6 Images

This is the Atoll, an air-to-air missile of the former Soviet Union. Atoll is the NATO code name for the Soviet K-13, a copy of the U.S. Sidewinder air-to-air, heat-seeking missile. Atoll originated in 1958, when a Sidewinder fired from a Taiwanese F-86 fighter in the Taiwan Strait lodged in an aircraft of the People's Republic of China but did not detonate.

China recovered the missile intact and turned it over to the Soviet Union, which copied the design, mass-produced the missile, and exported Atolls to its client states. The Atoll has the same basic dimensions as the Sidewinder but has been modified over the years and is still in use. This object was donated to the Smithsonian in 1993 by the U.S. Air Force.

Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.

Object Details

Date

ca. 1961

Country of Origin

USSR

Type

CRAFT-Missiles & Rockets

Manufacturer

NPO Vympel

Physical Description

Cylindrical, long with rounded nose; cruciform triangular, moveable fins beneath warhead, and stationary, cruciform clipped delta fins at base of missile with stabilizing rollerons on the corner of each fin; overall, painted white; glass nose for heat seeking component; yellow rubber protective cap over glass covered heat seeker head, though this cover is broken and fell off; body with mounting brackets and electrical connecters.

Dimensions

Other: 5 1/2 in. × 9 ft. 4 in. × 2 ft. 6 in., 105lb. (14 × 284.5 × 76.2cm, 47.6kg)
Wing span diagonal 20.5"

Materials

Overall, metal; glass cover on seeker head in nose of missile; rubber protective cover for heat seeker head.

Alternate Name

Atoll Missile

Inventory Number

A19930363000

Credit Line

Transferred from United States Air Force Museum.

Data Source

National Air and Space Museum

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.