S-75 Dvina Surface-to-Air Missile System

Family of Surface-to-Air Missile Systems SA / S-75 Dvina / Volchov (NATO codename SA-2 Guideline) was for decades the most widely used and produced in the greatest number of weapons of this class in the world. Its appearance in the late 50’s changed the face of the air war, and shooting downs made by these SAM systems are among the most famous in history, even for people only superficially interested in the history of the wars of the twentieth century. They were used in combat, among others, in the Soviet Union, the Middle East conflict, the Vietnam War, over Cuba and China. The origins  SA-75 Dvina SAM is the 1950s, when it was decided to develop a mobile, cheaper and lighter alternative to systems S-25 / S-50 for the defense of Moscow and Leningrad. The result of this work was a SA-75 Dvina. Firing position set consisted of 6 monorail launcher SM-63 with two-stage rockets W-750 (1D), arranged circularly at the distance of 50 – 75 m from the radar station and fire control RSNA-75M (in the final version M consisting 4 towed cabins. These were: PA – cab transceiver with antenna system, UA – command and start control, AA – counting and calculating, and RA (RMA) – with power generators). At a distance of about 300 m early warning and detection radar station P-12 as well radar and radio altimeter PRW. System SA-75 Dvina gained international fame when an S-75 battery, using the newer, longer-range and higher-altitude V-750VN (13D) missile was deployed in the 1960 U-2 incident, when over Sverdlovsk it shot down the high-altitude spyplane U-2 piloted by Francis Gary Powers overflying the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960 (unfortunately for the Russians, the second victim was own fighter MiG-19, which also tried to intercept and shoot down intruder).

 

Specifications of V-750 missile:

 

Weight: 2300 kg

Lenght: 10,60 m

Diameter: 70 cm

Warhead: Fragmentation-HE (198 kg)

Guidance system: Radio control command guidance

Detonation mechanism: Command

Range: 45 km

Speed: Mach 3,5

Accuracy: 65 m

Propellant: solid fuel booster (5 sec boost time), liquid fuel rocket engine upper stage (20 sec work time)