Bomarc Missile Program

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Bomarc missile launch
Bomarc missile launch

The Bomarc Missile Program was a joint United States of America–Canada effort between 1957 and 1971 to protect against the USSR bomber threat. It involved the deployment of tactical stations armed with Bomarc missiles along the east and west coasts of North America and the central areas of the continent. BOMARC and the SAGE guidance system were phased out in the late sixties as they were ineffective and costly.

The supersonic Bomarc missiles were the first long-range anti-aircraft missiles in the world. They were capable of carrying conventional or nuclear warheads. Their intended role in defence was in an intrusion prevention perimeter. Bomarcs aligned on the eastern and western coasts of North America would theoretically launch and destroy enemy bombers before the bombers could drop their payloads on industrial regions.

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[edit] Design and development

The name Bomarc was created by merging the names of two organisations: Boeing and the Michigan Aeronautical Research Center (MARC). The Program was authorized in 1949 and originally designated F-99, a fighter designation but was quickly redesignated "IM" for Interceptor Missile, retaining the -99 series number.

The "Bomarc IM-99A" was the first production Bomarc missile, test flown in February 1955. It had an operational radius of 200 miles and was designed to fly at Mach 2.5-2.8 at a cruising altitude of 60,000 feet. It was 14.2 m (46.6 ft) long, weighed 7,020 kg (15,500 lb). Its armament was either a 1000 pound conventional warhead or a W40 nuclear warhead (7-10 kiloton yield). A rocket engine boosted the Bomarc to Mach 2 when its ramjet engines would take over for the remainder of the flight.

The "Super Bomarc IM-99B" was the 99A's successor, with improvements to its operational parameters. It was capable of striking targets within a radius of 400 miles, and able to fly at Mach 4 as high as 100,000 feet. It was 13.7 m (45 ft) long, weighed 7,250 kg (16,000 lb) with a W40 nuclear warhead as armament.

The Bomarc relied on SAGE, the Semi Automatic Ground Environment, 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 on 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.

Boeing built 700 Bomarc missiles between 1957 and 1964.

[edit] Canada and the Bomarc

The Bomarc Missile Program was highly controversial in Canada. The Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister John George Diefenbaker initially agreed to deploy the missiles, and shortly after controversially scrapped the Avro Arrow interceptor program arguing that the missile program made the Arrow unnecessary.

Initially, it was unclear whether the missiles would be equipped with nuclear warheads. Once their use as nuclear weapons became known in 1960, a debate ensued about whether Canada should accept nuclear weapons. Ultimately, the Diefenbaker government decided that the Bomarcs should 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 argued in favour of accepting nuclear warheads, and, after winning the 1963 election, the new Liberal government of Lester Pearson proceeded to accept nuclear warheads, with the first being deployed on 31 December 1963.

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

[edit] Retirement

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 structure of the airframe have resulted in several being removed from public view. Radioactive contamination from a fire at McGuire AFB, N.J., that destroyed an active Bomarc-A airframe on the launch pad on 7 June 1960, resulted in that area remaining off-limits to the present day. However, the nuclear warhead was not activated in this Broken Arrow accident. The site remained in operation for several years following the fire. Pictures may be seen at http://www.radomes.org/museum/recent/McGuireAFBBOMARCNJ.html

[edit] Sources

Russ Sneddon, director of the USAF Armament Museum, 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, Eglin Auxiliary Field 9, Eglin AFB. As of December 2006, the suspect missile was still stored in a secure compound behind the Armaments Museum.

[edit] Operators

[edit] Survivors

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

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

[edit] References

    • Clearwater, John. Canadian Nuclear Weapons. Toronto: Dundern Press, 1999. ISBN 1-55002-299-7 .
    • Nicks, Don, Bradley, John and Charland, Chris. A History of the Air Defence of Canada 1948-1997. Ottawa: Commander Fighter Group, 1997. ISBN 0-9681973-0-2.
    • Pedigree of Champions: Boeing Since 1916, Third Edition. Seattle, WA: The Boeing Company, 1969.

    [edit] External links

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