AIM-9 Sidewinder 1970. These were followed from the mid-seventies by the AIM-9L/P which was a substantial improvement on the early versions, particularly with an improved SR-116 reduced-smoke rocket motor. The third generation of the missile (AIM-9L/M) are all-aspect missile which share little in common with the earlier missiles. The name "Sidewinder" was selected in 1950 and is the common name of "Crotalus cerastes", a venomous rattlesnake, which uses infrared sensory organs to hunt warm-blooded prey. Originally called the Sidewinder 1, the first live firing was on 3 September 1952. The missile intercepted a drone for the first time on the 11 September
Hoop snake of the hoop snake has never been accepted by the scientific community. Naturalist Raymond Ditmars placed $10,000 in trust at a New York bank for the first person to provide evidence of a hoop snake. Some have suggested it is a distorted description of the sidewinder of the American Southwest, or of mud snakes, which will occasionally lie in a loose hoop shape. The hoop snake possibly is an embellishment of actual instances of snakes swallowing their own tails, mistaking them for prey. Hoop snake The hoop snake is a legendary creature of the United States, Canada, and Australia. It