TGIF! Here's a bit of history to start your weekend off right. On this day in history - from Malmstrom Museum and Air Park.
14 December 1960: A B-52G of the 5th Bomb Wing, Travis Air Force Base, California, completed an official record-breaking flight of 10,078.84 miles without refueling in 19 hours and 44 minutes. The aircraft, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel T. R. Grissom, flew a closed circuit course from Edwards Air Force. Base, California, to El Paso, Texas, Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. Ernest Harmon Air Force Base, Newfoundland, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, Philip, South Dakota, and back to Edwards. They had fuel for 1,000 more miles after the 19-hour, 44-minute flight. The B-52 has been a mainstay of the United States global nuclear strike force for over 60 years. The record breaking flight in 1960 showed the range and reach of the bomber able to perform operations world-wide. The 5th Bomb Wing is now stationed at Minot AFB, North Dakota after leaving Travis in July 1968. The B-52H is the only model still in service. #airpower (Photo: B-52G)
14 December 1961: Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell L. Gilpatric announced the cancellation of the mobile Minuteman program, citing high cost and the desire to add more fixed hardened and dispersed sites. Mobile Minuteman was a program for rail-based ICBMs to help increase survivability and for which the USAF released details on Oct. 12, 1959. The concept called for 600 ICBMs to be placed in service -- 450 in silos and 150 on special trains, each train carrying five missiles. The Operation Big Star performance test was from June 20 to Aug. 27, 1960, at Hill Air Force Base, and the 4062nd Strategic Missile Wing (Mobile) was organized Dec. 1, 1960, for three planned missile train squadrons, each with 10 trains carrying three missiles per train. During the Kennedy/McNamara cutbacks, the DoD announced that it has abandoned the plan for a mobile Minuteman ICBM. After Kennedy announced on March 18, 1961, that the three rail squadrons were to be replaced with "fixed-base squadrons", Strategic Air Command discontinued the 4062nd Strategic Missile Wing on Feb. 20, 1962.
14 December 1965: The 564th Missile Squadron was activated for its fourth tour of duty assigned to Strategic Air Command. Equipped with the then-new Minutemen II missile, the squadron was organized (stood up) at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana on April 1, 1966 and assigned to the 341st Strategic Missile Wing. It was the 20th and last Minuteman squadron and the last operational ICBM squadron activated in the United States. The unit was declared fully operational on May 3, 1967. It was known as the "Deuce" squadron because it was the first at Malmstrom to be operational with the Minuteman II missile. The squadron claimed a distinguished World War II heritage flying B-24 missions in the Mediterranean and European Theaters. It later became the first fully operational ICBM squadron in the Air Force with the Atlas D missile at F.E Warren AFB, Wyoming in 1960. After the Atlas missiles were deactivated the squadron received a fourth lease on life at Malmstrom AFB where it took control of the 1,000th (and last) Minuteman silo in the Air Force in 1967. The 564th Missile Squadron inactivated at Malmstrom AFB as the last ICBM squadron inactivated to that point on Aug. 15, 2008. #341mwhistory #malmstromair
14 December 1970: Cape Canaveral supported its final Minuteman III launch. The 14 December launch took place at Silo 32. It was launched by Boeing for the Special Test Missile (STM) project, a post-R&D effort to evaluate the Minuteman III's performance and accuracy. The Minuteman Test Division at the Cape continued to reduce its numbers, and only a handful of personnel were retained to complete the disposition of Minuteman equipment after the Division was deactivated on Dec. 31, 1970. The remaining personnel were reassigned to other duties, and the last of the MINUTEMAN contractors departed in 1971.
