Ex-RAF Thor Missiles in the US

[RAMC181]

I'm trying to track down which of the former RAF Thor missiles still survive today.

Consulting and cross-checking various sources indicates at one point within the last few years five, maybe six, were around but trying to get current information is tricky so if anyone can help update this list I'd really appreciate it:

#139 57-2647 XSM-75:
Was on static display at Patrick AFB, FL. Believed scrapped.
#150 58-2261 SM-75:
Assigned to 150 Squadron, RAF Carnaby.
Pyros accidentally discharged on Launch Pad No.38 during test 18/8/62.
Was on static display at USAF Museum, Dayton, OH, in USAF markings.
#157 58-2268 SM-75:
Was on static display at Space and Missile Systems Organization HQ, Inglewood, CA.
#211 58-2322 SM-75:
Was on static display at Los Angeles Space Museum. Believed now on display at Wright-Patterson AFB.
#273 59-2394 PGM-17:
Was on static display at New York Worlds Fair. Now believed to be at the Kennedy Space Center Rocket Garden OR Goddard Space Center.
#284 59-2405 PGM-17:
Believed to be on static display at Vandenberg AFB.

All the best,
PB

Last edited by RAMC181 on Tue Nov 23, 2010 8:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[jamesintucson]

59-2406 is at the Pima Air & Space Museum.
http://www.pimaair.org/collection-detail.php?cid=87

James

[RAMC181]

Excellent! Thanks James.

That's another ex-RAF missile, which managed to survive the 437 Program as well.

All the best,
PB

[RAMC181]

Well, after the one James added, I've got to scrub another one from the list...

#157 58-2268 SM-75:
Was on static display (configured as a Thor-Agnea) at Space and Missile Systems Organization HQ, Inglewood, CA.
Blown over during a storm in 1975.

I suppose it's going to be easier to ask if anyone knows the identities of any Thors on display and sort it out from there.
For example, the one outside the SAC Museum seems to have lost it's identity.

All the best,
PB

[RAMC181]

Offhand, does anyone know the serial of the Thor-Able that was outside the St Louis Science Center between 1972ish and was transported to the UK in 2000?
I don't hold out much hope of getting accurate information from it's current custodians at the National Space Centre in Leicester, who describe it as "Thor, the largest rocket ever built in Britain, was developed during the late 1950s using Rolls Royce engines." DOH!

TTFN,
PB

[RAMC181]

Thor #150 (58-2261) SM-75:
Assigned to 150 Squadron, RAF Carnaby.
Pyros accidentally discharged on Launch Pad No.38 during test 18/8/62.
Was on static display at USAF Museum, Dayton, OH, in USAF markings.

I found a nice photo on Flickr of her sitting in the yard at Davis Monthan in 2008: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7205704@N03/3182000763/

Now seemingly back on indoor display at the NMUSAF, is #211 (58-2322) still lurking there somewhere too?

All the best,
PB

[RAMC181]

I've managed to reduce the list of "fate unknown" ex-RAF Thors from eleven down to just two:

No.278 (59-2399) PGM-17: Allocated to Program 437. No further information.
No.292 (59-2413) PGM-17: Allocated to Program 437. No further information.

Presumably these were included in the nine released from storage by the NRL in 1994.

The Naval Research Laboratory had nine Thor boosters in storage at Carlsbad, CA awaiting disposition. The NRL had the USMC move the boosters to Camp Pendleton for shipment to other agencies.
(DoD press release)

Two of those went to Vandenberg for display, so that should be No.284 (59-2405) and an unidentified Thor SLV-2A.



No.285 (59-2406) at Pima was donated by the NRL, so possibly was also among these nine.

PB

Last edited by RAMC181 on Sun Feb 20, 2011 9:33 am, edited 1 time in total.

[jamesintucson]

Well, after the one James added, I've got to scrub another one from the list...

#157 58-2268 SM-75:
Was on static display (configured as a Thor-Agnea) at Space and Missile Systems Organization HQ, Inglewood, CA.
Blown over during a storm in 1975.

I suppose it's going to be easier to ask if anyone knows the identities of any Thors on display and sort it out from there.
For example, the one outside the SAC Museum seems to have lost it's identity.

All the best,
PB

I missed this back in November. I think the remains of that one are also at Pima. I don't think we have a serial for it but I know it was supposed to have been on display in California until it was blown over in a storm. Sounds like the same one.

James

[RAMC181]

Thanks again James.

I wonder if Thors have a dataplate on them somewhere, I can't see why they wouldn't.
That would presumably clear up the identity of this missile.

