I was told by one of my college math teachers that there was an engineering
calculation in the early sidewinder days that involved a division by ZERO.
No one could figure it out so they ignored it. The missile when launched
destroyed itself in flight and the fix was to place a cross member in the
body of the missile which then made the equation work properly

Can anyone confirm or or deny this srory?

Could have been sparrow but I'm pretty sure he said sidewinder. Instrucor
was often freelancing as an emgineering consultant