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Luckily this is old enough that I am sure all the principal players have long since retired, if not died. Good thing, too.<\/p>\n
Back in the mid-’50s, the Navy was testing a new radar-guided air-to-air missile, the AIM-7 Sparrow. Targets were needed, so older prop planes were reconfigured as unmanned drones.\u00a0 We’re going to take Mr. Peabody’s Wayback machine to Point Mugu Naval Air Station, California, in August 1956.<\/p>\n
The Navy launched a bright red F6F-5K Hellcat target drone on its final mission. The Hellcat was en route to the testing area over the Pacific when it suddenly stopped responding to its radio commands. Via radar, the Navy test team helplessly watched the drone slowly make a left turn and head towards Los Angeles.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The Navy obviously didn’t want it to come down in LA, but had nothing appropriate available so they called the Air Force at Oxnard Air Base. The Air Force was happy to oblige (and was no doubt happy (mixed meat metaphor approaching)\u00a0 to not only be able to save Navy’s bacon but make them eat a little crow, too.<\/p>\n
The base dispatched two F-89D Scorpions with an Interceptor Squadron. The Scorpions headed towards the area in full afterburner, caught up with the drone near Los Angeles, and followed it until it was over an unpopulated area.<\/p>\n
Designed to defend the U.S. against aircraft from the Soviet Union, the Scorpion was the latest frontline interceptor in the U.S. Air Force\u2019s fleet, flown by 30 active-duty and seven Air National Guard squadrons. It was equipped with a new fire control system and radar, and loaded with 104 2.75-inch folding fin aircraft rockets (FFAR), which could be fired all at once or in a three-burst ripple mode.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Note – no guns. Some of you might remember ‘way back when the eggheads all said the future of air battle was MISSILES! and guns were unneeded. Contradictorily (is that a word?) many air battles took place at ever-decreasing speeds as the fighters tried to turn inside their opponents, and eventually the range is too short for missiles. Even the sainted F4 PhantomII started out in life gun-less\u00a0 (and pilots speedily got THAT corrected as soon as they could.) As one said, bullets are cheap and go where you want them to. But I digress.<\/p>\n
\nSince the drone was now in a continuous, slow turn, the Scorpions had to wait for the right moment to fire. As the drone slowly turned towards Antelope Valley, the pilots decided to make their move. Both pilots attempted to fire in automatic mode, and when they pressed the trigger, nothing happened.<\/p>\n
A design flaw prevented their rockets from firing in automatic mode, so the pilots were forced to switch to manual control. If that wasn\u2019t bad enough, the D model Scorpions were initially equipped with gun sights, but when the new fire control system was added, the sights were removed.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
You may have noticed that the Sparrows were still in development – what the AF had on hand were FFAR Folding Fin Aircraft Rockets, not radar-or heat-seekers. So, sightless, the pilots had to fire rockets in manual mode and hope they tagged the drone.<\/p>\n
The first Scorpion lined up and fired off a burst of 42 rockets, but they all missed. The second did the same, with the same result: 42 misses. The jets made a second attempt, but both missed yet again. As the Hellcat flew toward Palmdale, both Scorpions fired their last salvo, but again, they missed. They fired a total of 208 rockets, and the Hellcat flew on unscathed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
One target, no hits. No need for sarcasm here.<\/p>\n
The Hellcat eventually dropped low enough to clip a power line and cartwheel into the desert. No harm, no foul? Uh, no…<\/p>\n
During their rocket attacks, the Scorpions caused significant damage. The first salvo of rockets caused brush fires near the city of Castaic, destroying about 150 acres. The second salvo caused fires near the town of Newhall, set fires to pumps belonging to the Indian Oil Company, caused a brushfire that came within 300 feet of an explosives plant, and burned over 350 acres of land. Fires were also started in Santa Clarita, and because the Air Force pilots fired the last salvo as they approached Palmdale, many of those rockets landed in the town, ended up in people\u2019s homes, and destroyed their vehicles.<\/p>\n
However, more than 1,000 acres were burned in the resulting brushfires, which required 500 firefighters two days to bring the fires under control.We Are The Mighty<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The Battle of Palmdale. Some Air Force history you didn’t know.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"