SSM-A-5 Boojum

XSSM-A-5 Boojum
The final design of the XSSM-A-5
Type	Cruise missile
Place of origin	United States
Service history
Used by	United States Air Force
Production history
Designed	1946–1951
Manufacturer	Northrop Corporation
No. built	0
Specifications
Weight	112,000 pounds (51,000 kg)
Length	85 feet 4 inches (26.01 m)
Height	14 feet 9 inches (4.50 m)
Warhead	Nuclear
Engine	Two J47 turbojets
Wingspan	50 feet 10 inches (15.49 m)
Operational range	3,153 mi (5,075 km)
Flight ceiling	70,000 feet (21,000 m)
Speed	Mach 2
Guidance system	Celestial navigation

The XSSM-A-5 Boojum, also known by the project number MX-775B, was a supersonic cruise missile developed by the Northrop Corporation for the United States Air Force in the late 1940s. Intended to deliver a nuclear warhead over intercontinental range, it was determined to be too ambitious a project given technical difficulties with the SM-62 Snark which it was to follow on from, and was canceled in 1951.

As part of a United States Army Air Forces effort to develop guided missiles for the delivery of nuclear weapons, the Northrop Corporation was awarded a development contract in March 1946 for the design of two long-range cruise missiles. Designated MX-775, the contract called for a missile, the MX-775A, later designated SSM-A-3 Snark; and a more advanced supersonic missile, MX-775B, which in 1947 was given the name SSM-A-5 Boojum, Northrop naming the missiles after characters from the works of Lewis Carroll.

Given the company designation of N-25B, the design of the Boojum took place over the next several years, and produced a number of variations on the concept. The finalized design called for a long, slender missile, fitted with delta wings, and powered by a pair of General Electric turbojet engines, mounted in nacelles near the tips of the wing.

The missile was intended to be launched utilizing a rocket sled; air-launch from a Convair B-36 heavy bomber was an alternative that was studied. The missile would climb at subsonic speeds to its operating altitude, then conduct a supersonic dash to the target area, being guided using a celestial navigation system. A "slipper" type drop tank would be jettisoned halfway through the flight. The Boojum was intended to be capable of carrying a warhead weighing up to 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) over a range between 1,500 to 5,000 miles (2,400 to 8,000 km).