Bomarc Credit - © Mark Wade

American surface-launched drone, development started in 1955. Program cancelled in 1958.

Historical Essay © Andreas Parsch

Fairchild SM-73 Bull Goose

In the early 1950s, Fairchild studied the concept of a ground-launched long-range decoy missile to simulate B-36, B-47, B-52 and B-58 strategic bombers on radar. The U.S. Air Force awarded a study contract under project MX-2223 in July 1954, and Fairchild came up with a swept-wing, vee-tail design with a fuselage partially made of non-metallic composites. Radar reflectors in the fuselage and wing-tip pods would augment the radar return for realistic simulation of the larger bombers. This MX-2223 design was not further developed, but in December 1955, the USAF awarded a follow-on contract to develop the SM-73 Bull Goose decoy missile as part of Weapons System 123A (the MX-2223 project designator seems to have been retained for some time, too). The WS-123A requirement called for a missile with a range of at least 7400 km (4000 nm) at Mach 0.85. Because of the subsonic performance, simulation of the B-58 was not required. The first flight of an XSM-73 prototype occurred in June 1957.

The XSM-73 was a delta-wing design of primarily non-metallic construction, using e.g. a fiberglass-resin bonded wing. It was powered by a Fairchild J83 turbojet, and used a solid-propellant rocket booster for take-off. The Bull Goose had a range of 8850 km (5500 miles) at a speed of Mach 0.85. The missile had an autopilot with an integrating-rate gyro for directional control, and the required accuracy was +/- 185 km (115 miles) at a range of 7400 km (4600 miles). The SM-73 was to carry a payload of radar reflectors and active electronic simulation and ECM equipment.

The Bull Goose flight test program during 1957/58 was plagued by troubles, including problems with the booster, the turbojet and the composite-structure wing, funding difficulties, and the inability of the XSM-73 to realistically simulate the B-52 on radar. The USAF had at one time planned to procure more than 2300 SM-73 Goose (the "Bull" prefix was officially dropped in May 1958) missiles until 1963, but in December 1958, the whole program was cancelled.

Note: Data given by several sources show slight variations. Figures given below may therefore be inaccurate!

Data for XSM-73:

[1] Bill Gunston: "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rockets and Missiles", Salamander Books Ltd, 1979
[2] Kenneth P.Werrell: "The Evolution of the Cruise Missile", Air University Press, 1985
[3] Dennis R. Jenkins: "Magnesium Overcast: The Story of the Convair B-36", Specialty Press, 2001

Manufacturer: Fairchild. Launches: 20. Failures: 1. Success Rate: 95.00%. First Launch Date: 1957-03-13. Last Launch Date: 1958-12-05. Launch data is: incomplete. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). Liftoff Thrust: 444.200 kN (99,860 lbf). Total Mass: 2,270 kg (5,000 lb). Core Diameter: 0.61 m (2.00 ft). Total Length: 11.59 m (38.02 ft). Span: 7.62 m (24.99 ft). Maximum range: 3,200 km (1,900 mi). Boost Propulsion: Solid rocket. Cruise Propulsion: Turbojet. Cruise Thrust: 9.800 kN (2,203 lbf). Guidance: Autopilot. Maximum speed: 1,410 kph (870 mph). Ceiling: 30,500 m (100,000 ft). Development Cost $: 78.500 million. in: 1957 average dollars.

1957 March 13 - Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: LC22. Launch Vehicle: Goose. Model: Bull Goose. LV Configuration: Bull Goose Dummy.

• Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 872.

• Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 872.

• Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 872.

• Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 872.

• Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 872.

• Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 872.

• Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 872.

• Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 872.

• Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 872.

• Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 872.

• Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 872.

• Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 872.

• Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 872.

• Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 872.

• Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 872.

• Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 872.

• Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 872.

• Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 872.

• Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 872.

• Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 872.

• McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page, Harvard University, 1997-present. Jonathan McDowell's complete on-line listing of all objects orbited and over 20,000 rocket launches Accessed at: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.

• Sounding Rockets, Friends of CRC Web Site. Accessed at: http://friendsofcrc.ca/PropagationResearch/rocket.html.