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ReseaRch a n d developmenT In T h e na v y 49
explosives and propellants, research (including the Michelson Laboratory),
engineering, testing, and weapons planning. Functional separation of research
and engineering did not, in itself, prohibit collaboration across organizational
boundaries. Interdepartmental cooperation was expected in cases when the
station received weapons requirements from the Chief of Naval Operations. In
a 1957 article reviewing the station’s weapons development process, Aviation
Week reported that teams drawn from the functional departments “will assist
[the rockets and missiles department] in design studies which ultimately lead
to development of a finished prototype.” This cooperative strategy was perhaps
most effectively institutionalized in the development of the Sidewinder, a highly
successful air-to-air missile that entered fleet service in 1956. All phases of
technical development incorporating the efforts of scientists and engineers—
structural design, aerodynamic configuration, infrared guidance, propulsion,
launching arrangement—were completed at China Lake. 40 A similar process
guided in-house development of the Mighty Mouse, a small-caliber, air-tosurface
missile that began rolling off assembly lines in 1951. Also during this
period, the station turned out the first prototypes of the Shrike antiradar missile
and the Walleye television-guided glide bomb, both of which entered service in
the mid-1960s. 41
In addition to developing new missiles and rockets from scratch, the Naval
Ordnance Test Station also improved weapons that had been effectively used
during World War II. First introduced into service in the Army Air Forces in 1944,
the high-velocity aircraft rocket (HVAR), unofficially dubbed Holy Moses, was
the first Caltech-designed aircraft rocket tested for operational performance at
China Lake. Like other aircraft rockets, Holy Moses was fitted with fixed fins to
maintain aerodynamic stability during flight. Meanwhile, researchers at Caltech
had been experimenting with several designs and configurations to improve
the performance of Holy Moses and other rockets. In the field of ballistics, for
example, it was well established that projectile rotation during firing—in rifles
and artillery, for example—improved stability and accuracy. Using the same
principle for surface-to-air applications, Caltech researchers introduced a design
for a finless, tube-launched rotating rocket that compared favorably with its finstabilized
equivalent.
Launching a spinning rocket from the air rather than the ground, however,
proved to be more problematic. The presence of fixed tubular launchers on the
wings of high-performance aircraft, especially jet aircraft, reduced airspeed and
impaired maneuverability. Moreover, the stability of a rocket fired during flight
40 “NOTS Converts Ideas into Missiles,” Aviation Week 66 (3 June 1957): 148. Philco, a diversified
radio and electronics manufacturer based in Philadelphia, was selected by the Navy in 1954 to be the prime
contractor for Sidewinder. Other firms, such as Raytheon and the Loral Corporation, joined Philco as
major contractors as the program expanded and new versions of the missile were introduced into service.
For an introduction to the history of the Sidewinder program, see Ron Strum, Sidewinder: Creative Missile
Development at China Lake (Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1999).
41 Gerrard-Gough and Christman, The Grand Experiment at Inyokern, 296; K. F. Mordoff, “China
Lake Facilities Dedicated to Diverse Weapons Tasks,” Aviation Week and Space Technology 124 (20 January
1986): 56; D. B. Young, “Integrated Research,” Ordnance 40 ( July-August 1955): 56.