View source for CIM-10 Bomarc

{{Short description|Long-range surface-to-air missile}}
{{About|the USAF [[surface-to-air missile]]|Boeing's previous research SAM|Boeing Ground-to-Air Pilotless Aircraft}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox weapon
 | is_missile        = yes
 | name              = CIM-10 Bomarc
 | image             = File:BOMARC.jpg
 | caption           = A Bomarc missile begins its "climb phase" of launch.{{r|IBM}}{{rp|30}} The midcourse phase and homing dive used [[ramjet]]s.
 | origin            = United States
 | type              = [[Surface-to-air missile]]
 | used_by           = [[United States Air Force]] <br /> [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] <br /> [[Canadian Forces]]
 | manufacturer      = [[Boeing]] Pilotless Aircraft Division{{r|FlightGlobal}}
 | unit_cost         = 
 | propellant        = 
 | production_date   = 1958
 | service           = 1959 to 1 October 1972<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lombardi |first1=Michael |title=Reach for the sky |url=http://www.boeing.com/news/frontiers/archive/2007/june/i_history.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111020211237/http://www.boeing.com/news/frontiers/archive/2007/june/i_history.pdf |archive-date=2011-10-20 |url-status=live |publisher=Boeing Frontiers |access-date=3 November 2018}}</ref>
 | engine            = *booster rocket
*ramjet
 | engine_power      = 
 | weight            = 
 | length            = 
 | height            = 
 | diameter          = {{cvt|35|in|mm}}
 | wingspan          = {{cvt|218.2|in|mm}}
 | speed             = 
 | vehicle_range     = 
 | ceiling           = {{cvt|100000|ft|m}}
 | altitude          = 
 | filling           = [[W40 (nuclear warhead)|W40]] nuclear warhead
 | guidance          = Initially ground-controlled, [[active radar homing]] terminal guidance
 | detonation        = 
 | launch_platform   = 
}}
[[File:BOMARC A Surface-to-Air Missile.jpg|right|thumb]]

The '''Boeing CIM-10 Bomarc''' ("Boeing Michigan Aeronautical Research Center") ('''IM-99 Weapon System'''{{r|AFD100617}} prior to September 1962)<ref>{{cite book |title=A Dictionary of Aviation |first=David W. |last=Wragg |isbn=9780850451634 |edition=first |publisher=Osprey |year=1973 |page=69}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Baugher |first=Joe |title=Boeing/MARC F-99 |url=http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_fighters/f99.html |publisher=JoeBaugher.com |access-date=4 August 2013}}</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 [[Booster (rocketry)|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 {{convert|430|mi|km|abbr=on}}. 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)|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 gun]]s, 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.{{sfn|Zeus|1962|p=165}}

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.{{sfn|Walker|Bernstein|2005|p=39}}

Official requirements were published in 1945; [[Bell Laboratories]] won the Ordnance contract for a short-range line-of-sight weapon under Project Nike,{{sfn|Zeus|1962|p=165}} while a team of players led by [[Boeing]] won the contract for a long-range design known as [[Boeing Ground-to-Air Pilotless Aircraft|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).{{sfn|Walker|Bernstein|2005|p=20}}

===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 Aeronautical Research Center|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.{{clarification needed|date=February 2024}} 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 & Space Technology|''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>{{cite magazine | date = 1956-09-01 | title = Will NIKE Protect Us from Red Bombers? | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=cSYDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA152 | magazine = [[Popular Science]]| volume = 169  | issue = 3  | access-date =  2021-02-18| pages = 152–155 | issn = 0161-7370 | oclc = 488612811}}</ref>

Tests of the XF-99 test vehicles began in September 1952 and continued through early 1955.{{r|McMullen1980_312}} 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.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

