Bomarc Missile Program - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The CIM-10 Bomarc was the only surface-to-air missile

Surface-to-air missile

A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...

(SAM) ever deployed by the United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

. All other U.S. land-based SAMs were and are under the control of the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

.

The supersonic Bomarc missiles were the first long-range anti-aircraft missiles. Rocket boosted and then ramjet powered, they were capable of carrying conventional or nuclear

Nuclear weapon

A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...

warheads. Their intended role in defense was in an intrusion prevention perimeter. Bomarcs aligned on the eastern and western coasts of North America theoretically would launch and would destroy enemy bombers before the bombers could drop their payloads on industrial regions.

It involved the deployment of tactical stations armed with Bomarc missiles along the east and west coasts of North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

and the central areas of the continent. BOMARC and the SAGE

Semi Automatic Ground Environment

The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment was an automated control system for tracking and intercepting enemy bomber aircraft used by NORAD from the late 1950s into the 1980s...

guidance system were phased out in the early 1970s since they seemed to be ineffective and costly. Neither of these systems was ever used in combat, so while their combat effectiveness remains untested, they are still perceived as having been an important deterrent.

In addition to the USAF, the Bomarc was also deployed by Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

after the country had canceled its advanced Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow manned interceptor in 1959.

Origins and development

In 1946, Boeing

Boeing

The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...

started to study surface-to-air guided missiles under the United States Army Air Forces

United States Army Air Forces

The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....

project MX-606. By 1950, Boeing had launched more than 100 test rockets in various configurations, all under the designator XSAM-A-1 GAPA (Ground-to-Air Pilotless Aircraft). Because these tests were very promising, Boeing received a USAF contract in 1949 to develop a pilotless interceptor (a term then used by the USAF for air-defense guided missiles) under project MX-1599. The MX-1599 missile was to be a ramjet-powered, nuclear-armed long-range surface-to-air missile to defend the Continental United States from high-flying bombers. The Michigan Aerospace Research Center (MARC) was added to the project soon afterward, and this gave the new missile its name Bomarc (for Boeing and MARC). In 1951, the USAF decided to emphasize its point of view that missiles were nothing else than pilotless aircraft by assigning aircraft designators to its missile projects, and anti-aircraft missiles received F-for-Fighter designations. The Bomarc became the F-99.

Test flights of XF-99 test vehicles began in September 1952 and continued through early 1955. The XF-99 tested only the liquid-fueled booster rocket, which would accelerate the missile to ramjet ignition speed. In February 1955, tests of the XF-99A propulsion test vehicles began. These included live ramjets, but still had no guidance system or warhead. The designation YF-99A had been reserved for the operational test vehicles. In August 1955, the USAF discontinued the use of aircraft-like type designators for missiles, and the XF-99A and YF-99A became XIM-99A and YIM-99A, respectively. Originally the USAF had allocated the designation IM-69, but this was changed (possibly at Boeing's request to keep number 99) to IM-99 in October 1955. In October 1957, the first YIM-99A production-representative prototype flew with full guidance, and succeeded to pass the target within destructive range. In late 1957, Boeing received the production contract for the IM-99A Bomarc A interceptor missile, and in September 1959, the first IM-99A squadron became operational.

The IM-99A had an operational radius of 200 miles (~320 km) and was designed to fly at Mach

Mach number

Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...

2.5-2.8 at a cruising altitude of 60,000 feet (18.3 km). It was 46.6 ft (14.2 m) long and weighed 15,500 lb (7,020 kg). Its armament was either a 1,000 pound (455 kg) conventional warhead or a W40

W40

The W40 nuclear warhead was an American nuclear warhead developed in the late 1950s and which saw service from 1959 to 1972. It was a fusion boosted fission bomb type....

nuclear warhead (7-10 kiloton yield). A liquid fuelled rocket

Rocket

A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...

engine boosted the Bomarc to Mach 2, when its Marquardt RJ43-MA-3 ramjet

Ramjet

A ramjet, sometimes referred to as a stovepipe jet, or an athodyd, is a form of airbreathing jet engine using the engine's forward motion to compress incoming air, without a rotary compressor. Ramjets cannot produce thrust at zero airspeed and thus cannot move an aircraft from a standstill...

engines, fueled by 80-octane gasoline, would take over for the remainder of the flight.

