The
Dragon 1/35 SS-1C Scud B is a
plastic model kit in the
Dragon Modern Military range. The `Scud B' (R-17) was a considerable improvement over the earlier A version. The missile is 11.25 m long, has a body diameter of 0.88 m and a launch weight of 5,900 kg. The propellants were changed, from `Scud A', to Unsymmetrical Dimethyl Hydrazine (UDMH) and Inhibited Red Fuming Nitric Acid (IRFNA), which were fed to the combustion chamber by fuel pumps and gave a more consistent thrust.The total propellant weight at launch was around 3,130 kg, and the structural weight (less warhead bay) was 1,785 kg. These improvements increased the missile range to 300 km and reduced the CEP to around 450 m. Guidance is by a rudimentary inertial system using three gyroscopes, which give control signals to four graphite vanes in the motor exhaust to adjust the flight path of the missile during the climb following launch. The control vanes are only operative for the period of motor burn, the first 60 seconds or so of flight. Several different warheads were developed for the `Scud B' missiles, including nuclear, chemical and conventional high explosive. The warhead bay of the `Scud B' is 2.87 m long forming the nose section of the missile, and weighs 985 kg. It is believed that the first Russian design for `Scud B' was for a nuclear warhead with a yield of 50 kT, but this was later replaced with a selectable yield warhead covering from 5 to 70 kT. A diagram of a chemical warhead for the `Scud B' shows a nose-mounted fuze with a high-explosive bursting charge to open the warhead and allow the resulting air flow to disperse the 555 kg of viscous VX chemical agent into a dense aerosol cloud. Russian documents suggest that a number of different conventional high explosive warheads were developed, including blast/fragmentation, earth penetration, fuel-air explosive and submunitions. The HE blast fragmentation warhead contains 545 kg of HE. For the submunitions there were again several options, including: fragmentation; armour-piercing; runway penetrators; smoke; mines or incendiary. The submunitions warheads would all have been initiated by proximity fuzes, to create an airburst to deploy the submunitions over a wide area. It is believed that 40 runway penetrator submunitions were carried, each penetrator weighing 12 kg and with 3 kg of HE Fragmentation submunitions are believed to have numbered about 100 per warhead, each weighing 5 kg and containing 1.2 kg of HE, with a damage radius between 160 and 250 m.
The `Scud B' missile is carried on an eight wheeled MAZ 543 P TEL vehicle (9P117M), the missile is raised to the vertical position at the back of the TEL before launch. The TEL has a length of 13.36 m, a width of 3.02 m and weighs 37,400 kg when loaded with a missile. The TEL can carry three crew, but it is believed that five men are required in the launcher crew. The vehicle has built-in test equipment, can aim the missile, and can fire autonomously if required. However, the target selection and firing is usually carried out from a separate command and control vehicle. The MAZ 543 vehicle has a D-12 diesel engine rated at 525 hp, with four driven axles, and a separate 10 kW electric generator for the missile operations. Two hydraulic pumps power the cradle that raises the missile to the vertical, which takes about 4 minutes. The TEL can be adjusted to carry different missiles, by altering the roof assemblies and the cradle. Iraq used the MAZ 543 to carry the larger Al Hussein missile. A typical `Scud B' launch sequence takes about 1 hour. The TEL vehicle has an unrefuelled range of 650 km on hard roads and a maximum road speed of 55 km/h. After launch, the TEL moves to a new position to avoid a counterattack, and is reloaded from a towed resupply trailer.
Manufacturer:
Dragon Model:
3520 1/35 SS-1C Scud B Scale: 1/35
