Kincheloe AFB BOMARC Missile Site

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Kincheloe AFB BOMARC Missile Site (1961-1972) - A Cold War era United States Air Force (USAF) BOMARC Missile Site established in 1961 on the former U.S. Army Raco Auxiliary Airfield near Raco, Chippewa County, Michigan. This BOMARC Missile Site closed in 1972.

Former Kincheloe BOMARC Site now an Automotive Test Track.

History of Kincheloe AFB BOMARC Site

This site was constructed as a USAF BOMARC Missile Site in 1961 on the former U.S. Army Raco Auxiliary Airfield near Raco, Chippewa County, Michigan. Built with fixed missile launchers for 28 of the 2nd-generation IM-99B version of the BOMARC missiles. The A Model missiles were launched with volatile liquid fuel rocket motors while the B Model missiles used the much more stable solid fuel rockets. The Kincheloe AFB BOMARC Missile Site became operational in June 1961 as the first BOMARC site to use the B Model missiles.

The Kincheloe BOMARC missiles were initially to be controlled and launched by the K.I. Sawyer SAGE Direction Center DC-14 on K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base south of Marquette, Michigan. With the closure of the K.I. Sawyer SAGE Direction Center DC-14 in 1963, control was shifted to the Duluth SAGE Direction Center DC-10 in Duluth, Minnesota where it remained until the site was deactivated in 1972

Two models were produced:

  • 'A' Model - Liquid-fuel booster electron-tube based guidance radar and computer. Boeing/MARC CIM-10A
  • 'B' Model - Solid-fuel booster transistor based guidance radar and computer. Boeing/MARC CIM-10B
A Model B Model
Rocket One Aerojet General LR59-AG-13 liquid rocket One Thiokol XM-51 solid fuel rocket
Ramjets Two Marquardt RJ43-MA-3 Two Marquardt RJ43-MA-7 ramjets
Wingspan 18 ft 2 in 18 ft 2 in
Length 46 ft 10 in 45 ft 1 in
Height 10 ft 4 in 10 ft 4 in
Diameter 2 ft 11 in 2 ft 11 in
Weight 15,619 lbs 16,032 lbs
Speed 1,975 mph(Mach 2.8) 1,975 mph(Mach 2.8)
Range 260 miles 440 miles
Service Ceiling 65,000 ft 100,000 ft
Armament W-40 nuclear warhead -or-
1,000 lb conventional high-explosive warhead 		W-40 nuclear warhead -or-
1,000 lb conventional high-explosive warhead
Cost $1,154,000 $1,150,000

This site was manned by the 37th Air Defense Missile Squadron (BOMARC).

37th Air Defense Missile Squadron (BOMARC) Assignments

About 40 personnel were stationed at the BOMARC site. The missiles remained on alert until the site was deactivated on 31 Jul 1972.


Current Status

Closed and destroyed facility in Raco, Chippewa County, Michigan. The site is now a part of Smithers Winter Test Center, a cold-weather testing site for vehicles and components. The site has been leveled and little remains of the missile site.

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Location: Near Raco in Chippewa County, Michigan.

Maps & Images

Lat: 46.34793 Long: -84.80526

  • Multi Maps from ACME
  • Maps from Bing
  • Maps from Google
  • Elevation: .....'

See Also:

Sources:

  • Winkler, David F., Searching the Skies: the Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program, USAF Hq Air Combat Command, 1997, 192 pages, Pdf, page 7, 37, 47, 108.
  • Cornett, Lloyd H. & Johnson, Mildred W., A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization (1946-1980), Office of History ADC, Peterson AFB, Colorado, 31 Dec 1980, 179 pages, Pdf, page 150.
  • Berhow, Mark & Morgan Mark, Rings of Supersonic Steel, Hole in the Head Press, 2nd Edition 2002, ISBN: 0615120121/978-0615120126, 190 pages.
  • USACE Enviromental Site Investigation.

Links:

Visited: area 5 Jul 2016


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