Manufacture and operational deployment

The operational IM-99A missiles were based horizontally in semi-hardened shelters ("coffins"). After the launch order, the shelter's roof would slide open, and the missile raised to the vertical. After the missile was supplied with fuel for the booster rocket, it would be launched by the Aerojet General LR59-AJ-13 booster. After supersonic speed was reached, the Marquardt RJ43-MA-3 ramjets would ignite and propel the missile to its cruise speed and altitude of Mach 2.8 at 20,000 m (65,000 ft).
When the Bomarc was within 16 km (9.9 mi) of the target, its own Westinghouse AN/DPN-34 radar guided the missile to the interception point. The maximum range of the IM-99A was 400 km (248.5 mi), and it was fitted with either a conventional high-explosive or a 10 kt W-40 nuclear fission warhead.

The Bomarc relied on the Semi Automatic Ground Environment

Semi Automatic Ground Environment

The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment was an automated control system for tracking and intercepting enemy bomber aircraft used by NORAD from the late 1950s into the 1980s...

(SAGE), an automated control system used by NORAD

North American Aerospace Defense Command

North American Aerospace Defense Command is a joint organization of Canada and the United States that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and defense for the two countries. Headquarters NORAD is located at Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, Colorado...

for detecting, tracking and intercepting enemy bomber aircraft. SAGE allowed for remote launching of the Bomarc missiles, which were housed in a constant combat-ready basis in individual launch shelters in remote areas. At the height of the program, there were 14 Bomarc sites located in the United States and two in Canada.

The liquid-fuel booster of the Bomarc A was no optimal solution. It took two minutes to fuel before launch, which can be a long time in high-speed intercepts, and its hypergolic fuels (hydrazine and nitric acid) were very dangerous to handle, leading to several serious accidents.

As soon as high-thrust solid-fuel rockets became a reality in the mid-1950s, the USAF began to develop a new solid-fueled Bomarc variant, the IM-99B Bomarc B. It used a Thiokol XM51 booster, and also had improved Marquardt RJ43-MA-7 (and finally the RJ43-MA-11) ramjets. The first IM-99B was launched in May 1959, but problems with the new propulsion system delayed the first fully successful flight until July 1960, when a supersonic KD2U-1/MQM-15A Regulus II drone was intercepted. Because the new booster took up less space in the missile, more ramjet fuel could be carried, increasing the range to 710 km (441.2 mi). The terminal homing system was also improved, using the world's first pulse doppler search radar, the Westinghouse AN/DPN-53. All Bomarc Bs were equipped with the W-40 nuclear warhead. In June 1961, the first IM-99B squadron became operational, and Bomarc B quickly replaced most Bomarc A missiles.

Boeing built 570 Bomarc missiles between 1957 and 1964, 269 CIM-10A, 301 CIM-10B.
In September 1958 Air Research & Development Command decided to transfer the Bomarc program from its testing at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to a new facility on Santa Rosa Island

Santa Rosa Island, Florida

Santa Rosa Island[p] is a 40-mile barrier island located in the U.S. state of Florida, thirty miles east of the Alabama state border...

, immediately south of Eglin AFB Hurlburt Field

Hurlburt Field

Hurlburt Field is a U.S. Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the Town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation, and is home to Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command , the 1st Special Operations Wing , the...

on the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

. To operate the facility and to provide training and operational evaluation in the missile program, Air Defense Command established the 4751st Air Defense Wing (Missile) (4751st ADW) on 15 January 1958. The first launch from Santa Rosa took place on 15 January 1959.

