Niagara Falls BOMARC Base

Niagara Falls BOMARC Base: 1961, Niagara County, Niagara Falls. BOMARC Missile Site operational here 1961-1969. The BOMARC B was a Surface-to-Air Cruise Missile with a length of 43 feet, 9 inches and a wingspan of 18 feet, 2 inches. Its range was 440 miles. Essentially an improved and streamlined Bomarc A, (see Suffolk ) the Bomarc B, designated IM-99B, was flight tested in 1959. The Bomarc B added a Thiokol solid rocket booster housed under the missile's body. Capable of producing a thrust of 50,000 pounds, the booster fired for 30 seconds before it was jettisoned. Extra tankage was fashioned within the body of the Bomarc B to house additional JP-4 fuel for two improved Marquardt ramjet engines, each of which had a thrust of 14,000 pounds. This upgraded propulsion system nearly doubled the range of the Bomarc weapons system. The missile also incorporated a more advanced Westinghouse radar system. Boeing delivered a total of 349 Bomarc B missiles to the U.S. Air Force between 1961 and 1965. These either replaced aging Bomarc A missiles at existing bases or facilitated Bomarc B deployment at new sites. Two 28 Missile Squadrons of new Bomarc B deployments occurred Niagara Falls Municipal Airport, New York. Bomarc was the first weapons system to employ an active homing system. Interceptions were controlled by a Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system from Hancock Field AFB, see SAGE, designed to alert and control the SAM toward its target. The site deactivated in 1969.

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