5-Inch Forward Firing Aircraft Rocket

The 5-inch Forward Firing Aircraft Rocket or FFAR was an American rocket developed during World War II for attack from airplanes against ground and ship targets.

Operational history

The first FFARs were developed by the U.S. Navy and introduced in June 1943. They had a 3.5-inch diameter and a non-explosive warhead, since they were used as an aircraft-launched ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) rocket and worked by puncturing the hull. It was accurate enough for use against surface ships and land targets, but these missions required an explosive warhead. A 5-inch anti-aircraft shell was attached to the 3.5-inch rocket motor, creating the 5-Inch FFAR, which entered service in December 1943. Performance was limited because of the increased weight, limiting speed to 780 km/h (485 mph). The High Velocity Aircraft Rocket, or HVAR, was developed to fix this flaw.

A list of aircraft that used FFAR:

3.5-Inch Forward Firing Aircraft Rocket

The 3.5-Inch Forward Firing Aircraft Rocket, or 3.5-Inch FFAR, was an American rocket developed during World War II to allow aircraft to attack enemy submarines at range. The rocket proved an operational success, and spawned several improved versions for use against surface and land targets.

Design and development

Following trials by the Royal Air Force of rocket-propelled, air-launched weapons for anti-submarine warfare during 1942, the United States Navy launched a high-priority project during the summer of 1943 for the development of an anti-submarine rocket of its own.

The resulting rocket was a simple design with four tail fins for stabilization at the rear, powered by a rocket motor that had been under development by Caltech since 1943. The warhead contained no explosive. The rocket's nose was a solid steel mass, weighing 20 pounds (9.1 kg), that punctured the pressure hull of a target submarine through the kinetic energy and momentum from its high velocity and mass. The nose of the 3.5" FFAR was given a relatively blunt conical shape that had been shown experimentally to give a maximum pitch-up of the nose as the rocket entered the water. This caused the rocket to shoot forward at a shallow depth deadly to submarines that were surfaced or traveling at snorkel or periscope depth. The rockets were launched in a shallow dive, since entry into the water at too steep an angle would defeat their ability to shoot forward at the required shallow depth. The rocket remained lethal even after passing through up to 130 feet of water, giving the pilot a target several times the actual size of the submarine. The sweet spot for targeting was considered to be 60 feet in front of the near side of the submarine. Typical firing range was about 1500 yards.

FFAR

FFAR may refer to: