In a burst of fire which stabbed the sky with sudden pinpricks of light, 104 finned rockets streaked through the air, 30,000 feet above the Naval Air Missle Test Center on Point Mugu, California. They were fired in full salvo from the wing tips of an Air Force Scorpion F-89D, built by Northrop, the U.S.'s most heavily armed jet fighter. To record the salvo three high-speed robot cameras were lashed to the Scorpion's tail, one aimed over the plane's nose and one at each wing. The result was the composite picture above which impressively illustrates the massive firepower of modern warfare.
In another trial (image below) from a red painted test plane the salvo haloed the wing tips with a hot white flame. The rockets are released by the radar observer seated in the two-man fighter's rear cockpit and each missile has enough explosive force to annihilate a heavy bomber.
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images and info provided by the LIFE Magazine / LIFE Magazine International / LIFE Magazine Atlantic ARCHIVE from the Zetu Harrys Collection
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