MCGUIRE AFB BOMARC
As part of the CONUS air defense network, the USAF operated numerous BOMARC SAM sites around the periphery of the nation. McGuire AFB hosted the first operational BOMARC site, seen in the image above, achieving IOC in late 1959 and serving until 1972. On 7 July 1960, one of the operational BOMARC A missiles exploded inside its shelter, #204. The missile was armed with a nuclear warhead, and while it did not detonate, plutonium was dispersed around the immediate area. The site was buried, and it was not until 2002 that the USAF seriously began to clean up the site and remove the remaining radioactive soil. The incident did not affect the operational status to a great degree, as the BOMARC B missiles fielded in 1962 were installed in new-build hangars.
On a personal note, I went to the site in 2007, shortly after being assigned to McGuire AFB myself. The image below was taken from outside the fenceline, which contains the site, depicting the location where the missile explosion occurred.
ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION
Feel free to discuss the current Image of the Week at the IMINT & Analysis Forum Image of the Week discussion thread found here.
SOURCES
-Satellite imagery provided courtesy of Google Earth
McGuire's BOMARC Site
As part of the CONUS air defense network, the USAF operated numerous BOMARC SAM sites around the periphery of the nation. McGuire AFB hosted the first operational BOMARC site, seen in the image above, achieving IOC in late 1959 and serving until 1972. On 7 July 1960, one of the operational BOMARC A missiles exploded inside its shelter, #204. The missile was armed with a nuclear warhead, and while it did not detonate, plutonium was dispersed around the immediate area. The site was buried, and it was not until 2002 that the USAF seriously began to clean up the site and remove the remaining radioactive soil. The incident did not affect the operational status to a great degree, as the BOMARC B missiles fielded in 1962 were installed in new-build hangars. On a personal note, I went to the site in 2007, shortly after being assigned to McGuire AFB myself. The image below was taken from outside the fenceline, which contains the site, depicting the location where the missile explosion occurred.
ADDITIONAL DISCUSSIONFeel free to discuss the current Image of the Week at the IMINT & Analysis Forum Image of the Week discussion thread found here.
SOURCES
-Satellite imagery provided courtesy of Google Earth
McGuire's BOMARC Site
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