HISTORY

bitter pill and call the Air Force for help. They

contacted the Oxnard air base which was located 5 miles (8 kilometers) North. Over there, the

pilots of the 437th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron were on standby alert in case of the Soviet

bombers attack. They were equipped with the

latest showpiece of the military aviation, Northrop F-89D Scorpion. These all-weather fighters did not carry any guns. They featured wingtip-mounted containers for 2.75 inches (70 mm)

caliber unguided missiles “Mighty Mouse” instead. There were 52 missiles in each container

i.e, in total the fighter carried 104 of them. Their

launch was controlled by the onboard computer

in conjunction with a radar and the salvos were

supposed to destroy the Soviet bomber formations. That was the theory. As the duel with

a much smaller, red-painted threat in the form

of an out-of-control drone demonstrated the

reality was different. In the air-to-air role these

missiles did not meet the expectations. In the

air-to-ground role however they proved themselves as very successful weapon and were developed into the Hydra 70 missiles still in use

today.

At that time however, the F-89D armed with

Mighty Mouse missiles formed the backbone

of the fighter-interceptor air force. Thirty USAF

(United States Air Force) and seven ANG (Air

National Guard) squadrons were equipped with

them. Scorpions were used at the bases from

Alaska to California and to New York. After receiving the report about an out-of-control Navy

drone, 437th FIS launched two aircraft. First

was crewed by the pilot Lt. Hans Einstein with

Lt. C. D. Murray as the radar operator. The second Scorpion took off from Oxnard runway

piloted by Lt. Richard Hurliman with Lt. Walter

Hale in the back seat. The crews were looking

forward to some action and also to show the

Navy how the job needed to be done. Shortly it

appeared that the Navy will not be alone in receiving their large dose of shame.

The aircraft that crashed near Palmdale was painted red just like this Hellcat shown here in the care of mechanics.

An F-89D fires a salvo of rockets.

A South Dakota Air National Guard Scorpion showing a fully loaded rocket containers on the wingtips.

INFO Eduard - FEBRUARY 2022

eduard

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