Space Cover 792: BOMARC MissileThe cover this week celebrates a lesser known but nevertheless important step in US missile research and development.
The cover is postmarked at Eglin Air Force Base, near Fort Walton Beach, Florida. It was serviced on January 15th, 1959, the date of the first BOMARC test launch from the newly built Eglin Gulf Test Range. The two-color printed cachet applied by George Goldey shows a plan view of a BOMARC in its vertical launch configuration.
The cover is subsequently mounted to a "Goldey Page," which were printed album pages for his early subscribers containing additional information about various early space flights and events. These were produced in smaller quantities than the covers and are a real treasure for a Goldcraft collection. Many were unfortunately discarded/destroyed by earlier collectors who only focused on the covers themselves.
BOMARC prototype (IM-99) testing was initially carried out at Cape Canaveral LC3 and LC4 from 1952-1960. The cover below represents one of the later Canaveral test flights from 1960, with a generic Goldcraft cachet.
The BOMARC missile was the result of several studies conducted by the United States Air Force (USAF) following WWII which investigated the need for a surface to air missile as part of defense from airborne attacks within the US. The CIM-10 was given the name BOMARC, pronounced with two-syllables "BO" for Boeing and "MARC" for Michigan Aerospace Research Center, part of the University of Michigan (U of M).
Most interestingly for me as a U of M aerospace graduate I learned that the origins of BOMARC can be traced back to 1946, when MARC purchased Willow Run from the US Government for $1. Ford built the Willow Run bomber plant and airfield where between 1942 and 1945 they manufactured 8,685 B-24's, nearly half of the 18,188 built during WWII. It was here that U of M researchers led project "Wizard" to develop a defensive countermeasure for ballistic V-2 style weapons and long-range bomber aircraft in development by the Soviet Union. Aircraft such as the Tupolev Tu-4, a copy of the US B-29 superfortress developed from three that were captured during WWII and the Tu-16, much like the long service life of the B-52, which was retired in 1995 by Russia but is still in service today with China.
The eventual design was down-selected to a supersonic, ramjet powered, long range missile capable of being armed with conventional explosives or a W40 nuclear warhead. It was the first and only surface to air missile developed and deployed by the USAF. The "A" model Boeing/MARC CIM-10A used one Aerojet General LR59-AG-13 liquid fuel rocket for initial launch and two Marquardt RJ43-MA-3 ramjet engines for a maximum speed of Mach 2.8, range of 260 miles, topping out at 65,000 ft altitude. To improve both range and altitude the upgraded "B" model CIM-10B replaced the liquid fuel propulsion with a newly designed Thiokol XM-51 solid rocket motor. With the addition of improved Marquardt RJ43-MA-7 ramjets this stretched the missile's range to 440 miles and service ceiling of 100,000 ft.
Ultimately eight BOMARC A/B installations were built in the US as part of the integrated missile defense network. I was thinking my story would end there, but of course I found another connection to my home state. The US military built a BOMARC B site at old Raco Army airfield near Kincheloe AFB in the upper peninsula of Michigan near Canada. As most of you could guess, Kincheloe was named after Captain Iven Kincheloe a USAF test pilot and Michigan native who flew the X-2, was selected to fly the X-15, and participate in the "Man In Space Soonest" program, if not for his untimely passing in 1958.
BOMARCs were stored horizontally in above ground "coffins," doors were opened, and the missile was raised to vertical via an integrated launcher. The photo below shows a "B" model at Raco, MI which was operational from 1961 through 1972.
After being decommissioned from service, the BOMARC missile surplus finished life as target drones at Vandenberg AFB, in California. Many covers can be found from this time at VAFB. The final two target flights at VAFB were on July 14th, 1982.
And in yet another Michigan connection to the space program: after the missiles were removed, Raco later became a precision calibration supersite for the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C (SIR-C) during both the STS-59 and STS-68 shuttle missions. Today it is home to the Smithers Winter Test Center, a cold weather testing site for vehicles in harsh winter conditions. It is used by manufacturers of cars, trucks, snow handling equipment, construction equipment, recreational vehicles, and military equipment.
Hopefully you enjoyed reading about the BOMARC and maybe even learned something new. Do you have any covers pre-dating the 1959 launch at Eglin? Thank you!!
posted 02-09-2025 08:57 AM
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