CIM-10 Bomarc

File:BOMARC A Surface-to-Air Missile.jpg

The Boeing CIM-10 Bomarc ("Boeing Michigan Aeronautical Research Center") (IM-99 Weapon SystemTemplate:R prior to September 1962)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> was a supersonic ramjet powered long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) used during the Cold War for the air defense of North America. In addition to being the first operational long-range SAM and the first operational pulse doppler aviation radar,<ref name="ReferenceA">Tactical missile aerodynamics, Volume 141. P17. Michael J. Hemsch, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1992</ref> it was the only SAM deployed by the United States Air Force.

Stored horizontally in a launcher shelter with a movable roof, the missile was erected, fired vertically using rocket boosters to high altitude, and then tipped over into a horizontal Mach 2.5 cruise powered by ramjet engines. This lofted trajectory allowed the missile to operate at a maximum range as great as Template:Convert. Controlled from the ground for most of its flight, when it reached the target area it was commanded to begin a dive, activating an onboard active radar homing seeker for terminal guidance. A radar proximity fuse detonated the warhead, either a large conventional explosive or the W40 nuclear warhead.

The Air Force originally planned for a total of 52 sites covering most of the major cities and industrial regions in the US. The United States Army was deploying their own systems at the same time, and the two services fought constantly both in political circles and in the press. Development dragged on, and by the time it was ready for deployment in the late 1950s, the nuclear threat had moved from manned bombers to the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). By this time the Army had successfully deployed the much shorter range Nike Hercules that they claimed filled any possible need through the 1960s, in spite of Air Force claims to the contrary.<ref>Tactical missile aerodynamics, Volume 141. Michael J. Hemsch, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1992</ref>

As testing continued, the Air Force reduced its plans to sixteen sites, and then again to eight with an additional two sites in Canada. The first US site was declared operational in 1959, but with only a single working missile. Bringing the rest of the missiles into service took years, by which time the system was obsolete. Deactivations began in 1969 and by 1972 all Bomarc sites had been shut down. A small number were used as target drones, and only a few remain on display today.

Design and development

Initial studies

During World War II, the US Army Air Force (USAAF) concluded that existing anti-aircraft guns, only marginally effective against existing generations of propeller-driven aircraft, would not be effective at all against the emerging jet-powered designs. Like the Germans and British before them, they concluded the only successful defence would be to use guided weapons.Template:Sfn

As early as 1944 the United States Army started exploring anti-aircraft missiles, examining a variety of concepts. At the time, two basic concepts appeared possible; one would use a short-range rocket that flew directly at the target from below following a course close to the line-of-sight, and the other would fly up to the target's altitude and then tip over and fly horizontally towards the target like a fighter aircraft. As both concepts seemed promising, the Army Air Force was given the task of developing the airplane-like design, while the Army Ordnance Department was given the more ballistic collision-course concept. Official requirements were published in 1945.Template:Sfn

Official requirements were published in 1945; Bell Laboratories won the Ordnance contract for a short-range line-of-sight weapon under Project Nike,Template:Sfn while a team of players led by Boeing won the contract for a long-range design known as Ground-to-Air Pilotless Aircraft, or GAPA. GAPA moved to the United States Air Force when that branch was formed in 1947. In 1946, the USAAF also started two early research projects into anti-missile systems in Project Thumper (MX-795) and Project Wizard (MX-794).Template:Sfn

Bomarc A

Formally organized in 1946 under USAAF project MX-606, by 1950 Boeing had launched more than 100 test rockets in various configurations, all under the designator XSAM-A-1 GAPA. The tests were very promising, and Boeing received a USAF contract in 1949 to develop a production design under project MX-1599.<ref name="Gibson">Gibson 1996, pp. 200–201.</ref>

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.Template:Clarification needed The Bomarc became the F-99.<ref name="Gibson"/>

By this time, the Army's Nike project was progressing well and would enter operational service in 1953. This led the Air Force to begin a lengthy series of attacks on the Army in the press, a common occurrence at the time known as "policy by press release". When the Army released its first official information on Ajax to the press, the Air Force responded by leaking information on BOMARC to Aviation Week,<ref>Aviation Week, 6 April 1953, p. 15.</ref> and continued to denigrate Nike in the press over the next few years, in one case showing a graphic of Washington being destroyed by nuclear bombs that Ajax failed to stop.<ref name=pop>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Tests of the XF-99 test vehicles began in September 1952 and continued through early 1955.Template:R 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.

