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Events on October 20 in history

R-13 (missile)
1961Oct, 20

The Soviet Union performs the first armed test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, launching an R-13 from a Golf-class submarine.

The R-13 (Russian: -13) was a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) developed by the Soviet Union starting around 1955. It was assigned the NATO reporting name SS-N-4 Sark and carried the GRAU index 4K50.

A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver Multiple Independently targetable Reentry Vehicles (MIRVs) each of which carries a nuclear warhead and allows a single launched missile to strike several targets. Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles operate in a different way from Submarine-Launched Cruise Missiles.

Modern submarine-launched ballistic missiles are closely related to InterContinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), with ranges of over 5,500 kilometres (3,000 nmi), and in many cases SLBMs and ICBMs may be part of the same family of weapons.

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Events on 1961

  • 8Jan

    Charles de Gaulle

    In France a referendum supports Charles de Gaulle's policies in Algeria.
  • 16Apr

    Fidel Castro

    In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist-Leninist and that Cuba is going to adopt Communism.
  • 1May

    Fidel Castro

    The Prime Minister of Cuba, Fidel Castro, proclaims Cuba a socialist nation and abolishes elections.
  • 25Jul

    NATO

    In a speech John F. Kennedy emphasizes that any attack on Berlin is an attack on NATO.
  • 10Aug

    Agent Orange

    First use in Vietnam War of the Agent Orange by the U.S. Army.