![]() If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter, called “ If You Only Read 6 Things This Week ”. Join 600,000+ Future fans by liking us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and Instagram. A contest between man and a machine with a mind of its own, 60 years ago – in the bright blue skies above Los Angeles. Thankfully, the Battle of Palmdale, as it was later dubbed, did not result in any deaths. “There was a very steep learning curve so crash sites kind of represent that legacy.” ![]() “The area where I live is full of aviation history – experimental vehicles, X-planes, the development of the Space Shuttle – so many different things were done out here,” he says. The newspapers of the day reveal the full extent of the damage.īut Merlin, who is more aware than most of how accident-prone the development of these machines can be, points out that failures have always been a part of aviation history. ![]() All along the flight path of the fighters and their bright red quarry lay destruction caused by the F-89s’ wayward salvoes. But all those rockets hadn’t landed without incident. Eventually, it crashed eight miles east of Palmdale, cutting through electric cables as it ploughed into the ground. But every rocket missed 208 rockets fired and no luck. All the rockets missed.įinally, as the drone turned in the direction of Palmdale, each plane fired off another round of rockets – this time 30 each. The drone was now nearing a suburban town called Newhall. The second plane fired another 42 – still no hit. An initial volley of 42 rockets was fired, to no avail. But at that point the drone changed its course again, this time back towards Los Angeles. The rockets failed to launch when the pilots first attempted to fire them using an automatic system – they would have to switch to manual.
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