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>{{cite news |title=Air Force Calls Army Unfit to Guard Nation |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=21 May 1956 |page=1}}</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 {{convert|200|mi|km}} and was designed to fly at [[Mach number|Mach]]&nbsp;2.5–2.8 at a cruising altitude of {{convert|60000|ft|m}}. It was {{convert|46.6|ft|m|abbr=on}} long and weighed {{convert|15500|lb|kg}}. Its armament was either a {{convert|1000|lb|kg|adj=on}} conventional warhead or a [[W40 (nuclear warhead)|W40 nuclear warhead]] (7–10 [[TNT equivalent|kiloton]] yield). A [[Liquid-propellant rocket|liquid-fuel rocket]] engine boosted the Bomarc to Mach 2, when its [[Marquardt RJ43|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 [[Lockheed A-12#M-21|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|right|thumb|October 1960, BOMARCs in New Jersey ([[BOMARC Missile Accident Site|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&nbsp;2.8 at an altitude of {{convert|20000|m|ft|abbr=on|order=flip}}.<ref name="Gibson"/>

When the Bomarc was within {{convert|16|km|mi|abbr=on|order=flip|round=5}} 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 {{convert|400|km|mi|abbr=on|order=flip}}, and it was fitted with either a conventional high-explosive or a 10&nbsp;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 [[North American Aerospace Defense Command|NORAD]] for detecting, tracking and intercepting enemy [[Bomber|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 propellant]]s (hydrazine and nitric acid) were very dangerous to handle, leading to several serious accidents.<ref name="Gibson"/>

As soon as high-thrust [[solid-fuel rocket]]s became a reality in the mid-1950s, the USAF began to develop a new solid-fueled Bomarc variant, the IM-99B Bomarc&nbsp;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 [[SSM-N-9 Regulus II|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 {{convert|700|km|mi|abbr=on|order=flip}}. The terminal homing system was also improved, using the world's first [[Pulse-Doppler radar|pulse Doppler search radar]], the Westinghouse AN/DPN-53.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> All Bomarc&nbsp;Bs were equipped with the W-40 nuclear warhead. In June 1961, the first IM-99B squadron became operational, and Bomarc&nbsp;B quickly replaced most Bomarc&nbsp;A missiles.<ref name="Gibson"/> On 23 March 1961, a Bomarc&nbsp;B successfully intercepted a Regulus&nbsp;II cruise missile flying at {{cvt|100000|ft|m}}, thus achieving the highest interception in the world up to that date.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

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|thumb|125px|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 (Florida)|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, [[Aerospace Defense Command|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 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. It has been nominated to the National Register of Historic Sites.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

===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>

==Variants==
[[File:CIM-10 operators.png|thumb|400px|Map with CIM-10 operators in blue]]

* XF-99 (experimental for booster research)
* XF-99A/XIM-99A (experimental for ramjet research)
* YF-99A/YIM-99A{{r|Astronautix}} (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><!-- with greater range for "Pattern Patrol", 3000 ft fuse, and TDDL commanding for ECCM using larger GAT "directional hlgh-gain data link antenna…composed of' 16 stationary segments in a circular pattern 60 feet high-->)
* CQM-10A (target drone developed from CIM-10A)<ref name="Factsheets : Boeing XF-99.">[http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=2376 "Factsheets : Boeing XF-99."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140117024915/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=2376 |date=17 January 2014 }} ''Nationalmuseum.af.mil''. Retrieved: 18 September 2013.</ref>
* CQM-10B (target drone developed from CIM-10B)<ref name="Factsheets : Boeing XF-99."/>

==Operators==
{{geoGroup}}
;{{flag icon|Canada|1921}} / {{flagu|Canada}}
*[[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>[http://www.radomes.org/cgi-bin/museum/acwinfo2x.cgi?site=%22North+Bay+BOMARC,+ON%22&key=NorthBayBOMARCON "446 SAM Squadron."] ''radomes.org.'' Retrieved: 12 September 2010.</ref>
:: Bomarc site located at {{Coord|46|25|46|N|079|28|16|W|display=inline|name=446 SAM Squadron}}
: '''[[447 SAM Squadron]]''': 28 IM-99B, La Macaza, Quebec ([[La Macaza – Mont Tremblant International Airport]]) 1962–1972<ref name="No. 447"/><ref>[http://www.radomes.org/cgi-bin/museum/acwinfo2x.cgi?site=%22La+Macaza+BOMARC,+QC%22&key=LaMacazaBOMARCQC "447 SAM Squadron."] ''radomes.org.'' Retrieved: 12 September 2010.</ref>
:: Bomarc site located at {{Coord|46|24|41|N|074|46|08|W|display=inline|name=447 SAM Squadron}} (Approximately)
;{{flagu|United States}}
*United States Air Force [[Air Defense Command|Air (later Aerospace) Defense Command]]
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break|width=50%}}
: '''[[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 {{Coord|40|50|00|N|072|40|51|W|display=inline|name=6th ADMS}}

