TDIH: Missile Mail

"TDIH: Missile Mail
The United States Post Office was granted use of a Regulus I cruise missile, which boasted a state-of-the-art guidance system and a range of 600 miles.

Tara Ross
16 hr ago
On this day in 1959, the United States Post Office experiments with “Missile Mail.” It would be the first and only time that U.S. mail was delivered via cruise missile.

Yes, you read that right: The Post Office was granted use of a Regulus I cruise missile, which boasted a state-of-the-art guidance system and a range of 600 miles.

It was more than just a simple mail delivery, of course. It was a Cold War demonstration to the world: United States missiles are so accurate that we can even use them to deliver the mail.

The mail delivery itself had all the markings of a regular Post Office delivery—well, except for the cruise missile, of course. A post office branch was established aboard the submarine USS Barbero, and 3,000 pieces of mail were formally delivered to the new post office branch while Barbero was docked at Norfolk, Virginia. The letters were placed inside two blue and red metal containers. The containers, in turn, were placed inside the modified Regulus I missile.

Each of these 3,000 letters was exactly the same: It was a notice from the Postmaster General, announcing and explaining the missile experiment. The letters were addressed to various government officials."...