Rocket, Air-to-Surface, 5 inch HVAR, "Holy Moses", Cutaway

Cylindrical with two fixed rectangular fins with rounded edges; ogival nose; cutaway shows a Mk 149 fuze, detonator, cruciform propellant grain, grain, and nozzle; simulated propellant grain of wood, painted black with yellow stripes; painted red around edges of warhead section and in and around nozzles; painted canary yellow inside warhead and cut section of fuze; exterior, painted battleship gray with dark green warhead section; four electrical wires, with white plastic insulation, along motor tube, leading, in part, to red painted light bulb attached to base of detonator and arming fuze; this light apparently was meant for exhibit and/or training purposes, to light up detonator and arming fuze area, but these wires and bulb removed during restoration. Tail fins bent, but straightened during restoration. Arming fuze spins and propellant retrainer (X-shaped component) and arming fuze can be removed.

This is a cutway of the 5-inch caliber HVAR (High Velocity Aircraft Rocket), also called the Holy Moses. It was an effective U.S. Navy air-to-surface missile against land and sea targets that began service in World War II and continued to be operational until 1955. The missile was primarily carried by Navy airplanes like the F4U Corsair, but was first used by the Army Air Forces against German targets near Lo, France, in 1944.

About a million HVARs were manufactured. The launch weight was 134 pounds, including 7.8 pounds of high explosive. Its speed was 950 miles per hour, and it had a maximum range of about three miles. This object was found in the collections of the Smithsonian.