SAM-N-2 Lark

The SAM-N-2 Lark was a solid fuel boosted, liquid fueled surface to air missile developed by the United States Navy to counter the kamikaze threat late in the Second World War. It was built as a crash program to provide a medium range defensive layer between long range combat air patrols and short range anti aircraft artillery, with a design offering roughly 30 miles of maximum range at subsonic speed, suited to attacking Japanese aircraft. Interest in the Lark waned once the war ended, and the introduction of jet powered medium bombers left it unable to counter the threats that followed. Several hundred Larks were built between 1946 and 1950 to test various guidance systems and were mostly expended in test programs; during one of these, a Convair built airframe achieved the first successful United States surface to air missile interception of a flying target, in January 1950. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/