Niagara Falls Air Force Missile Site

The Niagara Falls Air Force Missile Site was a Cold War USAF launch complex for Boeing CIM-10 Bomarc surface-to-air missiles. Equipped only IM-99Bs (46 missiles: solid-state, solid-fuel booster), the site had 48 Model IV "coffin" shelters, after an initial design with a secure area of ~20 acre to have 28 shelters (the planned site had additional area for 84 "future shelters"). Launch control for the site's missiles was by central NY's "Hancock Field combined direction-combat center" (CC-01/DC-03) at Syracuse, New York. The Syracuse Air Defense Sector had been designated by CONAD "effective April 1, 1958" as 1 of 4 sectors in the "26th SAGE Division" (cf. Bangor, Boston, & New York Air Defense Sectors). DC-03 was operational on December 1, 1958; and the division was the 1st operational in the SAGE Air Defense Network—1 January 1959 (CC-01 was the "first SAGE regional battle post", beginning operations "in early 1959".)

F-102 manned interceptors defended the Niagara-Buffalo area in 1959 when missile site construction began, e.g., the Missile Support Area with IMSOC (the "BOMARC missile was brought to the Installation in 1959".) The missile site and squadron were activated on 1 June 1960, and missiles were operational on 1 December 1961. In January 1962 from Wright-Patterson AFB, the Brookfield GF Site (gap filler "RF-62E" [sic]) in Ohio became a "Major Off-Base…Installation" of the Niagara Falls missile site and in 1962, command of the BOMARC base which had a commissary transferred from Col. John A. Sarosy to Col James L. Livingston. Other officers included John T. Farrington, Capt John Frezza, and in 1993: Major George Kovaks, Capt Dario Marchetti, and 2nd Lt. Albert Mitchell Jr.

The site was the 1st BOMARC B launch complex to close —31 December 1969 as part of a DoD realignment of "307 military bases". The missile base was vacant until turned over to the Niagara Falls Municipal Airport ("international airport" 1 July 1985) which had been civilianized in 1946. The 1959 "Access Road" is now Johnson Street of the "NFARS Fuel Depot" (built over the area of the BOMARC shelters, which are still visible), and the former northwest corner of the missile site is the current Tuscarora Road military gate.

Squadron

 * Constituted as the 35th Air Defense Missile Squadron (BOMARC) on 17 December 1959
 * Activated on 1 June 1960 in the Syracuse Air Defense Sector
 * Transferred to the Detroit Air Defense Sector (4 September 1963), 34th Air Division (1 April 1966), 35th Air Division (15 September 1969), 21st Air Division (19 November 1969)
 * Inactivated on 31 December 1969
 * Consolidated with the 35th Bombardment Squadron, Light as the 35th Tactical Missile Squadron on 19 September 1985 (remained inactive)