the sad story of the Bomarc

[umberto rossi]

I found the complete story of the Bomarc in a technical website 
(http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/m-10.html), and I have to 
say it's impressive. Its operative life was incredibly short, and it 
is a real preterite weapon system, something that was researched and 
tested for a long time at a huge cost and then quickly discarded due 
to a technological shift.

"Boeing F-99/IM-69/IM-99/CIM-10 Bomarc

The Bomarc was the only surface-to-air missile ever deployed by the 
U.S. Air Force. All other U.S. land-based SAMs were and are under the 
control of the U.S. Army. 
In 1946, Boeing started to study surface-to-air guided missiles under 
the USAAF project MX-606. (...) 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 Bomarc A was retired soon afterwards, the last CIM-10A 
being phased out in December 1964. Withdrawal of the CIM-10B also 
began in the mid-1960s, and by 1969 most missile sites had been 
deactivated. Finally, in April 1972, the last Bomarc B in USAF 
service was retired."

And the sad technological (but also political) morale is:

"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." 

I can well imagine Pynchon's version of this story...

umberto rossi
___________________

		"A mulatto
		An albino
		A mosquito
		My libido"