By this time, Ajax was widely deployed around the United States and some overseas locations, and the Army was beginning to develop its much more powerful successor, Nike Hercules. Hercules was an existential threat to BOMARC, as its much greater range and nuclear warhead filled many of the roles that BOMARC was designed for. A new round of fighting in the press broke out, capped by an article in The New York Times entitled "Air Force Calls Army Nike Unfit To Guard Nation".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In October 1957, the first YIM-99A production-representative prototype flew with full guidance, and succeeded in passing the target within the intended warhead's destructive radius. In late 1957, Boeing received the production contract for the IM-99A Bomarc A, and in September 1959, the first IM-99A squadron became operational.<ref name="Gibson"/>

The IM-99A had an operational radius of Template:Convert and was designed to fly at Mach 2.5–2.8 at a cruising altitude of Template:Convert. It was Template:Convert long and weighed Template:Convert. Its armament was either a Template:Convert conventional warhead or a W40 nuclear warhead (7–10 kiloton yield). A liquid-fuel rocket engine boosted the Bomarc to Mach 2, when its Marquardt RJ43-MA-3 ramjet engines, fueled by 80-octane gasoline, would take over for the remainder of the flight. This was the same model of engine used to power the Lockheed X-7, the Lockheed AQM-60 Kingfisher drone used to test air defenses, and the Lockheed D-21 launched from the back of an M-21, although the Bomarc and Kingfisher engines used different materials due to the longer duration of their flights.<ref name="Gibson"/>

Operational units

File:CIM-10 Bomarc missile battery.jpg

October 1960, BOMARCs in New Jersey (BOMARC Site No. 1)

The operational IM-99A missiles were based horizontally in semi-hardened shelters, nicknamed "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 sufficient speed was reached, the Marquardt RJ43-MA-3 ramjets would ignite and propel the missile to its cruise speed of Mach 2.8 at an altitude of Template:Convert.<ref name="Gibson"/>

When the Bomarc was within Template:Convert 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 Template:Convert, and it was fitted with either a conventional high-explosive or a 10 kiloton W-40 nuclear fission warhead.<ref name="Gibson"/>

The Bomarc relied on the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE), an automated control system used by NORAD 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 US and two in Canada.<ref name="Gibson"/>

Bomarc B

The liquid-fuel booster of the Bomarc A had several drawbacks. It took two minutes to fuel before launch, which could be a long time in high-speed intercepts, and its hypergolic propellants (hydrazine and nitric acid) were very dangerous to handle, leading to several serious accidents.<ref name="Gibson"/>

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 MQM-15A Regulus II drone was intercepted. Because the new booster required less space in the missile, more ramjet fuel could be carried, thus increasing the range to Template:Convert. The terminal homing system was also improved, using the world's first pulse Doppler search radar, the Westinghouse AN/DPN-53.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> 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.<ref name="Gibson"/> On 23 March 1961, a Bomarc B successfully intercepted a Regulus II cruise missile flying at Template:Cvt, thus achieving the highest interception in the world up to that date.

Boeing built 570 Bomarc missiles between 1957 and 1964, 269 CIM-10A, 301 CIM-10B.<ref name="Gibson"/>

File:4751st Air Defense Squadron - ADC - Emblem.png

4751st ADMS (Training) Emblem

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, south of Eglin AFB Hurlburt Field on the Gulf of Mexico. 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.<ref name="Gibson"/>