The first USAF operational Bomarc squadron was the 46th Air Defense Missile Squadron (ADMS), organized on 1 January 1959 and activated on 25 March. The 46th ADMS was assigned to the New York Air Defense Sector at McGuire AFB, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

. The training program, under the 4751st ADW used technicians acting as instructors and was established for a four month duration. Training included missile maintenance; SAGE

Semi Automatic Ground Environment

The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment was an automated control system for tracking and intercepting enemy bomber aircraft used by NORAD from the late 1950s into the 1980s...

operations and launch procedures, including the launch of an unarmed missile at Eglin. In September 1959 the squadron assembled at their permanent station, the Bomarc site near McGuire AFB, and trained for operational readiness. The first Bomarc-A went operational at McGuire on 19 September 1959 with Kincheloe AFB getting the first operational IM-99Bs. While several of the squadrons replicated earlier fighter interceptor unit numbers, they were all new organizations with no previous historical counterpart.

ADC's initial plans called for some 52 Bomarc sites around the United States with 120 missiles each but as defense budgets decreased during the 1950s the number of sites dropped substantially. Ongoing development and reliability problems didn't help; nor did Congressional debate over the missile's usefulness and necessity. In June 1959, the Air Force authorized 16 Bomarc sites with 56 missiles each; the initial five would get the IM-99A with the remainder getting the IM-99B. However, in March 1960, HQ USAF cut deployment to eight sites in the US and two in Canada.

Canada and the Bomarc

The Bomarc Missile Program was highly controversial in Canada. The Progressive Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....

government of Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Canada

The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...

John Diefenbaker

John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963...

initially agreed to deploy the missiles, and shortly thereafter controversially scrapped the Avro Arrow, a supersonic manned interceptor aircraft, arguing that the missile program made the Arrow unnecessary.

Initially, it was unclear whether the missiles would be equipped with nuclear warheads. By 1960 it became known that the missiles were to have a nuclear payload, and a debate ensued about whether Canada should accept nuclear weapons. Ultimately, the Diefenbaker government decided that the Bomarcs should not be equipped with conventional warheads. The dispute split the Diefenbaker Cabinet, and led to the collapse of the government in 1963. The Opposition Liberal Party

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

argued in favour of accepting nuclear warheads and, after winning the 1963 election

Canadian federal election, 1963

The Canadian federal election of 1963 was held on April 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 26th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of the minority Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.-Overview:During the Tories' last year in...

, the new Liberal government of Lester Pearson proceeded to accept nuclear-armed Bomarcs, with the first being deployed on 31 December 1963.

Pierre Trudeau

Pierre Trudeau

Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...

, still working as a journalist, attacked Pearson for the decision. While he was forced to reverse himself when he decided to run as a candidate for the Liberals in the 1965 election

Canadian federal election, 1965

The Canadian federal election of 1965 was held on November 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 27th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson was re-elected with a larger number of seats in the House...

, he remained unenthusiastic. Shortly after becoming prime minister in 1968, he announced that the missiles would be phased out by 1971.

Operational service and retirement

Within a year of becoming operational, a Bomarc-A with a nuclear warhead caught fire at McGuire AFB on 7 June 1960 following the explosive rupture of its onboard helium tank. While the missile's explosives didn't detonate, the heat melted the warhead, releasing plutonium which the fire crews then spread around. The Air Force and the Atomic Energy Commission

United States Atomic Energy Commission

The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...

cleaned up the site and covered it with concrete; fortunately, this was the only major incident involving the weapons system. The site remained in operation for several years following the fire, but after its closure in 1972, the accident resulted in that area remaining off limits to the present day, primarily due to low levels of plutonium contamination.
In 2002, the concrete at the site was removed and transported to Lakehurst Naval Air Station for railheading to a site for proper disposal.

