Base Status:   Closed in 1961

Base Web Site:   Presque Isle Air Force Base

Current Base Useage:   Presque Isle International Airport

SM-62 Snark IRBM

The Snark, originally designated as the B-62, was an interim-type, air breathing intercontinental weapon produced during the period when intercontinental ballistic missiles were still being perfected. It carried a nuclear warhead and was launched from a mobile platform by two booster rocket engines. These propelled the Snark to flying speed in four seconds, at which time they were jettisoned and the missile continued in flight, powered by its internal jet engine.

The missile and its ground support equipment could be lifted by an aircraft, such as the C-124, and could be set up and ready for launch soon after arrival at a site. It's flight path was controlled by internal celestial guidance. When the missile arrived over its target, the nose section containing the warhead separated from the fuselage and fell in a trajectory onto the target. The rest of the Snark, now useless, was destroyed on impact with the group. The first Snark operational unit was activated by the Strategic Air Command in 1958.

Crew Quote: So many Snarks were fired down the Atlantic Ocean Test Firing Range that the crews referred to them as "Snark Infested Waters."

Launch Crew for final test flight at Cape Canaveral Florida for the Snark missile.
Yale Schiffman (Fourth from right) was responsible for the nose cone art.