PGM-11 Redstone was the first large American ballistic missile . A short-range ballistic missile ( SRBM ) , it was in active service with the United States Army in West Germany from June 1958 to June 1964 as part of NATO 's Cold War defense of Western Europe . It was the first US missile to carry a live nuclear warhead , in the 1958 Pacific Ocean weapons test , Hardtack Teak . Chief Engineer Wernher von Braun personally witnessed this historic launch and detonation
Hardtack Teak
Hardtack Teak
PGM-11 Redstone