type review ( the B-65/SM-65/CGM-16/HGM-16 Atlas) only get six pages which includes 10 pictures (including 3 full page pictures) . With three exceptions ( in a separate "Selected Classic Guided Missiles" chapter) ,the earliest US Missiles ( those that did not recieve an "M" designation in 1963) -are only mentioned by name in three appendices or mentioned in passing in chapter One. If you are looking for a more in-depth history of the Atlas, Thor, Nike, Viking, Navajo, Titan, U.S. V-2 trials, or others you would be better served by finding the fine individual published monographs or histories elsewhere ( but since they are not listed in the bibliography , you are on your own to find them).Being familiar with the Titan II (B-68B/SM-68B/LGM-25C) system I checked the entry for Missile designation 25. I was disappointed to see that the short-lived Titan I (B-68A/SM-68A/HGM-25A) got short shrift (4 paragraphs) , the much longer-lived Titan II even less (two paragraphs) ,that all photos were of the Titan II, and that he mentioned SAC having "56 LGM-25As and 59 CGM-25Cs" ! No and No! He even got the peak number of Titan IIs on Alert wrong ( he claims "63 in 1967" , which is tough to do with only 54 operational sites and one test Site, each with one silo and one bird. While it sounds like nit-picking , finding these clangers makes me wonder what else he got wrong in systems that I didn't know that much about. In another chapter ,on the XSSM-A-1/B-61/TM-61/MGM-1 Matador) the three photos show three totally different versions (Wing placement & tail design), calls two of them YQB-61, and offers no explanation of the changes made or why.Mr. Yenne's Bibliography was disappointingly brief, with only 29 text entries, 12 of them authored by Yenne, and mentions a number of Industry periodicals without giving specifics as to why they were included . He does provide a list of 26 websites, (including Parsh's very inclusive designation guide) but since print volumes have a much longer working life than websites ,I wonder how long those sites will be up and/or accessible.That having been said, this text is the best attempt of several in recent memory to put one's arms around the subject of U.S. Missiles, guided and otherwise. It's not definitive, has a lot of gaps, and some incorrect information; but the list and review of the more recent M-designated missiles is the best that I have yet found. I would regard this text as printed as more of a work in progress than a definitive reference. Still, at $34.95 , it is relatively good value for money, and better than any earlier attempts. But the "Definitive Reference " I was hoping for is still to be written

Once again, noted aerospace historian and author Bill Yenne has filled a much-needed niche and crafted a volume that has something for everyone. Typical of his previous offerings, the contents are presented with technical details sufficient to satisfy any engineer but with the readability and graphic appeal that an "armchair enthusiast" will find inviting.The generous 256-page format allowed for a level of thoroughness not often found in books covering this important subject but one that I've come to expect from Mr. Yenne. Following a brief but very informative introduction that brings the reader up to speed, over 200 pages are devoted to a number-by-number review of all 175 missiles that have been included in the "M" designation series. For each missile, you'll find a concise overview of development and deployment, a data block with technical specifications, and superb representative photographs. Compiling a volume of this complexity was clearly no easy task.And this brings up another important aspect of the book. Having grown up during the Cold War, my childhood favorite missiles had designations that seemed to reflect a good many diverse numbering systems. The U.S. Navy's Regulus II carried the designation SSM-N-9 while missiles belonging to the U.S. Air Force appeared to be "inserted" into the existing bomber or even fighter series. Being designed to intercept formations of enemy aircraft, the Bomarc was initially referred to as the F-99 (Fighter), but soon this was changed to a more appropriate IM-99 (Interceptor Missile). Several other Air Force missiles were originally categorized as "bombers" but then had their designations similarly changed, hence the B-61 Matador, B-62 Snark, and B-63 Rascal eventually being referred to as TM-61, SM-62, and GAM-63, respectively. Like many readers, I would have assumed that all of the above mentioned numbers were a part of the sequential system that is the focus of this book, but such is not the case!Most missiles were apparently entered into the new "universal" system in a relatively chronological order. Thus, some of those favorites of mine eventually became the MGM-1 Matador, CIM-10 Bomarc, and RGM-15 Regulus II. Along the way, many other missiles were added and there were a few surprises. Who could have guessed that a single vehicle would be given the very same number in two entirely different military systems? When retirement time came for Convair's famous F-102 Delta Dagger and it was selected for conversion to an unmanned target drone, it became the PQM-102!The author goes to great lengths to sort everything out and further explains the meaning behind all of the seemingly confusing prefix letters so the reader will learn the difference between a missile that's designated "MGM", "CIM", "RGM", etc. The addendum section of the book includes supplemental information covering important missiles that, for one reason or another, did not receive "M" series numbers. Included here are the legendary Snark, Rascal, and Navaho, as well as three anti-missile programs that are of historical significance. Also covered are the 18 members of the parallel "rocket" family, appropriately given "R" designations."U.S. Guided Missiles" finishes off with several appendices that shed light on early designation systems and this gives the reader a comprehensive "big picture" view of a truly fascinating story. This outstanding book is an essential and highly recommended addition to the library of any military aviation buff!

...but the book offers considerable value.This book is a mile wide and an inch deep. On the the one hand the book tries to be comprehensive and to a large extent succeeds. The cornerstone of the book are the 175 missiles that were designated in the 1963 joint missile "M" series. In addition the book covers important missiles that were out of service by 1963 and some important undesignated missiles. A series of appendices lists missiles in the pre-1963 Army, Navy, and Air Force series.On the other hand this is a very wide array of missiles to do justice to in the few paragraphs available and the author does not always succeed. For example the author appears to be under the impression that Atlases were launched from Point Loma, CA. He makes overt blunders like "In the 1980s, General Dynamics developed a solid-fuel launch vehicle called the Atlas II, but which had little in common with the original Atlas." He repeats the now hoary mistake of confusing the Jupiter C launcher with the Jupiter missile when the former was actually a Redstone derivative. Missile designations are commonly butchered throughout the text, i. e. "YAGM-132A". Many entries are duplicated word for word. The whole book gives the impression of little original research. It seems a compilation of published sources.All that said, I still recommend the book. A comprehensive book on American missiles was badly needed and the book does have considerable merit as a first (but only the first) stop for readers wanting to know more about a particular missile. It does provide information on many obscure missiles. By no stretch of the imagination definitive but a first step towards that ideal.

super book

Not as good as i had hoped for. Very short captions for many (older) missiles and no pictures of them. Wrong pictures of some missiles must be due to bad proof-reading.

Un ouvrage agréable et certainement complet dans la mesure où il décrit la totalité des missiles guidés US connus et révélés. Le plan est cependant erratique (les missiles sont listés par numéro d'inventaire !), et les descriptions trop sommaires