Although there was considerable lost motion, that is, from a planning standpoint, hardware work and training progressed rapidly during 1958. SAC activated its 864th Strategic Missile Squadron (SMS), later redesignated as Technical Training Squadron (TTS), on 15 January at ABMA. This unit began its training program in March. This was followed by activations of the 865th on 2 June and the 866th on 1 September. As to the hardware, the first IOC weapon, Missile 101, was delivered to the Air Force on 28 August, a week before the scheduled date, and deliveries of Missiles 102, 103, and 104 were made in September. Moreover, on 18 May, the Navy recovered a tactical JUPITER nose cone, proving that ABMA had been correct in its ablation theory. Yet, although men were trained and missiles were ready at the end of December, there was no place to go, as agreements with host nations had not been signed 61 . V. THE MISSILE Description With its travels from service to service, the configuration of the Army's long-range or IRBM missile changed significantly. As first conceived, when it would have been used exclusively by the Army, its suggested length was better than 92 feet. The entrance of the Navy into the program forced a drastic change in order to make the missile more compatible with Naval operations. In fact, the Navy's goal was a missile as near to 50 feet in length as possible, but the final figure was 58 feet and a diameter of 105 inches, or 10 inches greater than the Army-planned missile. _____________________________

61. Hist, ABMA, Jan-Jun 58, pp. 49-50, 74-76; Hist, ABMA, Jul-Dec 58, pp. 10-12.