Operational history

In 1955, to support a program which called for 40 squadrons of BOMARC (120 missiles to a squadron for a total of 4,800 missiles), ADC reached a decision on the location of these 40 squadrons and suggested operational dates for each. The sequence was as follows: ... l. McGuire 1/60 2. Suffolk 2/60 3. Otis 3/60 4. Dow 4/60 5. Niagara Falls 1/61 6. Plattsburgh 1/61 7. Kinross 2/61 8. K.I. Sawyer 2/61 9. Langley 2/61 10. Truax 3/61 11. Paine 3/61 12. Portland 3/61 ... At the end of 1958, ADC plans called for construction of the following BOMARC bases in the following order: l. McGuire 2. Suffolk 3. Otis 4. Dow 5. Langley 6. Truax 7. Kinross 8. Duluth 9. Ethan Allen 10. Niagara Falls 11. Paine 12. Adair 13. Travis 14. Vandenberg 15. San Diego 16. Malmstrom 17. Grand Forks 18. Minot 19. Youngstown 20. Seymour-Johnson 21. Bunker Hill 22. Sioux Falls 23. Charleston 24. McConnell 25. Holloman 26. McCoy 27. Amarillo 28. Barksdale 29. Williams.<ref name=McMullen1980>Template:Cite report</ref>

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 New York Air Defense Sector at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey. The training program, under the 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>"46th Air Defense Missile Squadron." Template:Webarchive NYADS 1960 Yearbook. Retrieved 28 September 2010.</ref>Template:R

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

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

Within a year of operations, a Bomarc 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 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. "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>Template:Cite report</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>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:CQM-10B Bormarc drone launch Vandenberg 1977.JPEG

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.

Canada

The Bomarc Missile Program was highly controversial in Canada.<ref name="Canadian Crisis"> Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker 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.<ref name="Canadian Crisis" />

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.<ref name="Dief the Chief defeated"> Template:Cite news</ref> Ultimately, the Diefenbaker government decided that the Bomarcs should not be equipped with nuclear warheads.<ref name="Dief's Cabinet Split"> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The dispute split the Diefenbaker Cabinet, and led to the collapse of the government in 1963.<ref name="Dief's Cabinet Split" /> The Official Opposition and Liberal Party leader Lester B. Pearson originally was against nuclear missiles, but reversed his personal position and argued in favour of accepting nuclear warheads.<ref name="Pearson flip-flops"> Template:Cite news</ref> He won the 1963 election, largely on the basis of this issue, and his new Liberal government proceeded to accept nuclear-armed Bomarcs, with the first being deployed on 31 December 1963.<ref name="Nukes Arrive">"Special to The Star: Canada's Bomarcs get atom warheads." The Toronto Daily Star, 2 January 1964, pp. 1, 4.</ref> When the nuclear warheads were deployed, Pearson's wife, Maryon, resigned her honorary membership in the anti-nuclear weapons group, Voice of Women.<ref name="Dief the Chief defeated" />

Canadian operational deployment of the Bomarc involved the formation of two specialized Surface/Air Missile squadrons. The first to begin operations was No. 446 SAM Squadron at RCAF Station North Bay, which was the command and control center for both squadrons.<ref name="Nukes Arrive" /> With construction of the compound and related facilities completed in 1961, the squadron received its Bomarcs in 1961, without nuclear warheads.<ref name="Nukes Arrive" /> The squadron became fully operational from 31 December 1963, when the nuclear warheads arrived, until disbanding on 31 March 1972. All the warheads were stored separately and under control of Detachment 1 of the USAF 425th Munitions Maintenance Squadron at Stewart Air Force Base. During operational service, the Bomarcs were maintained on stand-by, on a 24-hour basis, but were never fired, although the squadron test-fired the missiles at Eglin AFB, Florida on annual winter retreats.<ref name="No. 446">Nicks et al. 1997, pp. 84–85.</ref>

No. 447 SAM Squadron operating out of RCAF Station La Macaza, Quebec, was activated on 15 September 1962 although warheads were not delivered until late 1963. The squadron followed the same operational procedures as No. 446, its sister squadron. With the passage of time the operational capability of the 1950s-era Bomarc system no longer met modern requirements; the Department of National Defence deemed that the Bomarc missile defense was no longer a viable system, and ordered both squadrons to be stood down in 1972. The bunkers and ancillary facilities remain at both former sites.<ref name="No. 447">Nicks et al. 1997, pp. 85–87.</ref>

Variants

File:CIM-10 operators.png

Map with CIM-10 operators in blue

• XF-99 (experimental for booster research)
• XF-99A/XIM-99A (experimental for ramjet research)
• YF-99A/YIM-99ATemplate:R (service-test)
• IM-99A/CIM-10A (initial production)
• IM-99B/CIM-10B ("advanced"<ref name="Boeing bases">"IM-99A Bases Manual". Boeing: Pilotless Aircraft Division (Seattle, Washington), 12 March 1959.</ref>)
• CQM-10A (target drone developed from CIM-10A)<ref name="Factsheets : Boeing XF-99.">"Factsheets : Boeing XF-99." Template:Webarchive Nationalmuseum.af.mil. Retrieved: 18 September 2013.</ref>
• CQM-10B (target drone developed from CIM-10B)<ref name="Factsheets : Boeing XF-99."/>