In 1962 the Air Force started using modified A-models as drones; following the October 1962 tri-service redesignation of aircraft and weapons systems they became CQM-10As. Otherwise the air defense missile squadrons maintained alert while making regular trips to Santa Rosa Island for training and firing practice. After the inactivation of the 4751st ADW(M) on 1 July 1962 and transfer of Hurlburt to Tactical Air Command

Tactical Air Command

Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...

for air commando operations the 4751st Air Defense Squadron (Missile) remained at Hurlburt and Santa Rosa Island for training purposes.

In 1964, the liquid-fueled Bomarc-A sites and squadrons began to be deactivated. The sites at Dow and Suffolk County closed first. The remainder soldiered on for several more years while the government started dismantling the air defense missile network. Niagara Falls was the first BOMARC B installation to close, in December 1969; the others remained on alert through 1972. In April 1972, the last Bomarc B in USAF service was retired at McGuire and the 46th ADMS inactivated.
The Bomarc, designed to intercept relatively slow manned bombers, had become a useless asset in the era of the intercontinental ballistic missile. The remaining Bomarc missiles were used by all armed services as high-speed target drones for tests of other air-defense missiles. The Bomarc A and Bomarc B targets were designated as CQM-10A and CQM-10B, respectively.

Notably, due to the accident the McGuire complex has never been sold or converted to other uses and remains in Air Force ownership, making it the most intact site of the eight in the United States. It has been nominated to the National Register of Historic Sites. Although a number of IM-99/CIM-10 Bomarcs have been placed on public display, concerns about the possible environmental hazards of the thoriated magnesium

Mag-Thor

Mag-Thor is the common name for a range of magnesium alloys containing thorium that are used in aerospace engineering. These alloys commonly contain manganese and zinc, but there are other combinations known. Some common alloys are named HK31, HM21, HM31, HZ32, ZH42, ZH62; where the "H" indicates...

structure of the airframe have resulted in several being removed from public view.

Russ Sneddon, director of the Air Force Armament Museum

Air Force Armament Museum

The Air Force Armament Museum, adjacent to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the only facility in the U.S. dedicated to the display of Air Force armament...

, Eglin AFB, Florida provided information about missing CIM-10 exhibit airframe serial 59-2016, one of the museum's original artifacts from its founding in 1975 and donated by the 4751st Air Defense Squadron at Hurlburt Field

Hurlburt Field

, Eglin Auxiliary Field 9, Eglin AFB. As of December 2006, the suspect missile was stored in a secure compound behind the Armaments Museum. In December 2010, the airframe was still on premises, but partially dismantled.

Operators

Canada

Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...

from 1955-1968 / Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...

from 1968–1972

446 SAM Squadron: 28 IM-99B, CFB North Bay

CFB North Bay

Canadian Forces Base North Bay, also CFB North Bay, is an air force base located at the City of North Bay, Ontario about north of Toronto. The base is subordinate to 1 Canadian Air Division, Winnipeg, Manitoba, and is the centre for North American Aerospace Defense Command operations in Canada,...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

1962-1972

Bomarc site located at 46°25′46"N 079°28′16"W

447 SAM Squadron: 28 IM-99B, La Macaza, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

(La Macaza – Mont Tremblant International Airport) 1962-1972

Bomarc site located at 46°24′41"N 074°46′08"W (Approximately)

United States

United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

Air (later Aerospace) Defense Command

6th Air Defense Missile Squadron, 56 IM-99A

Activated on 1 February 1959

Assigned to: New York Air Defense Sector

Inactivated 15 December 1964

Stationed at: Suffolk County AFB, New York

Bomarc site located 3 miles SW at 40°50′00"N 072°40′51"W

22d Air Defense Missile Squadron: 28 IM-99A/28 IM-99B

Activated on 15 September 1959

Assigned to: Washington Air Defense Sector

Washington Air Defense Sector

The Washington Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 26th Air Division, being stationed at Fort Lee Air Force Station, Virginia...

