The M4 Lacrosse Guided Missile System was the third atomic battlefield missile deployed by the US Army. Lacrosse was intended to provide the US Army (and US Marine Corps originally as a method of replacing USMC artillery units with guided missiles) a road mobile, short ranged, atomic battlefield surface-to-surface guided missile with pinpoint accuracy. Lacrosse would be used for close infantry support, in addition to general military support for Theater Commanders.

The SSM-A-12 (later redesignated MGM-18A and the a designation for MGM-18B or Lacrosse Type II was set aside but the funding for this missile never materialized) Lacrosse Type I Guided Missile began development in 1947 as a US Marine Corps project, and finally deployed in 1959 after some long growing pains and switching from a Navy missile plan to a US Army weapons program. The whole Lacrosse system would be removed from American service a short while later in 1964. It was only deployed and used by the US and Canada for a short time and historically touted as a failure. US Army references cite the Lacrosse Weapon System saw deployment in the Continental United States in July 1959, Europe in March 1960, and South Korea in April 1960.

Martin (Cornell) Marietta's Lacrosse missile weighed 2300 pounds and was 19 feet long. It flew at a speed of Mach .8 and had a range of 11 miles. Its wingspan was nine feet wide and the fuselage was 20 inches in diameter. The guided missile carried a single, 540 pound, shaped-charged warhead - with options for HE conventional, chemical, and atomic employment. When so equipped, the W40 atomic warhead gave Lacrosse a variable explosive yield in the low Kiloton range. A 1959 reference on Lacrosse (All About Missiles and Satellites) stated the missile had a speed of Mach 1.7 and was transported by a 10-ton truck. No other references I have agree with these facts - though they are interesting.

Lacrosse was guided by forward controllers on the ground. The M4 Lacrosse Missile was manned by three soldiers. Another solder served as Forward Observer, who fired the missile by remote control. A Guidance Controller manned an electronics van which carried equipment to acquire the missile's tracking beacon. Once linked, the Guidance Controller sent commands to steer Lacrosse into a ballistic trajectory towards the target. The Controller could monitor the entire flight and send course corrections for windage or even changes in target position. This system promised a high degree of accuracy, with envisioned use against hardened targets like bunkers, as well as troop concentrations or armored vehicle formations.

In reality, the Lacrosse could only achieve this high degree of accuracy under the best battlefield conditions - and with an experienced crew. Lacrosse could not hit a moving target. References cite the weapon system was quite a handful to maintain in the field, and this affected its reliability. Perhaps most damning of all, the Lacrosse suffered the same malady as the Corporal missile - since it was radio-controlled, its guidance control system could easily be jammed, potentially rendering an atomic weapon uncontrollable over a friendly battlefield or city.

In effort to correct these deficiencies, the US Army asked Congress in 1963 to fund missile improvements. The funding was never approved, and Lacrosse was retired in early 1964. In all fairness, Lacrosse promised all the capabilities that modern-day missiles exhibit - the technology was not up to the challenge at that time. One might say Lacrosse was father to many of the ideas that make them so formidable.

The M398 Guided Missile Launcher Truck (Helical Railed) [above photos] was based on the M45 6x6 truck chassis and came into service in 1958. This vehicle was the operational mount for the Lacrosse Type I Guided Missile. The M398 was 21' 11" long overall, 7' 10" wide, and 9' 8" tall with the Launcher in the stowed (transport) position. The M45 truck was a REO gasoline-engined 2 1/2-ton chassis. The helical-railed M398 Launcher was an improvement over the M387 Launcher. The helical rail on which the Lacrosse was perched imparted a 500 degree per second roll to the missile when launched to improve accuracy. The M387 Launcher used a simple square-section launch rail.

The M387 was based on the M44 6x6 truck chassis - distinguishable by the single rear wheels. The M387 was used in testing from 1953 through 1957. The dimensions of the M387 were virtually the same as the M398, and this vehicle was used during the long development phase of the Lacrosse weapon system. It would not be introduced into service as an operational mount - which is regrettable because it is simpler and more purposeful in design as compared to the M398 Launcher.

Both vehicles carried a self-contained Launcher / Erector and Control Unit for operating the Lacrosse Guided Missile. Both were air-transportable and provided a good degree of mobility in all types of terrain. The Lacrosse Type II missile would have incorporated some improvements to address radio-jamming and support concerns. The Launcher vehicle would have been changed too. A new light weight launcher (approximately 2900 pounds) capable of being towed by a 1/4-ton truck (I think a M37 3/4-ton 4x4 Truck more likely) would have made the system helicopter transportable. This LWL (Light Weight Launcher) likely would have been designed like the launcher used for the Little John artillery rocket and the later M740 LWL deployed for Lacrosse's replacement - the famous Lance artillery rocket. I surmise the operation and configuration of Lacrosse Type II's LWL would be similar to the proposed helicopter transportable launcher intended for further developing the Honest John artillery rocket - dubbed CHOPPER JOHN - which too never got funded.