: '''[[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 {{Coord|37|05|57|N|076|28|47|W|display=inline|name=22d ADMS}}

: '''[[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 {{Coord|41|40|56|N|070|32|21|W|display=inline|name=26th ADMS}}

: '''[[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 {{Coord|44|51|11|N|068|47|11|W|display=inline|name=30th ADMS}}

: '''[[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 {{Coord|43|07|03|N|078|56|49|W|display=inline|name=35th ADMS}}

{{col-break|width=50%}}
: '''[[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 {{Coord|46|20|53|N|084|48|18|W|display=inline|name=37th ADMS}}

: '''[[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 {{Coord|40|02|06|N|074|26|29|W|display=inline|name=46th ADMS}}

: '''[[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 Air National Guard Base|Duluth International Airport]], Minnesota
::: Bomarc site located 10 miles NE at {{Coord|46|55|56|N|091|53|00|W|display=inline|name=74th ADMS}}

: '''[[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:  [[ADTAC|Air Defense, Tactical Air Command]], 1 September 1979
:: Inactivated 30 September 1979
:: Stationed at: [[Hurlburt Field|Eglin Auxiliary Field #9 (Hurlburt Field)]], Florida
::: Bomarc site located on [[Santa Rosa Island (Florida)|Santa Rosa Island]] at {{Coord|30|23|18|N|086|48|28|W|display=inline|name=4751st ADMS (Hurlburt Field)}}
::: Bomarc site located at [[Piccolo Field|Eglin Auxiliary Field #5 (Piccolo Field)]] at {{Coord|30|35|37|N|086|37|18|W|display=inline|name=4751st ADMS (Piccolo Field)}}
{{col-end}}
* [[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).  {{Coord|28|27|59|N|080|32|08|W|name=Cape Canaveral AFS LC-4}}
:: [[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. {{Coord|34|48|02|N|120|35|57|W|name=BOM1/BOM2}}

Locations under construction but not activated. Each site was programmed for 28 IM-99B missiles:
* [[Camp Adair]], [[Oregon]] {{Coord|44|42|08|N|123|12|00|W|display=inline|name=Bomarc Site Camp Adair}}
* [[Charleston AFB]], [[South Carolina]]
* [[Ethan Allen AFB]], [[Vermont]] {{Coord|44|30|38|N|073|09|49|W|display=inline|name=Bomarc Site Ethan Allen AFB}}
* [[Paine Field]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]] {{Coord|47|54|43|N|122|15|55|W|display=inline|name=Bomarc Site Paine Field}}
* [[Travis AFB]], [[California]] {{Coord|38|29|14|N|121|53|07|W|display=inline|name=Bomarc Site Travis AFB}}
* [[Dane County Regional Airport|Truax Field]], [[Wisconsin]] {{Coord|43|11|27|N|089|09|15|W|display=inline|name=Bomarc Site Truax Field}}
* [[Vandenberg AFB]], [[California]] {{Coord|34|43|47|N|120|30|15|W|display=inline|name=Bomarc Site Vandenberg AFB}}

<small>Reference for BOMARC units and locations:</small><ref>[http://www.radomes.org/museum/bomarc.html "Bomarc Missile Sites."] ''radomes.org''. Retrieved: 26 December 2009.</ref>