Reassigned to: 33d Air Division, 1 April 1966

Reassigned to: 20th Air Division, 19 November 1969

Inactivated: 31 October 1972

Stationed at: Langley AFB, Virginia

Bomarc site located 3 miles WNW at 37°05′57"N 076°28′47"W

26th Air Defense Missile Squadron
26th Air Defense Missile Squadron
The 26th Tactical Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 20th Air Division, Aerospace Defense Command, stationed near Otis AFB, Massachusetts...

: 28 IM-99A/28 IM-99B

Activated 1 March 1959

Assigned to: Boston Air Defense Sector

Boston Air Defense Sector

The Boston Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force Air Defense Command organization. Its last assignment was with the ADC 26th Air Division, being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York.-History:...

Reassigned to: 35th Air Division, 1 April 1966

Reassigned to: 21st Air Division, 19 November 1969

Inactivated: 30 April 1972

Stationed at: Otis AFB, Massachusetts

Bomarc site located 1 mile NNW at 41°40′56"N 070°32′21"W

30th Air Defense Missile Squadron: 28 IM-99A

Activated on 1 June 1959

Assigned to Bangor Air Defense Sector

Bangor Air Defense Sector

The Bangor Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 26th Air Division, being stationed at Topsham Air Force Station, Maine...

Inactivated: 15 December 1964

Stationed at Dow AFB, Maine

Bomarc site located 4 mils NNE at 44°51′11"N 068°47′11"W

35th Air Defense Missile Squadron: 56 IM-99B

Activated 1 June 1960

Assigned to Syracuse Air Defense Sector

Syracuse Air Defense Sector

The Syracuse Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 26th Air Division, being stationed at Syracuse Air Force Station, New York.- History :...

Reassigned to: Detroit Air Defense Sector

Detroit Air Defense Sector

The Detroit Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 26th Air Division, being stationed at Custer Air Force Station, Michigan...

, 4 September 1963

Reassigned to: 34th Air Division, 1 April 1966

Reassigned to: 35th Air Division, 15 September 1969

Inactivated: 31 December 1969

Stationed at: Niagara Falls Air Force Missile Site

Niagara Falls Air Force Missile Site

Niagara Falls Air Force Missile Site is a closed United States Air Force CIM-10 Bomarc missile site. It was located adjacent to the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, east-northeast of Niagara Falls, New York. It was closed in 1969.-History:...

, New York

Bomarc site located at 43°07′03"N 078°56′49"W

37th Air Defense Missile Squadron: 28 IM-99B

Activated 1 March 1960

Assigned to 30th Air Division

Reassigned to: Sault Sainte Marie Air Defense Sector

Sault Sainte Marie Air Defense Sector

The Sault Sainte Marie Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 30th Air Division, being stationed at K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base, Michigan.- History :...

, 1 April 1960

Reassigned to: Duluth Air Defense Sector

Duluth Air Defense Sector

The Duluth Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 30th Air Division, being stationed at Duluth Airport, Minnesota...

, 1 October 1963

Reassigned to: 29th Air Division, 1 April 1966

Reassigned to: 23d Air Division, 19 November 1969

Inactivated 31 July 1972

Stationed at: Kincheloe AFB, Michigan

Bomarc site located 9 miles NW at 46°20′53"N 084°48′18"W

46th Air Defense Missile Squadron: 28 IM-99A/56 IM-99B

Activated 1 January 1959

Assigned to New York Air Defense Sector

Reassigned to: 21st Air Division, 1 April 1966

Reassigned to: 35th Air Division, 1 December 1957

Reassigned to: 21st Air Division, 19 November 1969

Inactivated 31 October 1972

Stationed at: McGuire AFB, New Jersey

Bomarc site located 4 miles ESE at 40°02′06"N 074°26′29"W

74th Air Defense Missile Squadron: 28 IM-99B

Activated 1 April 1960

Assigned to Duluth Air Defense Sector

Duluth Air Defense Sector

Reassigned to: 29th Air Division, 1 April 1966

Reassigned to: 23d Air Division, 19 November 1969

Inactivated 30 April 1972

Stationed at: Duluth International Airport

Duluth International Airport

Duluth International Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located five nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Duluth, a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. It serves the Duluth-Superior area including Superior, Wisconsin...

