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with the addition of the F-106 we now have a jet in the Game that was historically equipped with a nuclear air-to-air munition, the Genie Rocket.
The Douglas Aircraft Co. began their work on a small scale nuclear tipped air-to-air missile in 1954, with full-scale development beginning the next year. Test firings we’re made by an F-89D Scorpion throughout 1955 and early 1956.
Developed during the Cold War, it was intended to be launched at Soviet Bomber formations to detonate among their midst, ideally wiping out all Bombers in a single blow.
The Genie was the first nuclear armed air-to-air interceptor weapon in the world and the most powerful ever deployed by the USAF.
Initially labeled as MB-1, the Genie became fully operational in the year 1957, and on the 19th of July 1957 it made history as the first and only life fired nuclear air-to-air Rocket in US History.
It was powered by a Thiokol SR49 solid-fuel rocket motor, which suffered from a short lifespan.
To make sure that the Genie would not go off unintentionally, it was dropped out of the weapon bay with the booster being intert, until an attached lanyard pulled a safety pin and the booster starting to fire.
A second pin in the 1.5 kT W25 nuclear warhead prevented detonation until it pulled a 4 G overload, leading to the pins release and detonation.
Flip-out fins provided stability during the missiles 6-8.5 second long time of flight. It was unguided, due to the nuclear detonation with an effective kill radius of 300 meters making any guidance technology impractical.
Douglas built more than 1000 units before the production was terminated in 1962. But Thiokol improved their booster in 1965 for the Genie, resulting in a longer lifespan/burn time and widened firing temperature limits.
These upgraded Genie Rockets were designated AIR-2B after the mid 1970s.
Aircraft that were armed with the Genie:
F-89J
F-101B
Spoiler
F-106A
Technical Data
Guidance: None
Engine: Thiokol SR49-TC-1 solid-fuel engine, 36,500 pounds of thrust (162.360 kilonewtons)
Max. Speed: Mach 3.3
Max. Range: 6 Miles (9.6 km)
Weight: 822 pounds (373 kilograms)
Length: 9 feet, 8 inches (2,946 meters)
Diameter: 1 foot, 5.5 inches (0.445 meters)
Fins: 3 feet, 4 inches (1.118 meters)
Warhead: W25 uranium-plutonium implosion fission air-to-air nuclear warhead
Effective Kill radius: approx. 1.000 feet (300 meters)
Fuze: Time delay
No. built: 3.150
Deployed by: USAF from 1957-1985, Canada from 1965-1984
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