Honest John (M31)

The Honest John was the first nuclear-tipped rocket to be deployed by the United States Army. It was a simple, free-light rocket capable of delivering a nuclear warhead. This highly mobile system was designed to fire like conventional artillery in battlefield areas, The first Honest John battalions were deployed to Europe in the spring of 1954.

This solid fuel rocket was by far the easiest to operate of all U.S. nuclear weapons in the fifties. It took a six-man crew only five minutes to mount the rocket onto its launcher, After that, all that remained was to set the proper azimuth, and then fire the rocket.

It was replaced by the Improved (M50) Honest John in 1961 which reduced the system's weight, shortened its length, and increased its range. In July 1982, all Honest John rocket motors, launchers, and related ground equipment items were classified as obsolete.

Length	27 feet, 3 inches
Diameter	30 inches
Weight	5,820 pounds
Range	15.4 Miles
Stockpiled	1954 - 1961
Warheads	W7, W31

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