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Lazy Dog Missiles
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Category
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Weapons
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Sub-Category
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Non-Edged Weapons
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Developed as an antipersonnel weapon during the 1950's, Lazy Dog missiles were made from steel, weighed approximately 0.7 ounces (19 grams) and contained no fuze or explosive charge. Designed to shower the target, they were loaded into a container bomb that would release them after exploding thirty yards above the ground. However, in the early years of U.S. involvement in Vietnam helicopter crewmen literally threw bucket loads of them out the chopper's door while flying at speed over enemy positions. They could also be dropped from fixed wing cargo planes or thrown from small aircraft.
Each micro-missile was fin-stabilized and capable of attaining a terminal velocity of 700 feet per second, which produced penetrating power equivalent to between a 45-calibre slug and a 30-calibre carbine.