<gallery class="center">
File:6th Air Defense Missile Squadron - ADC - Emblem.png|6th ADMS
File:22d Air Defense Missile Squadron - ADC - Emblem.png|22d ADMS
File:26th Air Defense Missile Squadron - ADC - Emblem.png|26th ADMS
File:30th Air Defense Missile Squadron - ADC - Emblem.png|30th ADMS
File:35th Air Defense Missile Squadron - ADC - Emblem.png|35th ADMS
File:37th Air Defense Missile Squadron - ADC - Emblem.png|37th ADMS
File:46th Air Defense Missile Squadron - ADC - Emblem.png|46th ADMS
File:74th Air Defense Missile Squadron - ADC - Emblem.png|74th ADMS
File:4751st_Air_Defense_Squadron_-_ADC_-_Emblem.png|4751st ADMS
File:Rcaf 446 squadorn BOMARC.png|RCAF 446 Sqdn
File:Rcaf 447 squadorn BOMARC.png|RCAF 447 Squdn
</gallery>

==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 [[Mag-Thor|thoriated magnesium]] structure of the airframe several have been removed from public view.<ref name=NorthBay12092009>Young, Gord. [https://archive.today/20130115152342/http://www.northbaynugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=1750308 "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|thumb|right|250px|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 (Warner Robins)|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]] ([[Vandenberg Air Force Base#Space and Missile Heritage Center|Space and Missile Heritage Center]]), California. Bomarc not for public access.
{{Clear}}

==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>"[https://garagehangover.com/bomarcs/ The Bomarcs]", ''Garage Hangover'', Chris Bishop, 2007-08-22</ref><ref>"[https://www.musicstack.com/records-cds/bomarcs%2C+the BOMARCS, THE Records and CDs]", ''MusicStack''</ref> a record label, Bomarc Records,<ref>"[http://www.globaldogproductions.info/b/bomarc.html 45 Discography for Bomarc Records]", ''Global Dog Productions''</ref><ref>"[https://rateyourmusic.com/label/bomarc_records/ Bomarc Records]", ''Rate Your Music''</ref> and a moderately successful Canadian pop group, [[The Beau Marks]].

==See also==
{{aircontent
|similar aircraft=
* [[Blue Envoy]], UK system of very similar performance, cancelled in 1957 in favor of the [[Bristol Bloodhound]].
|lists=
|see also=
}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name=Astronautix>{{cite web |title=Bomarc |url=http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/bomarc.htm |publisher=[[Encyclopedia Astronautica]] |access-date=7 August 2013 |quote=Promising <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Ground-to-Air Pilotless Aircraft|GAPA]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> results led to Boeing receiving a USAF contract in 1949 to develop the exotic MX-1599 ramjet-powered, nuclear-armed long-range surface-to-air missile for defense of the continental United States from high-altitude bombers. The last Bomarc A was phased out in December 1964. In April 1972 the last Bomarc B was retired. Test flights of XF-99 test vehicles began in September 1952 and continued through early 1955. 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. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130817173907/http://astronautix.com/lvs/bomarc.htm |archive-date=17 August 2013  }}</ref>

<ref name=AFD100617>{{Cite report |date=17 December 1958 |title=IM-99 Weapon System: 26 October – 28 November 1958 |url=http://www.secretsdeclassified.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-100617-111.pdf |access-date=4 August 2013 |quote=technical training facility at Eglin Air Force Auxiliary Field Number 9. The IM-99A and IM-99B [[Mark 40 nuclear warhead|warheads (W-40)]] The IM-99B had been designed to include a "Pattern Patrol" type operation. Missiles could be launched in multiples, or at very close intervals and guided in a line abreast type formation with target seekers operating in search mode. This would provide a capability to patrol a given area where targets were suspected but where definite tracks had not been established. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130218153547/http://www.secretsdeclassified.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-100617-111.pdf |archive-date=18 February 2013  }}</ref>