All the best,
PB

[RAMC181]

Time for a project update.
Here's the current list of those Thors assigned to RAF Bomber Command between 1959 and 1963 that may or do still exist:

No.139 (57-2647) XSM-75:
The very first Thor to arrive in the UK.
Was on static display at Patrick AFB, FL. LINK
Removed from display sometime after 1991, possibly scrapped. Does anyone know either way?

No.150 (58-2261) SM-75:
Assigned to 150 Squadron at RAF Carnaby, Yorkshire. Placed on Thor Launch Emplacement 38.
Negligent Discharge of missile pyrotechnics whilst on launch mounting on 18th August 1962.
(Launch crew failed to remove the pyrotechnics during an Operational Flight Safety Switch check. Both retro-rockets and all three warhead latch squibs then fired during the test sequence.)
Was on static display at NMUSAF, Wright-Patterson AFB, "delivered from Vandenberg AFB, California in 1963"
Photographed during 2008 in storage at Davis-Monthan AFB.
LINK 1 (2008)
LINK 2 (2007)
LINK 3 (2007)

No.157 58-2268 SM-75:
Was on static display (configured as a Thor-Agena) at Space and Missile Systems Organization HQ, Inglewood, CA.
Blown over during a storm in 1975.
Remains may be at Pima Air & Space Museum.

No.211 (58-2322) SM-75:
Was on static display at the Los Angeles Space Museum.
Was on display at NMUSAF, Wright-Patterson AFB.

No.273 (59-2394) PGM-17:
Was on static display at the 1964 New York Worlds Fair configured as Thor-Delta.
Now thought to be either the example at the Kennedy Space Center Rocket Garden or the one at the Goddard Space Center Rocket garden.

No.284 (59-2405) PGM-17:
Allocated to Program 437.
Believed to be on static display at Vandenberg AFB.

No.285 (59-2406) PGM-17:
Allocated to Program 437.
Currently on display Pima Air & Space Museum. LINK

There now just two ex-RAF Thors classed as "whereabouts unknown", i.e no launch or final disposal listed:
No.278 (59-2399) PGM-17: Allocated to Program 437. No further information.
No.292 (59-2413) PGM-17: Allocated to Program 437. No further information.

As can be seen from the above, the true identity of the NMUSAF's Thor IRBM is now unclear.
Both No.150 (58-2261) and No.211 (58-2322) were apparently there in IRBM configuration outdoors prior to the opening of the Missile and Space Gallery, however the images of No.150 (58-2261) in storage at Davis-Monthan apparently taken after an identically-marked renovated Thor was re-erected in the M&S Gallery have created an element of confusion.
The Thor/Agena-A displayed alongside is marked as #237 (59-2358), which was launched from Vandenberg AFB in August 1960 carrying the USAF/DARPA surveillance satellite Discoverer 14.

The search is also now on for any surviving Thor ground support equipment, from the transporter/erector trailers (GSU-33E?) which seem to still exist here and there, through the various control (AF/M46A, AN/MSQ-22, MSA-22, NSQ-23, MSA-21 etc.) and fuel (AF/M32A-12 & 17) trailers, to the storage tanks (TMU-4/E RP1 propellant tanks appear to still be on the USAF inventory although the TMU-3/E LOX tanks do not).
I can only imagine these would be held in the GSU storage areas at Davis-Monthan and similar until such times as they are required for use.

All the best,
PB

[RAMC181]

Another Thor in need of an identity...

There is one in basic IRBM configuration on its RAF-pattern (rear-steer) transporter/erector trailer, on outdoor display at the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History in Albuquerque, New Mexico. There is a USAF serial number painted on the boat-tail, but as that's facing upwards I can't read it properly.
Is there anyone local that can read it please?

It would appear that there is another Thor doing the rounds in New Mexico too.
In 2010 the New Mexico Museum of Space History loaned the village of Hatch a Thor to restore and display as part of their Spaceport America exhibition. Any further information whatsoever on this mystery missile would be greatly appreciated.

All the best,
PB

[RAMC181]

Some detail images I took on Thursday of Thor No.110 (USAF Serial 56-6760), one of the R&D missiles which, following a static-firing test at the Douglas facility at Sacramento, was rebuilt and sent to the UK as the primary training aid at the Bomber Command Strategic Missile School, RAF Feltwell.
As an R&D example this Thor lacks a number of things that were standard on operational Thor IRBMs, the most obvious from the outside is the lack of retro-rockets.

My thanks go to the staff at RAFM Cosford for inviting me "over the barrier" to get better photos without even being asked.



LOX inlet port:



RP-1 (Rocket Propellant No.1, i.e. cleaned and enhanced kerosene) inlet port with transit plug:



Vernier steering engines with the usual covers removed.
The red item is the transit cover for the main engine expansion bell:





Views beneath and up inside the boat-tail now...

