Hurlburt Field, sometimes known as Eglin 9 because it was one of the satellite strips of huge Eglin AFB, was the home of Bomarc Missile training and testing. The launch facility was on Santa Rosa Island which was only 1/2 mile off shore but was part of the base.
When we took our initial classroom training it was at Chanute Field in Illinois, which was the Camp Borden of the USAF. Then the practical training was carried out at Hurlburt. The drones we fired on were launched from Tyndall Field, another Eglin satellite field. The drone we knocked down when these prictures were taken was the only QB-47 in the USAF - "Q" standing for drone.
They used to launch these drones under ground control, then once they were airborne, a T-33 would pick them up. The guy in the back of the T-Bird flew the aircraft, and the guy in the front of the T-Bird flew the drone. When they got into the target area, they sent the drone out on its own. After the shot, they would go back with the T-Bird, pick the drone up, and take it back to Tyndall.
The Bomarc was a nuclear weapon. The fusing system was intended to detonate about a quarter mile from the target. The target seeker just wasn't pin point accurate but this one just happened to continue after the fuse was detonated and it hit the drone. Of course, the birds weren't armed. There was a destruct charge in them, but that was only for launch area purposes. They just let them run out of fuel and into the Gulf.
Updated: May 6, 2001