RIGEL SSM-N-6 CRUISE MISSILE MODEL.

RIGEL SSM-N-6 CRUISE MISSILE MODEL.
Contractor's model of a U.S. Navy Rigel missile, circa 1950, in wood and metal, on a metal launch gantry, all attached to a glass base with white painted Grumman logo and lettering: "Project Rigel XSSM-N-6 Test Vehicle." 19 x 5 x 8 inches, excluding base, contained in a custom wooden box.
Provenance: Manufactured by a major aerospace model shop.

Rigel was a pioneering cruise missile design, whose development concept dated back to World War II. The project was undertaken by the U.S. Navy in 1946, with the aim of producing a solid-propellant ship-launched rocket with supersonic speed capabilities, and a range of 500 nautical miles. Test launches were not successful, however, and after the Regulus subsonic cruise missile proved more practical, Project Rigel was cancelled in 1953.