Missile demil

[US-Subs]

Hi,

I'm new to the site. What's an Umi and a Gumi?

As described in part in the above two posts, my current Avatar is the US developed XM53 Rook submunition. This was built by Chamberlain Manufacturing during the Vietnam War (joined in part by Aerojet Engineering), with development starting in the mid sixties and ceasing somtime around 1970-72. The submunitions were intended to be deployed from a specially designed 105mm carrier projectile, encased in a "cage" which slid into the deeply grooved walls of the projectile, to be ejected from the base of the projectile during flight.

The Rook was plagued with developmental problems, mostly related to difficulties with the fuze. The submunition is less than 2cm in diameter and not 4cm long, development of a reliable, safe fuze for a body that small and light was a technical difficulty. In the end there was reportedly an accident with the detonation of an un-fired projectile at YPG and the project was cancelled.

The Umi and Gummi were toxic versions of the Rook. Approximately half the normal length, the projectile could be loaded with twice as many, allowing for a greater diameter submunition pattern. Adding a toxin to the payload meant more casualties from smaller injuries, so no effectiveness would be lost with the use of the smaller munition.

This was an offshoot of the US DITA program, which died in the early 70s with new treaty obligations.

[1989rjb]

US Subs,

Thank you. I had heard of the XM53 but not the Umi or Gummi. Do any pictures/diagrams exist? What was the payload? Do they ever appear on the market for collectors to acquire?