B-17 Bomber Gets Hit by a Missile

During WW2, aerial campaigns became a vital anchor of military operations. Most ground and naval attacks extensively used aircraft for reconnaissance and bombing missions.

The most crucial aerial asset of the European theatre was the bomber. Protected by escort fighters, the American B-17s became an icon of sheer American firepower and innovative technological advances.

However, once the war ended, thousands of B-17s were quickly sold, sent to the scrapyard, or used for experimental testing after being replaced by superior aircraft and military technologies.

As the Cold War tensions increased, with a palpable fear of a Nuclear War, some B-17s became an essential asset for testing the accuracy, speed, and damage of American missiles and other defensive systems.

One of those was Project Nike, a military program whose objective was protecting American cities from nuclear threats.

An integral part of this defensive system was the Nike Ajax, the first surface to air missile, better known as SAM. And if the US was going to be ready to take on Soviet bombers, they would have to blow up a bunch of B-17s for practice.