RAF Thor Missiles Post 1963...

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19 years 7 months

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Does anyone know what happened to the RAF Thor missiles after their deployment (1959 to 1963)? I understand that three remain in the UK, but were the rest returned to the USAF or scrapped in the UK? It would be good to think that more than three survive. Known USAF Museum survivors include:

S/N 57-2650 PATRICK AFB (LOAN)
S/N 58-2261 DAVIS-MONTHAN AFB (STORAGE)
S/N 58-2322 WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB (EXHIBIT)
PGM-17A STRATEGIC AIR MUSEUM (LOAN)
SLV-2A WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB (STORAGE)
SLV-2D WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB (STORAGE)
S/N 56-6796 PATRICK AFB (LOAN)
S/N 59-2405 VANDENBERG AFB (LOAN)
S/N 56-6782 NATIONAL ATOMIC MUSEUM (LOAN)

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18 years 3 months

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Last RAF Thor left 27/9/63 to be exhibits in Cosford/Hendon RAF/Leicester Space Museums, and Able/Agena launchers for Telstar, Pioneer and Discoverer Programs.

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Which, I think, is as noble a fate as any.

Missiles designed to bring mass destruction converted and expended to further peaceful scientific exploration of our solar system.

'Swords to Plowshares" indeed!

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'Swords to Plowshares" indeed!

Thta is what happened to the Atlas ICBM fleet.
Used (after upgrades) for satellite launches.

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There's a rather impressive looking missile at the scrap yard in Wells Somerset...

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Anyone know if the former UK Thors were the ones used in Operation Fishbowl?..........ie. The lofting of H bombs from Johnston Island into the ionosphere to investigate EMP

If they were then they prove very unreliable with 5 failures out of 8 launches.

Yes I know they were heavily modified with 3 large ejectable instrumentation pods around the base of the rocket.

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There's a rather impressive looking missile at the scrap yard in Wells Somerset...

Does it look like this?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3561/3772604467_4342cefa86_z.jpg

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Last RAF Thor left 27/9/63 to be exhibits in Cosford/Hendon RAF/Leicester Space Museums, and Able/Agena launchers for Telstar, Pioneer and Discoverer Programs.

I knew I had seen one lately, 110 at Cosford

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a82/pagen/ThorCosfordRAFM198.jpg

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If you know the USAF serial number you can go to Joe Baughrer's excellent website where he lists the fate of many ICBMs...

http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/usafserials.html

Here's an example of some Thors procured in FY 1957....

57-2646/2651 Douglas SM-75 Thor missiles
2646 (Vehicle number 138) launched Nov 5, 1958. Failure
2647 (vehicle number 139) on static display at Patrick AFB, FL
2648 (Vehicle number 140) launched Nov 26, 1958. Success
2649 (vehicle number 141) launched in Operation Fishbowl from Johnston Island Oct 26, 1962. Success
2650 (vehicle number 142) not launched, used for ground training. Now lying horizontal at Air Force Space and Missile Museum.
2651 (vehicle number 143) used to launch Thor Burner II from Vandenberg AFB May 1, 1978. Success

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Does it look like this?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3561/3772604467_4342cefa86_z.jpg

Indeed it does :)

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I've seen it several times. Isn't it a Bloodhound or summat like that?

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Yup.

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I've seen it several times. Isn't it a Bloodhound or summat like that?

A Production Mark 1, and except for the corrosion, it looks like its got most of the guts inside it when I had a close look at it in 2005 (which is not the case for a lot of the mark 1's that survived. Serial No is 383 if memory serves, and it has all the correct markings on it.

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Hi BV - good to see you back in circulation. Been somewhere warm?

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Anyone know if the former UK Thors were the ones used in Operation Fishbowl?..........ie. The lofting of H bombs from Johnston Island into the ionosphere to investigate EMP.

Yes, some of them were.

Ex-RAF Thor No. 195 (58-2306) was successfuly launched as Starfish Prime with a live W-49 warhead from Launch Emplacement No.1, Johnston Island, on the 9th July 1962.
This was followed on the 26th July by Bluegill Prime, ex-RAF Thor No. 180 (58-2291), again with a live W-50 warhead. The motor malfunctioned at ignition and the RSO blew the missile up on the pad, destroying both missile and emplacement and contaminating the launch complex with plutonium which took nearly three months to clear up.

Apologies for thread necromancy. ;)

All the best,
PB

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[SNIP] This was followed on the 26th July by Bluegill Prime, ex-RAF Thor No. 180 (58-2291), again with a live W-50 warhead. The motor malfunctioned at ignition and the RSO blew the missile up on the pad, destroying both missile and emplacement and contaminating the launch complex with plutonium which took nearly three months to clear up.

It took two weeks to clean up the plutonium and three months to clean the mess made by those who watched a nuclear missile explode on the launch pad! Well, what would you do if you saw a nuclear tipped missile explode! :D

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Missing missiles

Were the missing missiles deposited on top of some spitfires in an Aussy mine shaft?

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13 years 10 months

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Does anyone know what happened to the RAF Thor missiles after their deployment (1959 to 1963)? I understand that three remain in the UK, but were the rest returned to the USAF or scrapped in the UK? It would be good to think that more than three survive.

The surviving confirmed ex-RAF Thors appear to be as follows:

Thor 110 (56-6760)
Current location: RAFM Cosford
RAF assignment: Bomber Command Strategic Missile School, RAF Feltwell

Thor 139 (57-2647)
Current location: Unclear. Was on static display at Patrick AFB, FL. Possibly scrapped post 1991
RAF assignment: Not yet known

Thor 150 (58-2261)
Current location: NMUSAF
RAF assignment: 150 (SM) Squadron, RAF Carnaby, Pad 38

Thor 166 (58-2277)
Current location: National Atomic Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico
RAF assignment: Not yet known

Thor 157 (58-2268)
Current location: Remains belived to be at Pima Air & Space Museum, Tuscon, AZ
RAF assignment: Not yet known

Thor 211 (58-2322)
Current location: NMUSAF.
RAF assignment: 104 (SM) Squadron, RAF Ludford Magna, Pad 28

Thor 273 (59-2394)
Current location: NASA Goddard Space Center Rocket Garden
RAF assignment: 218 (SM) Squadron, RAF Harrington, Pad 51

Thor 278 (59-2399)
Current location: Space and Missile Heritage Center, Vandenberg AFB
RAF assignment: 223 (SM) Squadron, RAF Folkingham

Thor 284 (59-2405)
Current location: Space and Missile Heritage Center, Vandenberg AFB
RAF assignment: Not yet known

Thor 285 (59-2406)
Current location: Pima Air & Space Museum, Tuscon, AZ
RAF assignment: Not yet known

Thor 292 (59-2413)
Current location: Partial remains at Space and Missile Heritage Center, Vandenberg AFB
RAF assignment: 218 (SM) Squadron, RAF Harrington, Pad 50

All other known RAF-assigned Thors are now accounted for as launched or otherwise destroyed.

All the best,
PB

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If you want to see a Minute Man missile in it's silo watch Star Trek First Contact. The warp drive space ship is the Minute Man in drag.