“X Minus Zero” opens with a United States Air Force general briefly explaining the purposes of that branch’s missile test center — such as flight-testing guided missiles. The circa 1958 film’s purpose, he reveals at mark 00:45, is to give the viewer “a much clearer understanding of our mission.” The film shows a flawless launch of a guided Matador surface-to-air missile, but the narrator quickly explains that much work was put into the launch prior to countdown. The viewer receives a history of the missile’s development starting at mark 03:27 and news of how the government contracted with the Glenn L. Martin Company, a Baltimore aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company, to develop and build a self-propelled, sub-sonic missile that could be remotely controlled and reach a target in a span of minutes. The result was the Martin MGM-1 Matador, the first operational surface-to-surface cruise missile built by the United States. Much attention is place upon checks and safeguards prior to firing, beginning with its arrival at Patrick Air Force Base in Brevard County, Florida, at mark 04:45. A map at mark 06:34 shows the planned trajectory of one test flight, with additional details about the path and planning detailed as the film moves along. Air Force personnel keep the testing area free of human occupancy with search planes and boats, as is shown starting near mark 12:00. As we watch scenes of the systems being constantly checked and rechecked, the missile is ready for launch at mark 16:30, finally taking to the sky at mark 17:15. “This is only the beginning,” the narrator claims. “We wonder what the future will bring.”
The Martin MGM-1 Matador was the first operational surface-to-surface cruise missile built by the United States. It was similar in concept to the German V-1, but the Matador included a radio command that allowed in-flight course corrections. This allowed accuracy to be maintained over greatly extended ranges of just under 1000 km. To allow these ranges, the Matador was powered by a small turbojet engine in place of the V-1’s much less efficient pulsejet.
Matador was armed with the W5 nuclear warhead, essentially an improved version of the Fat Man design that was lighter and had a smaller cross section. A single US Air Force group, 1st Pilotless Bomber Squadron, was armed with the weapon, keeping them on alert with a six-minute launch time. It could be easily retargeted, unlike weapons using inertial guidance systems. Accuracy at maximum range was about 1 mile (1.6 km), which allowed it to be used against any large target like troop concentrations or armored spearheads.
First flown in 1949, Matador entered service in 1952 and left service in 1962. Matador carried several designations during its lifetime, originally known under the War Department’s system as SSM-A-1. By the time it was introduced to service the Air Force had been created, and they referred to them as bombers and assigned it the B-61 designation. It was later re-designated TM-61, for “tactical missile”, and finally MGM-1 when the US Department of Defense introduced the tri-service aircraft designation system in 1962.
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