Description
TM 9-3061 Change 1 - 762mm XM289 Truck-Mounted Rocket Launcher - April 1962
Publication Overview
TM 9-3061 Change 1 is a maintenance update for the 762mm XM289 truck-mounted rocket launcher. This supplement belongs with the original manual. It connects a military reference collection to the early Honest John rocket system and the Army personnel who maintained its launch equipment.
Identification and Features
The XM289 designation identifies the early launcher covered by this publication. Its 762mm caliber is equivalent to 30 inches, a size often used to describe the Honest John rocket.
- Publication: TM 9-3061, Change 1
- Update date: April 1962
- Original manual date: January 7, 1955
- Equipment covered: 762mm XM289 truck-mounted rocket launcher
- Publication series: Ordnance maintenance
- Associated weapon system: Honest John field artillery rocket
Function and Contents
Change 1 supplies revisions to the parent manual's maintenance information. TM 9-3061 addresses the work of ordnance maintenance personnel supporting the launcher. Read alongside the base manual, this supplement helps researchers trace changes to the Army's published guidance for keeping the equipment serviceable.
Publication History
The original January 1955 manual appeared soon after Honest John entered Army service in 1954. The April 1962 update belongs to a later stage of the system's support history, when the Army was also fielding an improved Honest John rocket. Together, the two publication dates show how technical references continued to develop after the equipment's initial introduction.
Equipment History
The XM289 was an early design in the launcher family that became the service-standard M289. Its long launch rail gave the vehicle a distinct outline. The Army later developed the lighter M386 with a shorter, folding rail and fewer leveling jacks. That change reduced the launcher's bulk and improved transport and concealment.
Truck Carrier and Launcher Design
The M289 used a modified 5-ton, six-wheel-drive M139 truck chassis. The carrier supported a launching beam, mechanisms for raising and turning it, and an electrical system. Five screw jacks steadied and leveled the vehicle. These assemblies gave the launcher its own mechanical support needs, separate from those of the rocket it carried.
Honest John Weapon-System Background
Developed by Douglas Aircraft under Army direction, Honest John began flight testing at White Sands in 1951. It was an unguided, surface-to-surface artillery rocket that used solid propellant. Its role was to give ground forces a mobile weapon able to carry a conventional or nuclear warhead. The basic M31 system entered service in 1954, followed by the improved M50 system in 1961.
History of Use
Honest John units deployed to Europe in 1954 and became part of NATO's Cold War defense forces. Training exercises helped troops learn to work with rocket artillery; Operation Flashburn at Fort Bragg included Honest John in 1954. The wider system family remained in service as equipment improved. Lance began replacing it in active Army units during the 1970s, while Honest John equipment also served with the Army National Guard.
Ideal For
This change notice can fill a gap in a TM 9-3061 reference set or help explain how the Army maintained early rocket launchers. It also adds a publication dated to a specific stage of Honest John's service history to a research collection.
- Military technical manual collectors
- Honest John and Cold War artillery researchers
- Military vehicle museums and archives
- Historians studying Army ordnance maintenance
Approx length 6", Approx width 9", Approx height .1", Approx weight .1lbs.
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