1950s The Great Southern California Air Combat Soiree
Southern California has it’s charms it’s weather and it’s military escapades. One upon one of those strange times, a target drone got away from the Navy. Sadly no fighter planes were available so they had to call the US Air Force. Can you imagine the embarrassment to have to call another military to solve their little problem? Well no worries right? What could go wrong?
The first Scorpion made an attack, and sent 42 rockets in the general direction of the drone, which didn’t touch any of them. The second F-89D fired its first batch of 42, and while some grazed the drone’s red belly, no luck.
Then they fired 64 more rockets over the town of Newhall, and then 60 more over Palmdale. None hit their target. The drone kept on flying.
Soon, the Scorpions were running out of fuel, and needed to head back to base. As the planes headed back to base, the drone also ran out of fuel and began to lose altitude, and eventually began a spiral that would take it down into the desert east of Palmdale Regional Airport, but not before severing three CalEd power lines, because that’s how that drone rolls.
Now, it may sound like the two Scorpion pilots failed in their mission to take down the drone, but I’d argue they succeeding in their other, unplanned mission: to rain 208 rockets down on Castaic, Newhall, Palmdale, and the surrounding California desert.
More: How A Rogue 1950s Drone Fiasco Ended With 208 Rockets Fired At Southern California