Nice yellow transit clamps to hold the engine bell in place, original Douglas-supplied items:



Turbopump exhaust vent (missing the usual long "trumpet"), showing the LOX and nitrogen tubes inside the heat exchanger:



Inside the boat-tail, the heat exchanger unit itself with LOX and nitrogen inlet and outlet connections:



The following photos will hopefully be easier to understand with reference to this drawing of the main engine assembly:



Main engine thrust frame and spherical high-pressure nitrogen bottles (to pressurise the fuel and oxidiser tanks plus power up some of the engine sub-systems), with bottom of the LOX tank right at the back.
The two high-pressure feed pipes can be seen, LOX duct with the brown staining, RP-1 is the cleaner one:



Fuel feed pipe passing from top right through the main fuel valve (centre) into the fuel manifold around the engine bell.
The spherical green tank behind is the turbopump oil supply.
The pipe peeping out from behind the fuel manifold inlet is the main LOX feed duct:



Looking up inside the engine bell, showing the injector plate in the combustion chamber:



Despite a good hour poking around inside the boat-tail there was no trace of a dataplate or where one could have been, so I'm guessing it is up at the "pointy end"...

All the best,
PB

[RAMC181]

After receiving some new info I've been able to add some more detail to the list

Survivor Audit to 20 March 2012

No.110 (56-6760)
Bomber Command Strategic Missile School, RAF Feltwell, Static training missile:
On display at RAF Museum Cosford.

No.139 (57-2647):
The very first Thor to arrive in the UK.
Was on display at Patrick AFB, FL. LINK
Removed from display sometime after 1991.
Current whereabouts unknown, possibly now scrapped.

No.150 (58-2261)
150 (SM) Squadron, RAF Carnaby, Launch Emplacement 38:
Negligent Discharge of missile pyrotechnics whilst on pad, 18th August 1962.
(Launch crew failed to remove the pyrotechnics during an Operational Flight Safety Switch check. Both retro-rockets and all three warhead latch squibs then fired during the test sequence.)
On display at NMUSAF, Wright-Patterson AFB, "delivered from Vandenberg AFB, California in 1963".
Photographed during 2008 in storage at Davis-Monthan AFB.
LINK 1 (2008)
LINK 2 (2007)
LINK 3 (2007)
(Note: Due to this example seemingly being in two places at one time, the missile currently on display as 58-2261 may be No.211 (58-2322) repainted.)

No.157 (58-2268):
Was on display at the Space and Missile Systems Organization HQ, Inglewood, CA, configured as a Thor-Agena after RAF service.
Blown over during a storm in 1975.
Current whereabouts uncertain, but the remains are believed to be at Pima Air & Space Museum.

No.211 (58-2322):
Was on display at the Los Angeles Space Museum.
Was on display at NMUSAF, Wright-Patterson AFB, with No.150 (58-2261).
Current whereabouts uncertain.

No.273 (59-2394)
218 (SM) Squadron, RAF Harrington, Launch Emplacement 51:
Was on display at the 1964 New York Worlds Fair configured as Thor-Delta after return from RAF service.
NASA state this is now on display in the Goddard Space Center Rocket Garden, although other sources claim it may be the example in the Kennedy Space Center Rocket Garden.

This photo from January 1960, taken less than 5 miles from where I'm writing this, shows No.273 on the last leg of the delivery to her launch pad:



When the RAF Thor program was closed down all remaining operational missiles were airlifted back to the USA and reassigned to NASA and the USAF etc.
Here's No.237 leaving Harrington in August 1963, to be checked out and prepared for delivery to Mildenhall:



No.284 (59-2405):
Allocated to Program 437 (anti-satellite weapons program) after RAF service.
Believed to be on display at Vandenberg AFB.

No.285 (59-2406):
Allocated to Program 437 (anti-satellite weapons program) after RAF service.
Currently on display Pima Air & Space Museum. LINK

Also, there now just two known ex-RAF Thors with no launch or final disposal listed:

No.278 (59-2399)
223 (SM) Squadron, RAF Folkingham:
Allocated to Program 437 (anti-satellite weapons program) after RAF service.
No further information, survival status and current location unknown.

No.292 (59-2413)
218 (SM) Squadron, RAF Harrington, Launch Emplacement 50:
The second Thor mated to LE50, replacing No.269 which was accidentally loaded with RP1 fuel during a test countdown in August 1961.
(Thor 269 was returned to the USA for overhaul and was used for RAF Combat Training Launch 12 "Blazing Cinders" from Vandenberg AFB in June 1962. CTL12 was the last time an RAF crew launched a Thor missile.)
Allocated to Program 437 (anti-satellite weapons program) after RAF service.
No further information, survival status and current location unknown.