Operators

Template:Flagicon / Template:CAN

• Royal Canadian Air Force from 1955 to 1968 / Canadian Forces from 1968 to 1972

446 SAM Squadron: 28 IM-99B, CFB North Bay, Ontario 1962–1972<ref name="No. 446"/><ref>"446 SAM Squadron." radomes.org. Retrieved: 12 September 2010.</ref>

Bomarc site located at Template:Coord

447 SAM Squadron: 28 IM-99B, La Macaza, Quebec (La Macaza – Mont Tremblant International Airport) 1962–1972<ref name="No. 447"/><ref>"447 SAM Squadron." radomes.org. Retrieved: 12 September 2010.</ref>

Bomarc site located at Template:Coord (Approximately)

Template:Flag

• United States Air Force 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 Air Force Base Missile Annex, New York

Bomarc site located 3 miles SW at Template:Coord

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

Activated on 15 September 1959

Assigned to: Washington Air Defense Sector

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 Template:Coord

26th Air Defense Missile Squadron: 28 IM-99A/28 IM-99B

Activated 1 March 1959

Assigned to: Boston Air Defense Sector

Reassigned to: 35th Air Division, 1 April 1966

Reassigned to: 21st Air Division, 19 November 1969

Inactivated: 30 April 1972

Stationed at: Otis Air Force Base BOMARC site, Massachusetts

Bomarc site located 1 mile NNW at Template:Coord

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

Activated on 1 June 1959

Assigned to Bangor Air Defense Sector

Inactivated: 15 December 1964

Stationed at Dow AFB, Maine

Bomarc site located 4 mils NNE at Template:Coord

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

Activated 1 June 1960

Assigned to Syracuse Air Defense Sector

Reassigned to: Detroit Air Defense Sector, 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, New York

Bomarc site located at Template:Coord

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, 1 April 1960

Reassigned to: Duluth Air Defense Sector, 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 19 miles NW at Raco Template:Coord

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 Template:Coord

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

Activated 1 April 1960

Assigned to 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, Minnesota

Bomarc site located 10 miles NE at Template:Coord

4751st Air Defense Missile Squadron

Activated 15 January 1959

Assigned to 73d Air Division (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), Florida

Bomarc site located on Santa Rosa Island at Template:Coord

Bomarc site located at Eglin Auxiliary Field #5 (Piccolo Field) at Template:Coord

• Air Force Systems Command

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

Launch Complex 4 (LC-4) was used for Bomarc testing and development launches 2 February 1956 – 15 April 1960 (17 Launches). Template:Coord

Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

Two launch sites, BOM-1 and BOM-2 were used by the United States Navy for Bomarc launches against aerial targets. The first launch taking place on 25 August 1966. The last two launches occurred on 14 July 1982. BOM1 49 launches; BOM2 38 launches. Template:Coord

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

• Camp Adair, Oregon Template:Coord
• Charleston AFB, South Carolina
• Ethan Allen AFB, Vermont Template:Coord
• Paine Field, Washington Template:Coord
• Travis AFB, California Template:Coord
• Truax Field, Wisconsin Template:Coord
• Vandenberg AFB, California Template:Coord

Reference for BOMARC units and locations:<ref>"Bomarc Missile Sites." radomes.org. Retrieved: 26 December 2009.</ref>