<ref name=FlightGlobal>{{Citation |date=24 May 1957 |title=BOMARC: Boeing's Long-range A.A. Missile |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1957/1957%20-%200681.PDF |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1957/1957%20-%200681.PDF |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |publisher=FlightGlobal |page=687 |access-date=4 August 2013|quote=Development of the electronic guidance was assisted by simulated IM-99 nose sections, pressurized by nitrogen and cooled by ammonia, fitted to a T-33 and a B-57, the pilot of these aircraft cutting out the guidance and breaking away from the collision course as the target was neared. … 70 per cent subcontracted: prime contractor, Boeing (assembly of missiles at the main Seattle plant, Pilotless Aircraft Division); cruise propulsion, Marquardt; boost propulsion, Aerojet-General; guidance and control, Westinghouse Air Arm Division; ground control gear, Westinghouse Electronics Division; ground-support and test gear, Farnsworth Division of I.T. and T.; airborne electronic intelligence, Lear (LearCal and Grand Rapids Divisions); nose of missile, Pastushin (glass fibre, leaves radar beams undistorted).}}</ref>

<ref name=IBM>{{Cite report |publisher=International Business Machines Corporation |year=1959 |title=The SAGE/Bomarc Air Defense Weapons System: An Illustrated Explanation of What it is and How it Works |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BFdIGwAACAAJ |format=fact sheet |location=New York |access-date=23 April 2013|quote=BOMARC Crew training was activated January 1, 1958. The operator requests an "engagement prediction point" from the IBM computer. Missile guidance information is relayed via leased lines to Cape Canaveral, and via radio to the BOMARC missile. AN/FPS-20 long-range search radar at Patrick Air Force Base}} [http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/ibm/sage/SAGE_BOMARC_Defense_System_1958.pdf Alt URL] (cited by ''History of Strategic Air and Ballistic Missile Defense'': Volume I, p. 257.)</ref>

<ref name=McMullen1980_312>{{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=312 |quote=Development of a long-range interceptor missile to be known as BOMARC was approved by the Research and Development Board of the Department of Defense in December 1950. BOMARC flight testing got off to a shaky start on 10 September 1952 when the first missile was launched from the [[Eastern Range|Florida test center]] that later became known as Cape Canaveral. …the BOMARC Weapons System Project Officer (WSPO), an ARDC official, gave permission for the launching of 12 YIM-99A (the "Y" designated experimental missiles). The first attempt at SAGE control of BOMARC occurred 7 August 1958… Because of split radar returns, SAGE was not able to give the missile the proper commands and [then a] GPA-35 took control. The missile malfunctioned, however, and [crashed] into the Atlantic. Air Force Missile Employment Facility at Hurlburt Field, Florida, Hurlburt (officially designated Eglin Auxiliary Field No. 9) [with launchers] was on a narrow strip of sand known as Santa Rosa Island. In August 1960, the BOMARC Weapons System Project Office (AMC) had assured the BOMARC General Officers Board that $100,000 would be available to pay for Boeing help. "Bomarc Alternate Boost Program at React ion Motors, Inc.", 3 July 1953 … Msg, WWXDBE-FA 18-5-47, IM-99 Field Test Sec to USAF, 19 May 1960 [Doc 304 to Hist of ADC, Jan–Jun 1960].}}</ref>