Last edited by RAMC181 on Sat Nov 03, 2012 7:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[RAMC181]

Survivor Audit: last updated 30 October 2016

No.110 (56-6760)
Bomber Command Strategic Missile School, RAF Feltwell, static training missile:
On display at RAF Museum Cosford.

No.139 (57-2647):
The very first Thor to arrive in the UK.
Formerly on static display at Patrick AFB, FL.



Removed from display sometime after 1991.
Current whereabouts unknown, possibly scrapped.

No.150 (58-2261)
150 (SM) Squadron, RAF Carnaby, LE 38:
Pyro ND on pad 18/8/62
On display at USAF Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, "delivered from Vandenberg AFB, California in 1963"
Photographed during 2008 in storage at Davis-Monthan AFB.
LINK 1 (2008)
LINK 2 (2007)
LINK 3 (2007)
(Note: Due to this example seemingly being in two places at one time, the missile currently on display as 58-2261 may be No.211 (58-2322) repainted.)

UPDATE: While speaking to the Director of Restorations at the NMUSAF this summer, he informed me that the Thor currently on display as 58-2261 is a combination of the best parts of the original 58-2261 and 58-2322. The remainder was reassembled and would seem to be the "other" 58-2261 at AMARC, Davis-Monthan AFB.

No.157 (58-2268):
Formerly on display at the Space and Missile Systems Organization HQ, Inglewood, CA, in Thor-Agena configuration and marked as 59-2400 (ex-Melton Mowbray Thor No.279, launched as Thor Burner II in 1969) .


(USAF Photo)

Blown over during a storm in 1975.
Remains in open storage at Pima Air & Space Museum, Tuscon, AZ.

No.166 (58-2277):
On display at the National Atomic Museum, Albuquerque, NM. LINK

No.211 (58-2322)
104 (SM) Squadron, RAF Ludford Magna, LE 28:
Mated 23rd July 1962, replacing No.201.
Formerly on display at the Los Angeles Space Museum.
Formerly on display at Wright-Patterson AFB.
Currently believed to be in storage at AMARC. (See 58-2261 above)

No.273 (59-2394)
218 (SM) Squadron, RAF Harrington, LE 51:
Formerly on static display at the 1964 New York Worlds Fair in Thor-Delta configuration.
NASA state this is now on display in the Goddard Space Center Rocket Garden (Photos), although other sources claim it is the example at the Kennedy Space Center Rocket Garden.

This photo from January 1960 shows No.273 in Rothwell on the last leg of the delivery to her launch pad marked as "51":



And "51" leaving Harrington in August 1963:



No.278 (59-2399)
223 (SM) Squadron, RAF Folkingham:
Allocated to Program 437 (anti-satellite weapons program) after RAF service.
At Vandenberg AFB in 1994, current location and status unknown.

No.284 (59-2405):
Allocated to Program 437 (anti-satellite weapons program) after RAF service.
On display at the Space and Missile Heritage Center, SLC-10W, Vandenberg AFB.

This image would appear to show No.278 and No.284 arriving at Vandenberg AFB:

Photo: US DOD via Kebecker

No.285 (59-2406):
Allocated to Program 437 (anti-satellite weapons program) after RAF service.
Currently in open storage at Pima Air & Space Museum, Tuscon, AZ.

No.292 (59-2413)
218 (SM) Squadron, RAF Harrington, LE50:
The second Thor mated to LE 50, replacing No.269 which was accidentally loaded with RP1 fuel during a test countdown in August 1961.
(Thor 269 was returned to the USA for overhaul and was used for RAF Combat Training Launch 12 "Blazing Cinders" from Vandenberg AFB in June 1962. CTL12 was the last time an RAF crew launched a Thor missile.)
Allocated to Program 437 (anti-satellite weapons program) after RAF service.
At Camp Pendleton, CA, 1994.
Used as a target during laser weapon trials, partial remains at SLC-10E, Space and Missile Heritage Center, Vandenberg AFB.

Additions, corrections and observations always welcome.

All the best,
PB

Last edited by RAMC181 on Sun Oct 30, 2016 3:58 pm, edited 4 times in total.

[wls3]

As for 57-2647 on static display at Patrick AFB, FL, I remember driving by and stopping to see several different missiles right next to the road at Patrick. Sometime I believe after the damage done by hurricane Erin in 1995, all the missiles that were left in front of the AFTAC were removed. Most had been outside there for over 30 years only about 100 yards from the Atlantic Ocean. Still think about those missiles on display whenever I drive by this building.




However, still around the space coast of Florida, Thor 57-2650 is on display at Cape Canaveral Missile Museum.
http://www.afspacemuseum.org/displays/Thor/