View source for CIM-10 Bomarc

==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 Air Force Base#Air Defense Command|McGuire]] 1/60 2. [[Suffolk County Air Force Base Missile Annex|Suffolk]] 2/60 3. [[Otis Air Force Base BOMARC site|Otis]] 3/60 4. [[Bangor Air National Guard Base|Dow]] 4/60 5. [[Niagara Falls BOMARC Missile Site|Niagara Falls]] 1/61 6. [[Plattsburgh Air Force Base|Plattsburgh]] 1/61 7. [[Kincheloe Air Force Base#Air Defense Command|Kinross]] 2/61 8. [[K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base#Air Defense Command|K.I. Sawyer]] 2/61 9. [[Langley Air Force Base|Langley]] 2/61 10. [[Truax Field Air National Guard Base|Truax]] 3/61 11. [[Paine Field#History|Paine]] 3/61 12. [[Portland Air National Guard Base#Cold War|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 Air Defense Sector|Duluth]] 9. [[Burlington International Airport|Ethan Allen]] 10. Niagara Falls 11. Paine 12. [[Camp Adair#Termination|Adair]] 13. [[Travis Air Force Base|Travis]] 14. [[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg]] 15. San Diego 16. [[Malmstrom Air Force Base#Air Defense Command|Malmstrom]] 17. [[Grand Forks Air Force Base#Air Defense Command|Grand Forks]] 18. [[Minot Air Force Base#Air Defense Command|Minot]] 19.  [[Youngstown Air Reserve Station|Youngstown]] 20. [[Seymour Johnson Air Force Base|Seymour-Johnson]] 21. [[Grissom Air Reserve Base#Transfer to the United States Air Force|Bunker Hill]] 22. Sioux Falls 23. [[Charleston Air Force Base#Cold War|Charleston]] 24. [[McConnell Air Force Base#Cold War|McConnell]] 25. [[Holloman Air Force Base|Holloman]] 26. [[McCoy Air Force Base#McCoy AFB|McCoy]] 27. [[Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport#Amarillo Air Force Base (1951–1968)|Amarillo]] 28. [[Barksdale Air Force Base#Cold War|Barksdale]] 29. [[Williams Air Force Base|Williams]].<ref name=McMullen1980>{{Cite report |last=McMullen |first=R. F. |date=15 February 1980 |title=History of Air Defense Weapons 1946–1962 |volume=ADC Historical Study No. 14 |publisher=Historical Division, Office of information, HQ ADC  |page=176 }}</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 [[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.

===Canada===
The Bomarc Missile Program was highly controversial in Canada.<ref name="Canadian Crisis">
{{cite encyclopedia
 |title=Bomarc Missile Crisis 
 |last=Buteux 
 |first=Paul 
 |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/bomarc-missile-crisis 
 |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia 
 |publisher=Historica Foundation, 2012 
 |access-date=11 August 2012 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121070255/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/bomarc-missile-crisis
 |archive-date=21 January 2013
 |location=Toronto 
 |url-status=dead
}}</ref> The [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative]] government of [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[John Diefenbaker]] initially agreed to deploy the missiles, and shortly thereafter controversially scrapped the [[Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow|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">
{{cite news
 |title=Voice of Women protest nuclear testing 
 |url=http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/war-conflict/defence/defence-general/voice-of-women-protest-nuclear-testing.html 
 |access-date=11 August 2012 
 |newspaper=CBC News, 26 March 2012 
 |author=CBC Digital Archives 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103063818/http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/war-conflict/defence/defence-general/voice-of-women-protest-nuclear-testing.html
 |archive-date=3 November 2013
 |location=Toronto 
 |url-status=dead
}}</ref> Ultimately, the Diefenbaker government decided that the Bomarcs should not be equipped with nuclear warheads.<ref name="Dief's Cabinet Split">
{{cite web
 |title=The Nuclear Question in Canada (1957–1963) 
 |url=https://www.usask.ca/diefenbaker/galleries/virtual_exhibit/nuclear_question_in_canada/index.php 
 |work=Diefenbaker Canada Centre 
 |publisher=University of Saskatchewan 
 |access-date=11 August 2012 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420001736/http://www.usask.ca/diefenbaker/galleries/virtual_exhibit/nuclear_question_in_canada/index.php
 |archive-date=20 April 2012
 |location=Regina, Saskatchewan 
 |url-status=dead
}}</ref> The dispute split the Diefenbaker [[Cabinet of Canada|Cabinet]], and led to the collapse of the government in 1963.<ref name="Dief's Cabinet Split" /> The Official Opposition and [[Liberal Party of Canada|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">
{{cite news
 |title=Cold War Canada: The Voice of Women 
 |url=http://www.cbc.ca/history/EPISCONTENTSE1EP15CH1PA4LE.html 
 |work=Canada: A People's History, 2001 
 |publisher=CBC 
 |access-date=11 August 2012 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120102014418/http://www.cbc.ca/history/EPISCONTENTSE1EP15CH1PA4LE.html
 |archive-date=2 January 2012
 |location=Toronto 
 |url-status=dead
}}</ref> He won the [[1963 Canadian federal election|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">"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 [[CFB North Bay#BOMARC|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 National Guard Base|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>