• 6th Air Defense Missile Squadron - ADC - Emblem.png

  6th ADMS

• 22d Air Defense Missile Squadron - ADC - Emblem.png

  22d ADMS

• 26th Air Defense Missile Squadron - ADC - Emblem.png

  26th ADMS

• 30th Air Defense Missile Squadron - ADC - Emblem.png

  30th ADMS

• 35th Air Defense Missile Squadron - ADC - Emblem.png

  35th ADMS

• 37th Air Defense Missile Squadron - ADC - Emblem.png

  37th ADMS

• 46th Air Defense Missile Squadron - ADC - Emblem.png

  46th ADMS

• 74th Air Defense Missile Squadron - ADC - Emblem.png

  74th ADMS

• 4751st Air Defense Squadron - ADC - Emblem.png

  4751st ADMS

• Rcaf 446 squadorn BOMARC.png

  RCAF 446 Sqdn

• Rcaf 447 squadorn BOMARC.png

  RCAF 447 Squdn

Surviving missiles

Although a number of IM-99/CIM-10 Bomarcs have been placed on public display, because of concerns about the possible environmental hazards of the thoriated magnesium structure of the airframe several have been removed from public view.<ref name=NorthBay12092009>Young, Gord. "Cold War relic on the move." North Bay Nugget, 12 September 2009. Retrieved: 24 December 2009.</ref>

Russ Sneddon, director of the Air Force Armament Museum, Eglin Air Force Base, 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, 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 partly dismantled.<ref>Skytamer Images. "Boeing-MARC CIM-10A Bomarc A." Skytamer. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://www.skytamer.com/Boeing-MARC_CIM-10A.html</ref>

File:Bomarc B missile Canada Aviation Museum Ottawa 2006.jpg

Bomarc B on display at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, c. 2006.

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

• Air Force Armament Museum, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. In storage.
• Air Force Space & Missile Museum, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. It is on display Hangar C.
• Alberta Aviation Museum, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
• Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
• Hill Aerospace Museum, Hill Air Force Base, Utah
• Historical Electronics Museum, Linthicum, Maryland (display of AN/DPN-53, the first airborne pulse-doppler radar, used in the Bomarc)
• Illinois Soldiers & Sailors Home, Quincy, Illinois
• Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Mississippi
• Museum of Aviation, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, Georgia
• National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum (former Chanute Air Force Base), Rantoul, Illinois; the museum closed on 30 December 2015
• Peterson Air and Space Museum, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
• Strategic Air and Space Museum, Ashland, Nebraska
• USAF Airman Heritage Museum, Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
• Vandenberg Air Force Base (Space and Missile Heritage Center), California. Bomarc not for public access.

Impact on popular music

The Bomarc missile captured the imagination of the American and Canadian popular music industry, giving rise to a pop music group, the Bomarcs (composed mainly of servicemen stationed on a Florida radar site that tracked Bomarcs),<ref>"The Bomarcs", Garage Hangover, Chris Bishop, 2007-08-22</ref><ref>"BOMARCS, THE Records and CDs", MusicStack</ref> a record label, Bomarc Records,<ref>"45 Discography for Bomarc Records", Global Dog Productions</ref><ref>"Bomarc Records", Rate Your Music</ref> and a moderately successful Canadian pop group, The Beau Marks.

References

Bibliography

• Clearwater, John. Canadian Nuclear Weapons: The Untold Story of Canada's Cold War Arsenal. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Dundern Press, 1999. Template:ISBN.
• Clearwater, John. U.S. Nuclear Weapons in Canada. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Dundern Press, 1999. Template:ISBN.
• Cornett, Lloyd H. Jr. and Mildred W. Johnson. A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946–1980. Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, 1980. No ISBN.
• Gibson, James N. Nuclear Weapons of the United States: An Illustrated History. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1996. Template:ISBN.
• Jenkins, Dennis R. and Tony R. Landis. Experimental & Prototype U.S. Air Force Jet Fighters. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2008. Template:ISBN.
• Nicks, Don, John Bradley and Chris Charland. A History of the Air Defence of Canada 1948–1997. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Commander Fighter Group, 1997. Template:ISBN.
• Pedigree of Champions: Boeing Since 1916, Third Edition. Seattle, Washington: The Boeing Company, 1969.
• Winkler, David F. Searching the Skies: The Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program. Langley Air Force Base, Virginia: United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command, 1997. Template:ISBN.
• Template:Cite journal
• Template:Cite book

External links

• RCAF 446 SAM Squadron
• BOMARC Missile Sites
• Boeing Company History, Bomarc
• Astronautix.com
• Bomarc pictures
• Bomarc Video Clip
• SAGE-BOMARC risks – Oral history: Les Earnest talks about air defense system called SAGE and a ground-to-air missile called BOMARC.