 the convair rim-2 terrier was a two-stage medium-range naval surface-to-air missile (sam), and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip united states navy ships. it underwent significant upgrades while in service, starting with a beam-riding system with 10&nbsp;nm range at a speed of mach&nbsp;1.8, and ending as a semi-active radar homing system with a range of 40&nbsp;nm at speeds as high as mach&nbsp;3. it was replaced in service by the rim-67 standard er (sm-1er). terrier has also been used as a sounding rocket, == history == the terrier was a development of the bumblebee project, the navy's effort to develop a surface-to-air missile to provide a middle layer of defense against air attack (between carrier fighters and antiaircraft guns). it was test launched from uss mississippi (ag-128) ex (bb-41) on january 28, 1953, and first deployed operationally on the s, uss boston (cag-1) and uss canberra (cag-2) in the mid-1950s, with canberra being the first to achieve operational status june 15, 1956. its us navy designation was sam-n-7 until 1963 when it was re-designated rim-2. for a brief time during the mid-1950s the usmc had two terrier battalions equipped with specially modified twin sea launchers for land use that fired the sam-n-7. the terrier was the first surface to air missile operational with the usmc. the launchers were reloaded by a special vehicle that carried two terrier reloads. rockets & missiles by bill gunston, p. 201, crescent books 1979, isbn 0-517-26870-1 initially, the terrier used radar beam-riding guidance, wing control, and a conventional warhead. it had a top speed of only mach 1.8, a range of only 10 nautical miles (19 km), and was only useful against subsonic targets. originally, the terrier had a launch thrust of 23 kn (5,200 lbf), and weight of 1,392 kg (3,069 lb). its original dimensions were a diameter of 340 mm, a length of 8.08 m, and a fin span
Cold_War_surface-to-air_missiles_of_the_United_States Naval_surface-to-air_missiles Naval_surface-to-air_missiles_of_the_United_States Naval_weapons_of_the_United_States Nuclear_anti-aircraft_weapons Nuclear_missiles_of_the_Cold_War Surface-to-air_missiles_of_the_United_States