, Minnesota

Bomarc site located 10 miles NE at 46°55′56"N 091°53′00"W

4751st Air Defense Missile Squadron

Activated 15 January 1959

Assigned to 73d Air Division

73d Air Division

The 73d Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, based at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated on 1 April 1966.-World War II:...

(Weapons)

Reassigned to: 32d Air Division, 1 October 1959

Reassigned to: Montgomery Air Defense Sector, 1 July 1962

Reassigned to: Air Defense, Tactical Air Command, 1 September 1979

Inactivated 30 September 1979

Stationed at: Eglin Auxiliary Field #9 (Hurlburt Field)

Hurlburt Field

, Florida

Locations under construction but not activated. Each site was programmed for 28 IM-99B missiles:

Camp Adair
Camp Adair
Camp Adair was a United States Army division training facility established north of Corvallis, Oregon, operating from 1942 to 1946. Part of the site is now contained within the E. E...

, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

44°42′08"N 123°12′00"W
Charleston AFB, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
Ethan Allen AFB, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

44°30′38"N 073°09′49"W
Paine Field
Paine Field
Paine Field, also known as Snohomish County Airport is a public airport located in unincorporated Snohomish County, between Mukilteo and Everett, Washington...

, Washington 47°54′43"N 122°15′55"W
Travis AFB, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

38°29′14"N 121°53′07"W
Truax Field
Dane County Regional Airport
-Statistics:-External links:* Dane County Regional Airport: * Wisconsin Airport Directory: * * - Listen live to Madison's Air Traffic Control...

, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

43°11′27"N 089°09′15"W
Vandenberg AFB, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

34°43′47"N 120°30′15"W

Reference for BOMARC units and locations:

Surviving missiles

Below is a list of museums or sites which have a Bomarc missile on display:

Air Force Armament Museum
Air Force Armament Museum
The Air Force Armament Museum, adjacent to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the only facility in the U.S. dedicated to the display of Air Force armament...

, Eglin Air Force Base
Eglin Air Force Base
Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 3 miles southwest of Valparaiso, Florida in Okaloosa County....

, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
Air Force Space & Missile Museum
Air Force Space & Missile Museum
The Air Force Space & Missile Museum is located at Launch Complex 26 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. It includes artifacts from the early American space program and includes an outdoor rocket garden displaying rockets, missiles and space-related equipment chronicling the US Air...

, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is an installation of the United States Air Force Space Command's 45th Space Wing, headquartered at nearby Patrick Air Force Base. Located on Cape Canaveral in the state of Florida, CCAFS is the primary launch head of America's Eastern Range with four launch pads...

, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
Alberta Aviation Museum
Alberta Aviation Museum
The Alberta Aviation Museum is a museum in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is located on-site at the Edmonton City Centre Airport CYXD on the southwest corner of the field ....

, Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Canada Aviation Museum
Canada Aviation Museum
The Canada Aviation and Space Museum is Canada's national aviation history museum. The museum is located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, at the Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport...

, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Hill Aerospace Museum
Hill Aerospace Museum
Hill Aerospace Museum, located near Ogden, Utah, is a U.S. Air Force museum that is part of the United States Air Force Heritage Program.The museum, founded in 1981 and moved to its current location in 1991, displays over 90 aircraft from around the world, in addition to a variety of munitions,...

, Hill Air Force Base
Hill Air Force Base
Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force Base located in northern Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and near the towns of Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, Sunset, and Layton. It is about north of Salt Lake City. The base was named in honor of Major Ployer Peter Hill of the U.S. Army Air...

, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
Historical Electronics Museum, Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

(display of AN/DPN-53, the first airborne pulse-doppler radar, used in the Bomarc)
Illinois Soldiers & Sailors Home, Quincy
Quincy, Illinois
Quincy, known as Illinois' "Gem City," is a river city along the Mississippi River and the county seat of Adams County. As of the 2010 census the city held a population of 40,633. The city anchors its own micropolitan area and is the economic and regional hub of West-central Illinois, catering a...

, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
Keesler Air Force Base
Keesler Air Force Base
Keesler Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Biloxi, a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. The base is named in honor of aviator 2d Lt Samuel Reeves Keesler, Jr., a Mississippi native killed in France in First World War.-Units:The base is home of...

, Biloxi, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
Lee Park, North Bay
North Bay, Ontario
North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing.-History:...

, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

(Removed 15 September 2009)
Museum of Aviation
Museum of Aviation
The Museum of Aviation is the second-largest aerospace museum of the United States Air Force. The museum is located just outside Warner Robins, Georgia, and near Robins Air Force Base. It has a total of five different buildings containing 93 different aircraft on . The SR-71A Blackbird on display...

, Robins Air Force Base
Robins Air Force Base
Robins Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base located in Houston County, Georgia, United States. The base is located just east of and adjacent to the city of Warner Robins, Georgia, SSE of Macon, Georgia, and about SSE of Atlanta, Georgia...

, Warner Robins, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
National Atomic Museum
National Atomic Museum
‎The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History is a national repository of nuclear science information chartered by the 102nd United States Congress under Public Law 102-190, and located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "The mission of the National Atomic Museum is to serve as America's resource for...

, Kirtland Air Force Base
Kirtland Air Force Base
Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy C. Kirtland...

, Albuquerque, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
National Museum of the United States Air Force
National Museum of the United States Air Force
The National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display...

, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties in the state of Ohio. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is located approximately...

, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum
Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum
The Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum, the largest aviation museum in Illinois, occupies part of the grounds of the decommissioned Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Illinois. It and the base were named for Octave Chanute, railroad engineer and aviation pioneer...

(former Chanute AFB), Rantoul, Illinois
Rantoul, Illinois
Rantoul is a village in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 13,674 at the 2010 census. The present mayor is Neal Williams, who was re-elected in 2009...
Peterson Air and Space Museum
Peterson Air and Space Museum
Peterson Air and Space Museum is located inside Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Access to the museum is limited due to security concerns, so tour groups should contact the museum curator...

, Peterson Air Force Base
Peterson Air Force Base
Peterson Air Force Base is a base of the United States Air Force located at Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States and it provides runways for the adjacent City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport under a shared joint civil-military airport arrangement...

, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
Strategic Air and Space Museum
Strategic Air and Space Museum
The Strategic Air and Space Museum is a museum focusing on United States Air Force military aircraft and nuclear missiles located near Ashland, Nebraska, along Interstate 80 southwest of Omaha, Nebraska. The objective of the museum is to preserve and display historic aircraft, missile, and space...

(adjacent to Offutt Air Force Base
Offutt Air Force Base
Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force installation near Omaha, and lies adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S...

), Bellevue
Bellevue, Nebraska
Bellevue is a city in Sarpy County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 50,137 at the 2010 census. Eight miles south of Omaha, Bellevue is part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. Originally settled in the 1830s, It was the first state capitol. Bellevue was incorporated in...

, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
US Air Force History and Traditions Museum, Lackland Air Force Base
Lackland Air Force Base
Lackland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located west-southwest of San Antonio, Texas. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command ....

, San Antonio, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
Vandenberg Air Force Base
Vandenberg Air Force Base
Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately northwest of Lompoc, California. It is under the jurisdiction of the 30th Space Wing, Air Force Space Command ....

(Space and Missile Heritage Center), California. Bomarc not for public access.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Origins and development

Manufacture and operational deployment

Canada and the Bomarc

Operational service and retirement

Operators

Surviving missiles

See also

External links