Maruca: an early French navy liquid-fuelled rocket

Paper number

IAC-06-E4.3.03

Author

Mr. Philippe Jung, AAAF, France

Coauthor

Mr. Jean-Jacques Serra, AAAF, France

Coauthor

Mr. Jean Robert, AAAF, France

Year

2006

Abstract

While early French Army rocket activities have for some time been well-documented, and lately the significant Air Ministry ones, it only recently came to the surface that the French Navy also was extremely active with missiles, being second only to the aeronautical efforts. Like the other French arms, even before the signature of the armistice, La Marine went in Germany scouring for German missiles. It created a German Secret Weapons Commission in October 1944, with a team based in Constance. A GANES group was then established one year later, with the goal of analyzing German hardware, and using it as a basis to develop new weapons, mainly flying torpedoes and surface-to-air missiles.
	While activities on the FX and Hs 293 flying bombs did not proceed further than limited reverse-engineering production, Navy’s DCCAN Engins Spéciaux group, led by Jean-Jacques Peyrat, was more interested by the information the latter had brought from Germany about the Hs 117 Schmetterling, as the development of a surface-to-air missile was decided in 1948. 
No Schmetterling was ever launched from France, but this missile was significantly redesigned under the name of MARUCA (MArine RUelle Contre Avion - against plane). Flight testing started in 1951,with early versions keeping the same general shape and guidance system. The sustainer however was replaced by a new one, keeping nitric acid, but with furaline instead of tonka, while boosters were French-made. Problems with the latter’s separation led to different configurations, A1 to A5. In the fall of 1954, a totally new A6 version, of canard configuration, was developed in order to increase the flying speed of the missile, from Mach 0.72 to 0.85. It later tested a new guidance system, using a modified naval fire control radar. From 1959, several Maruca A6’s  were launched from the Ile d'Oleron research ship, confirming that a liquid-fuelled missile was not practical for operational naval use.
For this reason, as soon as in June 1953, the ES group had considered developing a solid-fuelled supersonic version under the name MARUCA C, which later became the MASURCA (MArine SUpersonic Ruelle Contre Avions). The last MARUCA accordingly were used as test beds for the MASURCA program until 1961.
This paper, with a wealth of completely new informations, provides the most complete description currently available on the MARUCA program, from its inception in 1948 until the final 1961 flights. It will present a technical description of each version, as well as an outline of the guidance research conducted during a program which saw no less than 200 missiles built.

Abstract document

IAC-06-E4.3.03.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-06-E4.3.03.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.