PGM-17 Thor
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The PGM-17A Thor was the first operative ballistic missile of the United States Air Force (USAF). It was named after the Norse god of thunder. It was deployed in the United Kingdom between 1959 and September 1963 as an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) with thermonuclear warheads. Thor was 65 feet (20 m) in height and 8 feet (2.4 m) in diameter.
A Thor intermediate range ballistic missile.
Thor-Able at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum, Florida
Thor 101 on a launch pad, January 1957
Missile 151, nicknamed "Tune Up", on December 16, 1958, just prior to its launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The successful test was conducted a year after the base was activated.
Intermediate-range ballistic missile
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An intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range of 3,000–5,500 km, between a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) and an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Classifying ballistic missiles by range is done mostly for convenience. In principle there is very little difference between a low-performance ICBM and a high-performance IRBM, because decreasing payload mass can increase the range over the ICBM threshold. The range definition used here is used within the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.
IRBM and MRBM missiles.