NW110 1/144 R-7 ICBM
The history of Soviet ICBMs and launch vehicles begins in 1956
when the first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was
built, giving birth to the R-7 (or Semyorka), a one-stage rocket
with four strap-ons Test flights of the first lot of 12 prototype
missiles was completed on January 30, 1958. By that time the
Soviet Union had used the R-7 to demonstrate the first full-range
ICBM and orbit the first two artificial satellites of the earth.
Deployment of the R-7 was very limited, and its service life
extended only from 1960 to 1966. Only one dedicated ICBM pad was
built at Baikonur, and six to eight in the Angara complex at
Plesetsk. By 1966 they were all converted to space launch use and
the military service life of the rocket was over