Below are the early (top two photos - designated M47 and later MGR-3) and late (bottom photo - designated M51, and later MGR-3A, as the Little John model introduced into service with the US 101st Airborne Division) LWL's for the Little John artillery rocket to whet your modeling appetite. The M51 Little John (like its big brother the M31 and M50 Honest John) was nuclear capable as well, deployed in limited numbers with US Army Airborne forces to give them an atomic punch on the battlefield. Both could be towed by a 1/4-ton (M38) 4x4 Truck as well as being slung-loaded underneath a helicopter. I believe either could have been air-dropable as well.

Below are photos of the LWL's used for the Lance artillery rocket. I think the Lacrosse Type II would have been carried on something between this and the Little John's service LWL shown above. The uppermost photo is of the MGM-52A Lance and associated early LWL, and the bottom photo is the later MGM-52B Lance and its associated M740 LWL.

Another vehicle proposed as carrier for the Lacrosse Guided Missile Launcher was the M8 18-ton high-speed Cargo Tractor. Aurora produced a model kit of this vehicle (#311-129 and I believe 1:48 scale), but alas, I haven't had fortune to get my hands on one. The proposal did not reach deployment stage. Renwal's 1:32 scale model kit (#560) is perhaps the best known of the Lacrosse miniatures. It has a myriad of problems - biggest of which is the fact that they modeled the M398 Guided Missile Launcher to fit their M62 5-ton Wrecker model kit. Understandable to get the most mileage out of model kit molds you can, but the M39 5-ton truck chassis is some 12% larger than the M44 / M45 2 1/2-ton truck chassis on which the real Launcher was based. This means that everything on the Renwal kit is some 12% larger to compensate - if not totally wrong in detailing altogether. Revell also produced (#H-1816) a 1:40 scale model of the M398 Lacrosse Guided Missile Launcher Truck. Of them all, this is the better modeling effort. Naturally, no 1:35 scale kits of the Launcher Truck or Lacrosse Missile exist today, which is why I'm undertaking this effort.

Below are photos of other vehicles used to support the Lacrosse Guided Missile System from TM 9-500. First shown is the M37 3/4-ton 4x4 Truck that carried the MX-3029 Angular Tracker Set. The Angular Tracker was used in conjunction with the AN/MSW-5 Missile Guidance Center (MGC) which was carried by the M38 Willys MD Jeep in the photo below. Both of these units searched for and acquired the Lacrosse's beacon signal in flight, tracked and maintained control of the missile throughout its flight, and ultimately delivered the Lacrosse missile on target.

Above here is the third component of the Missile Guidance Center. Carried by a M38 Jeep, the Target Ranging Set was used to determine slant range and elevation angle information for a target. This Set and the Angular Tracker were dismounted from their transport vehicles for use.

Next shown below is the M37 3/4-ton 4x4 Truck used to transport the AN/DSM-59 Guided Missile Test Set. This equipment was connected to the Lacrosse's internal guidance system for testing operations prior to launch. This vehicle / unit was commonly seen near the M398 Guided Missile Launcher Truck.

The M242 Trailer below housed the M33C Anti-Aircraft Fire Control System for the Lacrosse Guided Missile System. The M33 System was capable of locking-on and tracking high-speed targets, and displayed their locations to the operators inside the Van.

Below, this M109 Shop Van carried radio transmitters and receivers allowing the Range Safety Controller to destroy the Lacrosse Guided Missile in the event the weapon exceeded the boundary control limits. When AFV Club released their M35A2 2 1/2-ton Truck, their instruction sheets hinted that a M109 Shop Van would be forthcoming. Though it hasn't seen the light of day, yet, if AFV Club releases that kit you'll already be better than three-quarters on the way to building one of these units for your Lacrosse miniature.

The M109 Shop Van also served as an ORD-7 Van - which carried components to repair the Lacrosse Guided Missile or MGC Systems if malfunctions occurred during checkout or routine field maintenance.

Two other vehicles were used in the Lacrosse Guided Missile System in the support role - one of which was a M39 series 5-ton 6x6 truck. Proposed along with the Lacrosse Type II improvements, the 5-ton vehicle(s) would have been replaced by specialized 2 1/2-ton trucks from the M44 / M45 series to make the whole system smaller and lighter for greater air transportability. Best guess would have been the employment of the long wheelbased M36 cargo truck with its extended cargo bed for transporting the missile, in place of the M54 5-ton truck. Another concept involved combining the transport and crane functions into a single vehicle. Again, I surmised this probably would have taken form on the 2 1/2-ton long wheelbase chassis, with the crane offset to one side and the transport containers on the other, with outriggers as employed on the M108 to stabilize the whole truck.

As deployed, a standard M54 5-ton 6x6 Cargo Truck transported the Lacrosse missile bodies and warheads from the ordnance ammunition supply point. The M54 Truck (top photo below) carried two Lacrosse missiles in two warhead containers and two missile body containers. The M108 Crane Truck (bottom photo below) was used to remove the Lacrosse missile body and warhead sections from their containers. The 8000 pound capacity crane first lifted the Lacrosse missile body for placement on the Launcher Rail. Once secured, then the crane was used to attach he warhead section to the missile body.

Below is an illustration of the Checkout Center in the field where the Lacrosse Guided Missiles are unpacked from their shipping containers and mounted on the M398 Launchers, prior to them moving out to their firing positions. Bottom most photo is of the two containers used to ship the Lacrosse missile body and warhead.