CHEVALINE FACT SHEET
By Cliff Lethbridge
Chevaline Launch, Photo Courtesy Royal Navy
Classification: Fleet Ballistic Missile
Note: Fleet Ballistic Missiles are also referred to as Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles
Length: 32 feet, 4 inches
Diameter: 4 feet, 6 inches
Range: 2,880 miles
Date of First Cape Canaveral Launch: September 12, 1977
Date of Final Cape Canaveral Launch: May 10, 1987
Number of Cape Canaveral Launches: 34
Chevaline is the British designation for a fleet of Polaris A3 missiles sold to Great Britain by the United States and styled for deployment on British submarines. Other than the fact that Chevaline is a British weapons program, Chevaline missiles are identical to the Polaris A3. Chevaline missiles underwent a variety of remanufacture and upgrades prior to being withdrawn from service in the mid 1980’s.