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Show PERSHING TAKEOFF Pershing missile takes off from a launch site in Utah, proigrammed to impact im-pact in New Mexico. Twelve rounds are scheduled in the spring 1970 series of firings from Black-Mesa, Black-Mesa, near Blanding, Utah. (U.S.Army Photo) Pershing Tests Slated 1 Beaiii Soon Twelve rounds have been scheduled in the spring series ser-ies of off - range firings of the Pershing ballistic missile mis-sile , the U.S. Army's most powerful land combat missile mis-sile system in operational use. The missiles will be launched laun-ched in April, May, June and July from Black Mesa, 15 miles southwest of Bland-ing, Bland-ing, Utah. They will be pro-" grammed to impact on White Sands Missile Range, about 350 miles away on a straight line. Firing four annual service prlaotice (ASP) rounds will be units of the Federal Republic of Germany Air Force . For these , the older model P - 1 ground support equipment , mo -unted on tractor - type tracked tra-cked vehicles , will be used. Firing eight rounds will be units of the Seventh U.S. Army , based in Europe. The newer model P-1A ground grou-nd support equipment, mc-untedon mc-untedon large five - ton ,ei-,ght ,ei-,ght wheeled , rubber - tired vehicles , will be used for these rounds . Six of the firings fir-ings with the equipment will ,be designated DASO , for Demonstration ana onaKe-down onaKe-down Operations . Operations will be con-iducted con-iducted under simulated ta'ctical condition . Exact dates and time for firing m-ay m-ay not be anounnced until the troop units are placed on FAS - - firing alert launch a few hours before launch time . But preparations will begin be-gin in March. Arriving from the U.S. Army Field Artillery Artil-lery and Missile Center at Ft. Sill, Oka., will be the 2nd Battalion , 44th Artillery, 9th Field; Artillery ( Mis -sile ) Group . The 2nd Battalion provides logist -ical , technical and administrative adminis-trative support to the firing units. About 400 strong, the battalion batt-alion will occupy the Pershing Persh-ing camp on Black Mesa . Prefabricated metal buildings were erected at the camp Inst yrar to replace the canvas can-vas tents previously used. A small detachment of the 2nd Battalion has been on hand at Black Mesa to maintain main-tain the camp during the winter. Also arriving in the Blanding Bland-ing area in late March and early April will be field units uni-ts of several other support-ting support-ting organizations . These will include most major elements ele-ments of White Sands Missile Mis-sile Range . Others will include the U.S. Army Field Artillery Missile Systems Evaluation Group ( FAMSEG ) or Ft. Sill , and the Pershing Pro - ject Manager's Office ( PP-MO PP-MO ) of Redstone Arsenal, Ala . Project manager at ReiT-stone ReiT-stone is Colonel Rutledge P. Hazzard . Chief of the PP MO field office in Utah, in the Blanding City Hall, will, be James E. Conner . Commanding Com-manding officer of FAMSEG is Lt. Col. John A. Zale -;wski. Operations will be coordinated coordi-nated through the Utah Launch Lau-nch Complex of WSMR at Green River . Director of this element of WSMR ( NRO ) is A . Muray Maug-han Maug-han . Pershing staff project engineer en-gineer for NRO is Reed Larsen . Pershing test coordinator coor-dinator for WSMR's Army Missile Test and Evaluation ( ARMTE ) will be W.E. -Worthy . Prime contractor for Pershing Per-shing missiles is the Orlando ( Fla. ) division of the Mar-Itin Mar-Itin Marietta) Corporation .. Representatives of Martin Marietta will be in Utah during dur-ing the firing operation . The two - stage Pershing, which employs solid propel -lants in a propulsion system developed, for the Army by Thiokol Chemical Corpora-has Corpora-has been operational with US and NATO forces in Europe since 19C3 . The system sys-tem replaced the larger out shorter - ranged and less mobile Redstone surface-to-surface, missile . Missiles are noi' fired for practice or training puposes 'in Europe . The Utah - to -New Mexico firings, under rigidly controlled conditions condi-tions for utmost safety , serve ser-ve a dual purpose. They provide pro-vide training for troops , as well as test evalution data da-ta for the product improve -iment program . In the 1969 firing program also conducted at Black Mesa, Me-sa, 14 Pershing rounds were fired . Eight rounds were fired last April , and six rounds in September . |