AURORA MACE-TM-76 1/4 Scale, Historically correct, Cold War Guided Missle

Description

Aurora Kit from 1958, 30 Day guarantee.  Extremely rare kit from the Cold War era. A couple of slightly rubbed corners, box in near mint condition.
Kit # 130-.79.....
Development began in 1954 as an improved version of the MGM-1 Matador. Like the Matador, the Mace was a tactical surface-launched missile designed to destroy ground targets. It was first designated TM-76 and later MGM-13. Compared to Matador, the Mace had a longer fuselage, shorter wings, greater range, and was heavier.
Mace MGM-13A was launched from a translauncher (
transporter erector launcher
) and the MGM-13B was launched from an underground bunker. Both models used a
solid rocket booster
for initial acceleration and an
Allison J33-A-41
turbojet
for cruise flight. The
Goodyear Aircraft Corporation
developed ATRAN (Automatic Terrain Recognition And Navigation, a radar map-matching system) in which the return from a radar scanning antenna was matched with a series of "maps" carried on a 35mm film strip on board the missile. The ATRAN navigation section corrected the flight path if the missile deviated from the flight path as carried on the film map. In August 1952,
Air Materiel Command
initiated the mating of the Goodyear ATRAN with the MGM-1 Matador. This mating resulted in a production contract in June 1954. The ATRAN guidance system was difficult to jam and was not range-limited by line-of-sight as in the older Matador radar command and control system, but its range was restricted by the availability of radar maps. In time, it became possible to construct radar maps from
topographic maps
.
The Mace was first launched in 1956 and the missile could reach Mach 0.7 to 0.85 over a 540-mile range at low level (as low as 750 feet), and 1,285 miles at high altitude. Development of Mace "B" missiles began in 1954. The Mace "A" and Mace "B" were identical in all dimensions. The Mace "B" included a jam-proof inertial guidance system (designated TM-76B) and had a flight range exceeding 1,300 miles. To enhance mobility, Martin designed the Mace's wings to fold for transport (the Matador's wings were transported separately and then bolted on for flight).
USAF
deployed the Mace "A" in West Germany in 1959 at Sembach Air Base, where it briefly served alongside the MGM-1 Matador before the latter was phased out of service in 1962. A total of 6 active missile squadrons were eventually equipped with the Mace "A" at Sembach Air Base and Hahn Air Base under the (
38th Tactical Missile Wing
). In South Korea, the
58th Tactical Missile Group
became combat-ready with 60 TM-61s in January 1959. It ceased operations in March 1962, a few months after the
498th Tactical Missile Group
in December 1961 took up positions in semi-hardened sites on
Okinawa
.
Mace "B" missiles began were first deployed to Okinawa in 1961
[2]
and remained operational in Europe and the Pacific. The two squadrons of TM-76B/MGM- 13C continued on active duty in
USAFE
until December 1969. After being taken offline, some missiles were used as target drones because their size and performance resembled manned aircraft.