The speed of sound in air is approximately 1,130 feet (344 meters) per second at room temperature, though this speed can vary with changes in temperature and humidity. It was the only nuclear rocket to actually be launched and detonated from an aircraft, which took place at 20,000 feet over the Nevada Test Site on 19 July 1957. The original Genie was referred to as the MB-1 and later redesignated the AIR-2A; the carrier aircraft included the F-89J Scorpion, F-101B Voodoo, and F-106A Delta Dart. For example, directorate scientists accompanied AFSWC’s 4926th Test Squadron (Sampling) during nuclear cloud samplings taken at atmospheric tests in the Pacific and in Nevada. Weather Bureau projects. On 16 August 1961 the 4926th Test Squadron (Sampling) was placed under HQ, 9th Weather Reconnaissance Group, Air Weather Service of the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), since MATS also used the RB-57D Canberra aircraft and could easily add the unit to their inventory (Jones et al.

Also during this moratorium period most of the missions of the AFSWC’s 4926th Test Squadron (Sampling) consisted of U.S. Some ANG tanker units also flew humanitarian support missions. In the mid-1950s, the AFSWC’s Development Directorate began work on atomic warhead installations in guided missile weapons and the development of warhead support equipment. The Development Directorate’s mission was to study, research, and develop nuclear weapons, weapons systems, components, and associated equipment for the USAF. AFSWC’s Research Directorate became a focal point for USAF research in nuclear matters and advanced weaponry. Its mission was to “conduct applied research in the fields of nuclear weapons analysis, requirements and development, and to advise Air Force Special Weapons Center staff on nuclear research matters”. SAMSO was a precursor to today’s Space and Missile Systems Center at what is now known as Los Angeles Air Force Base. By the mid-1970s, missile development support within the AFSWC reached a plateau-with advanced missiles work entirely focused through the AFSC’s Space and Missile Systems Organization (SAMSO) at Los Angeles Air Force Station. Calling itself the “Gateway to the White Sands Missile Range,” the AFSWC sponsored all USAF programs at White Sands and an AFSWC office was located at White Sands Missile Range for day-to-day operations.

The 58th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron was the last squadron in the USAF to use the WB-57F; in the spring of 1972, the decision was made to transfer 12 F-Troop aircraft, WB-57Fs and WB-57Cs, to Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona for storage at the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center. In 1962, Kirtland AFB and Sandia personnel participated in Operation Dominic, a series of atmospheric and subsurface tests in the Pacific. The AFSWC provided flight test support from Kirtland, and mission control support and drone launch from the Air Force Missile Development Center at Holloman AFB. The Development Directorate was the AFSWC division working in conjunction with LASL and Sandia Laboratory as new bomb designs were developed. In terms of the stockpile-to-target sequence, the Directorate conducted R&D on techniques for suspension and release of the bombs created by Sandia Laboratory, retardation devices and lay-down delivery of the bombs, as well as monitoring their designs for USAF requirements. The AFSWC would track all of this new development for USAF use and drop test the new weapon designs. By September 1956, AFSWC included a group with three squadrons trained in the testing of atomic weapons (the atom bomb) and a group trained in testing thermonuclear weapons (the hydrogen bomb).

In response, in 1956 AFSWC established the 4950th Test Group (Nuclear) to serve as a permanent USAF Air Task Group for atmospheric testing, replacing the 4925th Test Group (Atomic), which then focused on the aircraft/weapon marriage mission. With the disestablishment of ARDC in 1961, AFSC took command of Kirtland and AFSWC. The AFSWC was also required to monitor the development work of aircraft contractors to assure compatibility of plane and bomb. Whistle a Happy Tune: Cell phones don’t always work in nature, but whistles are easy to use and actually carry further than the human voice. This essential ingredient for human physiological function prevents rickets (improper and weak development of bones) in children and bone loss in the aged. Other aerodynamic missiles developed at the Development Directorate were the SM-62 Snark, SM-64 Navaho, CIM-10 Bomarc and MGM-1 Matador. In the early 1950s, the Development Directorate conducted numerous nuclear weapons studies focusing on specific target effectiveness and detonation conditions of atomic weapons. The Research Directorate also conducted numerous studies on the hazards of neutron and gamma radiation exposure for aircraft crews both in the air and on the ground. In 1953 the Research Directorate began a weapons data-indexing project and maintained a technical library for all data on USAF contributions to the atomic energy program.