Why unguided rockets persisted beside guns and missiles

Rockets did not vanish between the nineteenth century and the Second World War. The First World War La Prieur system let fighters attack airships beyond the useful reach of their guns, even though unguided rockets remained inaccurate. Later F-4 Phantom variants dramatized the same armament tradeoff when early aircraft relied on external rocket or missile loads before an internal M61 Vulcan cannon arrived. Rockets promised reach and low weight, while guns remained accurate, flexible, cheap per shot, and suitable for tasks such as warning fire. Once enough guidance equipment was added to make a rocket dependable, much of its size and cost advantage over a missile could disappear.