Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The P-15 Termit (Russian: ; English: ) was a type of missile developed by the Soviet Union's Raduga design bureau in the 1950s. Its GRAU designation was 4K40, and its NATO reporting name was Styx or SS-N-2. In Russian service today it also seems to be called Rubezh. China acquired the design in 1958 and created at least four versions: CSS-N-1 Scrubbrush and CSS-N-2 versions were developed for ship-launched operation, while the CSS-C-2 Silkworm and CSS-C-3 Seersucker missiles were used for coastal defense. Other names for this basic type of missile include: HY-1, SY-1, and FL-1 Flying Dragon (Chinese designations typically differ for export and domestic use even for otherwise identical equipment). Despite the huge size, the P-15 was built in thousands and installed on many classes of ships from MTB to destroyer hulls, as well coastal batteries and even bombers (Chinese versions). The P-15 was not the first anti-ship missile in Soviet service; this was the SS-N-1 Scrubber (coupled with the AS-1 Kennel air-launched from Tupolev Tu-16s), a powerful but rather raw system, with a short service life. The SS-N-1 was superseded by the SS-N-3 Shaddock fitted to 4,000-ton Kynda class cruisers, which replaced an initial plan for 30,000-ton battlecruisers armed with 305mm and 45mm guns. Rather than rely on a few heavy and costly ships, a new weapons system was designed to fit smaller, more numerous ships, while maintaining sufficient striking power. The P-15 was developed by the Soviet designer Beresyniak, who helped perfect the IB rocket interceptor. The first variant was the P-15, with fixed wings. The basic design of the missile, retained for all the next versions, featured a cylindrical body, with a rounded nose, two delta wings in the center, and t. More:
| | Anti-Ship Cruise Missiles of Russia: P-15 Termit |  | 9.62 |  |