Editing CIM-10 Bomarc (section)

===United States===
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 [[Eastern Air Defense Sector|New York Air Defense Sector]] at [[McGuire Air Force Base]], New Jersey. The training program, under the [[4751st Air Defense Missile Wing|4751st Air Defense Wing]] used technicians acting as instructors and was established for a four-month duration. Training included missile maintenance; SAGE 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 were used 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.<ref>[http://www.radomes.org/museum/documents/McGuireAFBBOMARCNJ1960NYADShistory.html "46th Air Defense Missile Squadron."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905004923/http://www.radomes.org/museum/documents/McGuireAFBBOMARCNJ1960NYADShistory.html |date=5 September 2017 }} ''NYADS 1960 Yearbook''. Retrieved 28 September 2010.</ref>{{r|NORAD1959B}}

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 United States and two in Canada.<ref name="Gibson"/>

====Bomarc incident====
{{main|BOMARC Missile Accident Site}}

Within a year of operations, a Bomarc&nbsp;A with a nuclear warhead caught fire at [[McGuire AFB]] on 7 June 1960 after its on-board helium tank exploded. While the missile's explosives did not detonate, the heat melted the warhead and released plutonium, which the fire crews spread. The Air Force and the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]] cleaned up the site and covered it with concrete. This was the only major incident involving the weapon system.<ref name="Gibson"/> The site remained in operation for several years following the fire. Since its closure in 1972, the area has remained off limits, primarily due to low levels of plutonium contamination.<ref>Gambardello, Joseph A. [http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-5763528_ITM "Plutonium Spill Neither Gone Nor Forgotten, 40 Years Later."] ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'', 1 June 2000, p. A01. Retrieved: 26 December 2009.</ref> Between 2002 and 2004, 21,998 cubic yards of contaminated debris and soils were shipped to what was then known as [[Envirocare]], located in Utah.<ref>{{Cite report |last=Rademacher|date=28 August 2007 |title=…Missile Shelters and Bunkers Scoping Survey Workplan |url=http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA471460 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812182215/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA471460 |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 August 2013 |volume=ADA471460 |publisher=Air Force Institute of Operational Health |access-date=9 December 2018 |display-authors=etal}}</ref>

====Modification and deactivation====
In 1962, the US 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]] for air commando operations the 4751st Air Defense Squadron (Missile) remained at Hurlburt and Santa Rosa Island for training purposes.<ref name="Gibson"/>

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 continued to be operational 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 U.S. Air Force service was retired at McGuire and the 46th ADMS inactivated<ref name="Gibson"/> and the base was deactivated.<ref name=sand>{{cite news|author1=THOMAS P. FARNER|title=Nuclear 'Cleanup' Leaves Many Questions|url=http://thesandpaper.villagesoup.com/p/nuclear-cleanup-leaves-many-questions/1378735|access-date=26 July 2015|work=The Sand Paper (NJ)|date=23 July 2015}}</ref>

[[File:CQM-10B Bormarc drone launch Vandenberg 1977.JPEG|thumb|A CQM-10B drone launched at [[Vandenberg Air Force Base]], 1977.]]

In the era of the intercontinental ballistic missiles the Bomarc, designed to intercept relatively slow manned bombers, had become a useless asset. 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.<ref name="Gibson"/>

Following 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 US. It has been nominated to the National Register of Historic Sites.