Nation: Atoms v. Gunpowder

Army smiles last week were brighter than brass. From Cape Canaveral came a report on the second successful field firing of the Army's newest nuclear weapon, the 34-ft., 5-ton Pershing. Launched from a mobile carrier, the solid-fueled Pershing swept 200 miles down the Atlantic, splashed just 125 ft. beyond and 165 ft. to the left of its target's dead center. Now in production, the Pershing, with a top range of 400 miles, will go into the field in Western Europe some time next year. Pershing's success adds a heavy wallop to the U.S.'s arsenal of tactical nuclear weapons. These weapons give the U.S. and its allies, especially in Western Europe, a vital potential for ground war beyond the brush-fire level and less than all-out thermonuclear holocaust. Among the Army's other tactical nuclear weapons:

» The liquid-fueled Corporal (range: 75 miles), with an erector-launcher truck, backbone of the Army's nuclear armory since 1956, used by eleven battalions in Western Europe and the U.S. It is now being replaced by the solid-fueled Sergeant (75 miles), which is easier to handle and has a guidance system that gives it immunity to any known electronic countermeasures applied by an enemy. »The truck-mounted Lacrosse (20 miles), designed especially for high-accuracy deployment against such targets as concrete pillboxes, bunkers and caves. It is controlled by a guidance station located near front lines that electronically "catches" the weapon after launching and pitches it directly to the target.

» A ponderous, unnamed 280-mm. gun (17 miles), carried by a two-cab hook-and-ladder-style truck, which lofts a 605-Ib. shell with high accuracy. A stopgap weapon that first appeared in 1953, it is so cumbersome that it is used for little else than military parades.

— The solid-fueled Honest John (16 miles), a free rocket that is aimed and fired in the same manner as conventional artillery, is assigned to both armored and infantry divisions.

»Little John (twelve miles), a smaller version of Honest, with a 360° firing circle and designed for maximum mobility; it can be transported by helicopter or troop-carrying aircraft, or towed by a Jeep, and is fired like an artillery shell from a tripod launcher. »An 8-in. howitzer (ten miles), a rapid-fire job that can pepper 200-lb. projectiles at a rate of 90 per hour. »Davy Crockett (1,200 yds.), the Army's smallest and top-rated front-line weapon, a light, tube-fired piece designed for use against troop masses, tank clusters, pillboxes and gun emplacements. Army plans call for three Crocketts per battalion, or a total of 120 in Europe.

In the realm of tactical nuclear weaponry, the Army's European arsenal is unparalleled. But its very existence raises a question in some Pentagon minds. Under what conditions would the nuclear weapons be used?