The question I have is: If we had proximity fuses that could take such enormous g-loads, and some were fitted to rockets -- why did we have so many guidance system failures during Vietnam?
Most were caused by the following
- Dropping: Sometimes, when the missiles were put on the wings, or fuselage of the aircraft, they'd drop off and hit the ground. In cases where the missile didn't have any denting or damage to fins or shape, they would often just send the plane on it's way. I'm not sure what g-load a missile hitting the ground after dropping a few feet off an aircraft's wing or fuselage would be, but it seems quite a lot less than 5,000-8,500g on the low end to up to 20,000g on the upper end of things. I've fallen about 10-20 feet, and I figure if I had been subjected to these g-loads, I'd be mist.
- Jarring: Basically, the missiles were often carried on trucks that lacked shock-absorbers. The fact that the testing facilities were not on the base, and sometimes located at separate facilities, where they would have to travel across bumpy roads, and things of that sort. To make it worse, air-bases often had these washboard structures meant to shake off FOD.
- Temperature: The missiles at sea-level were in warm/hot weather, and temperatures that were -20F to -70F at around 15000 to 40000 feet where you'd typically see fighter planes operating within. The result of temperature is contraction and expansion, and different components expand/contract at different rates. As a result, sometimes missiles would pass electronic inspection, then fail spectacularly in the air.
- Corrosion: The air in Vietnam was hot and moist, which can accelerate corrosion on aircraft operating with the USAF and USMC; the USN operated off carriers in the salty-air at sea. I'm not sure what the protocols for missile assembly were, but I'm curious if the missiles in either case were left partly assembled in the open.
I'm curious how these conditions would compare to conditions in territory that was controlled by the United States itself. I assume our test-facilities were on the base themselves, with air-temperature and humidity varying with location. I'm not sure how TAC & SAC varied in terms of maintenance -- SAC generally was more anal about things being done exactly right, but I'm curious if mistakes were made.
I don't know where you got your information, but most of what you just stated is incorrect.
If a missile was dropped while loading or at any point during handling it was refused for use and sent to EOD for disposal. And dropping a missile isn't something that could go undetected. People tend to noticed when something that weighs a hundred pounds or more is dropped a few feet. It's not just the explosive hazard. There were more crushing injuries in munitions handling than any other injury.
Every missile fired from USAF aircraft ( I think) was a solid fuel missile, dropping it could crack the solid fuel. It was cast in a specific way to control the burn rate of the propellant. Additional cracks in the propellant would mean there would be much more propellant exposed for burning when the rocket motor was first ignited, in other words it could explode on ignition, or a uneven burn would make for a erratic flight path.
Some missiles and warheads were stored separate, and assembled just before use. The motors had weatherseals on the back, and that weather seal was to prevent the solid propellant from drying out, or absorbing moisture, either of which would effect it's burn rate, and a broken seal was a reason for refusal. Warheads were pretty well weather proofed themselves, plus were kept in completely weather proofed containers until assembly.
The weather in Vietnam wasn't much different from several places in the USA. You get away from the coast in several southern states, and it's about the same.
Even in the WW2 era, fuses and such were shipped and stored in very weather tight containers
As for the missile handling trucks not having shock absorbers, not true. They had springs and shocks just like any other vehicle . Plus the missile were usually hauled on trailers, and the trailers had springs,most had shocks too.
Shock absorbers are actually misnamed, they don't absorb the shock of a bump, the springs do that, the shocks just snub the reaction of the springs. Without shock absorbers springs with oscillate for several times after their compressed.
I was stationed at 7 different air bases when I was in the USAF, I don't remember any washboard surfaces meant to shake off FOD. Sometimes the roads from the munitions storage areas to the flight line may not have been the best roads on the base, but I doubt any effort was taken to make them rough.