Was 'Honest John' a missile - ???

[Paul Thompson 'Hooligan']

Seing Monkeyboy's post regarding his KVA seemed to spark a memory to me.

Wasn't there a missile back in the 60s? 70s? called an 'Honest John'??

I'm sure I've got a picture my father took at Larkhill many moons ago that is titled

'The last firing of honest john'

Although from what I remember it was an almost empty sky with a small silver streak in one corner.:laugh:

Anyone??

 

[Simon Rider]

Indeed it was, Paul...
MGR-1 Honest John - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Jac Mac]

With a 40kt nuclear payload and a range of 15.4 miles it sounds somewhat suicidal to even pull the trigger on it!

 

[Mike Trusty]

I was fortunate(or unfortunate) in being pressent during the launch of an "Honest John" during a fire power demonstration at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in 1969. I was a couple hundred yards from the lauch and my body is still vibrating and my ears are still ringing.

 

[Paul Thompson 'Hooligan']

Well there you go... and there's two in nc - watch out Ron....:laugh:

I'll have to dig out that picture now and have a look-see again.

I do remember going to the Larkhill display as a teenager (or possibly earlier??) but the missile firing must have been before I went. I do remember tons of ammo being fired off in demonstrations, Abbot tanks lining up and firing downrange at remote controlled armoured vehicles. Bofors guns firing at 50 gallon oil drums and visitors could 'have a go' at knocking down radio controlled aircraft with 7.62 gpmgs.

One neat trick was an SP155 self propelled gun, that looked to me like the BIGGEST TANK in the world, when it came on, fired about 4 or 5 shells, lowering the barrel between shots and ALL landed simultaneously on a hillside in the distance - very cool.

An M110 howitzer (203mm) was also loosing off rounds downrange which was 'kin LOUD!!

And all of this was witnessed as a spectator, sitting within about 50m of the firing vehicles, no earplugs, no poxy 'Risk assesments' or red tape...

Happy days...

I guess defence budgets have changed a bit since then - or at least over here they have.

 

[Al Jones]

Mike - I was on the late 60's Fort Campbell Kentucky artillery demo team of which the Honest John was a part and ,yes it was LOUD. Jac Mac - That thing was never actually going to be used w/ a nuclear payload. All it ever carried was conventional explosives although it was classified as nuclear capable.The really scary thing is that it had absolutely no guidance -just a bottle rocket on steroids - light the fuse and stand back,way back.Another one of those idiotic American defense weapons was the Atomic Cannon which shot a 600lb projectile,nuclear payload optional.Think about it - the range with a nuclear projo was 20 miles - a definite single use weapon.And who was going crew this thing - the 3 stooges? They actually fired the thing at Fort Sill(spent some time there, too) with a conventional low power head but the line officer screwed up and positioned the gun 180 deg out.All they accomplished was vaporizing a small entrance area on the edge of the base.There was a guard shack nearby(not real close) that was pretty much blown away but the guard survived with only hearing damage and minor cuts as he was asleep in the bottom of the shack below a raised concrete step.The unit before us did the same thing with one of the aforementioned 155 howitzers. Blew the back out of a bar in Clarksville,Tenn just to the south of the fort.God must have been watching because they did this at about 9am and the bar was closed. That was just part of the entertainment while I was attached to the 101st airborne at Fort Campbell KY. A.J.