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  • MC-11 Air Compressor

    This item of ground support equipment can provide low pressure compressed air for such tasks as inflating tires and high pressure air for servicing landing gear shock struts. It also was used for starting aircraft engines on Air Defense Command aircraft which had air driven starter systems, such as

  • Operation Sun Run

    On Nov. 27, 1957, four USAF pilots of the 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing successfully completed Operation Sun Run by establishing three new transcontinental speed records in a McDonnell RF-101C aircraft. The record-breaking mission showcased the speed and range of the RF-101C, an improved

  • Martin TM-61A Matador

    As the U.S. Air Force's first pilotless bomber, the Matador used a concept similar to the German V-1 "buzz bomb" of World War II. Originally designated the B-61, the TM-61A surface-to-surface tactical missile carried either a conventional or nuclear warhead. Launched from a mobile 40-foot trailer by

  • T9E1 75mm Cannon

    During World War II, the AAF equipped its B-25G and B-25H medium bombers and some Douglas A-26B light bombers with a single-shot manually loaded 75mm cannon in the nose. Though only three of four rounds could be fired during a single attack run on a target, these aircraft caused considerable damage

  • Northrop SM-62 Snark

    The Snark, a pilotless nuclear missile, represented an important step in weapons technology during the Cold War. The SM-62 (Strategic Missile) program lasted from 1945-1961, and it gave the U.S. Air Force valuable experience in developing long-range strategic nuclear missile systems. The SM-62 was a

  • MK82 Air Inflatable Retarder Bomb

    The MK82 AIR is a 500-pound bomb modified with a BSU-49 high drag tail assembly. The "ballute" air bag, which deploys from the tail, provides a high speed, low altitude delivery capability by quickly slowing the bomb and allowing the aircraft to escape the blast pattern. The pilot may select either

  • Mark 41 Thermonuclear Bomb

    The Mk-41 "hydrogen" bomb, first produced in 1960, is now obsolete and no longer in USAF service. Designed to be carried by B-47, B-52 and B-70 aircraft, it was to be released at high-altitude, using parachutes to retard its fall, thereby permitting the releasing plane to escape from the target area

  • MK39 Nuclear Bomb

    The MK39 was basically an improved MK15 equipped with parachutes to provide more release options for the delivery aircraft. It was carried by B-47 and B-52 bombers. Development of the MK39 began in 1955, and the first bombs entered the national inventory in 1957. The MK39 featured a shock-absorbing

  • Mark 28 Thermonuclear Bomb

    The Mk-28 hydrogen bomb was first produced in 1958 and remained in service until the early 1990s. Aircraft carried a streamlined variant externally or non-streamlined version internally. Used by various fighter and bomber aircraft (F-100, F-104, F-105, B-47, B-52, B-66 and others), these weapons

  • Mark 17 Thermonuclear Bomb

    The MK-17 was the first operational USAF thermonuclear "H-Bomb" (The "H" refers to the hydrogen which was fused under intense heat conditions to produce unprecedented energy yields).The MK-17 was carried by B-36s and was in service from 1954 until 1957. By today's standards, it was extremely large