<ref name=NORAD1959B>{{Cite NORAD Historical Summary |version=1959b |access-date=30 April 2013}} "On 7 October 1959, NORAD provided guidance [[Super Combat Center#Auster SAGE Program|on this]] to ADC as follows. Gap fillers will be redeployed to provide low altitude coverage (500 feet) 230 nautical Jl1il~s forward and 150 miles to the rear of all BOMARC launch sites … Criteria for BOMARC coverage is that no lateral gaps exceed 25 nautical miles (normal terrain) at a curve of constant altitude of 300 feet… Directional antennas and high power amplifiers tor the [[Ground Air Transmit Receive|ground-to-air transmitter sites]] will be programmed and deployed only as required to support BOMARC operations. NORAO Objective Plan 1961–1965 … called for an F-101 squadron for Comox AB, Canada, and a BOMARC squadron for Paine AFB, Washington. To control these squadrons, NORAD also provided for an AN/FPS-28 for the Queen Charlotte Islands. … total off-shore coverage, available from ALRI and land-based sources, would permit use of the BOMARC B only to approximately 70 per cent of its low-altitude and 50 per cent of its high-altitude range capability. In the last six months of 1959. two IM-99A squadrons became operational and assumed an air defense role. The first was the 46th Air Defense Missile Squadron (BOMARC) based at McGuire AFB, New Jersey…activated on 1 January 1959, operational on 1 September 1959 with three missiles. …the 6th Air Defense Missile Squadron (BOMARC) at Suffolk 6th ADMS activated on 1 February 1959, operational on 1 December 1959. As of 1 January 1960. the McGuire squadron had 24 IM-39A missiles and the Suffolk squadron had four missiles available for air defense. The 26th ADMS, activated at Otis AFB, Massachusetts, on 1 March 1359; the 30th ADMS, activated on 1 June 1959 at Dow AFB. Maine; and the 22nd ADMS, activated on 1 September 1959 at Langley AFB, Virginia. These units were expected to become operational in 1960. NADOP 1959–1963, dated 16 December 1958 [planned for] FY 1963 of 36 IM-99B sites and 2,772 launchers. [32] in the U. S. (excluding Alaska), two in the [Alaska] 64th Air Div1sion area, and two in Canada. In March 1960, the JCS told NORAD that they were considering reducing the BOMARC program to eight U.S. and two Canadian squadrons."</ref>

}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* Clearwater, John. ''Canadian Nuclear Weapons: The Untold Story of Canada's Cold War Arsenal''. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Dundern Press, 1999. {{ISBN|1-55002-299-7}}.
* Clearwater, John. ''U.S. Nuclear Weapons in Canada''. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Dundern Press, 1999. {{ISBN|1-55002-329-2}}.
* 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. {{ISBN|0-7643-0063-6}}.
* Jenkins, Dennis R. and Tony R. Landis. ''Experimental & Prototype U.S. Air Force Jet Fighters''. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2008. {{ISBN|978-1-58007-111-6}}.
* Nicks, Don, John Bradley and Chris Charland. ''A History of the Air Defence of Canada 1948–1997''. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Commander Fighter Group, 1997. {{ISBN|0-9681973-0-2}}.
* ''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. {{ISBN|978-1-907521-91-1}}.
* {{cite journal |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1962/1962%20-%201337.html |access-date=13 May 2013 |title=Nike Zeus |journal=[[Flight International]] |date=2 August 1962 |pages=165–170 |issn=0015-3710 |ref=CITEREFZeus1962}}
* {{cite book | last1 = Walker | first1 = James | last2 = Bernstein | first2 = Lewis | last3 = Lang | first3 = Sharon | date = 2005-01-19  | title = Seize the High Ground: The U. S. Army in Space and Missile Defense | url = https://archive.org/details/seizehighgroundt00wash| publisher = [[United States Army Center of Military History]] | isbn = 978-1508421665 | lccn = 2005364289 | oclc = 57711369 | ol = 7380755M | access-date = 2021-02-16 | via = [[Internet Archive]] |ref=CITEREFWalkerBernstein2005}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|CIM-10 BOMARC}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100619012409/http://www.castlearchdale.net/id38.html RCAF 446 SAM Squadron]
* [http://www.radomes.org/museum/bomarc.html BOMARC Missile Sites]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061110073809/http://www.boeing.com/history/boeing/bomarc.html Boeing Company History, Bomarc]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130817173907/http://astronautix.com/lvs/bomarc.htm Astronautix.com]
* [http://www.radomes.org/museum/recent/McGuireAFBBOMARCNJ.html Bomarc pictures]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRhpjTj36A0 Bomarc Video Clip]
* [http://yarchive.net/risks/sage_bomarc.html SAGE-BOMARC risks] – Oral history: Les Earnest talks about air defense system called SAGE and a ground-to-air missile called BOMARC.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cim-10 Bomarc}}
[[Category:Cold War surface-to-air missiles of the United States]]
[[Category:Nuclear anti-aircraft weapons]]
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