Missle Park

The Navy’s Missle Park in Ventura County, California is just off Highway-1 about a mile North of the Los Posas Road intersection. The displays were being refurbished during this visit, so a few of the big cruise missles (Regulus and Regulus-II) were hidden behind scaffolding and shade cloth.

An F-4 Phantom:

And an F-14 Tomcat:

After World War II, the US made copies of the German V-1 buzz bomb, renaming it “Loon.”

“Petral” is a torpedo fitted with drop-away wings and a rocket motor. This would combine the speed and range of overwater flight with the ability to attack subsurface targets (or surface ships below the waterline).

Various air-to-air and air-to-surface missles are on display, as well as a Polaris submarine-launched ballistic missle. The Polaris looks like it’s being refurbished, with many spots sanded off, apparently in preparation for re-painting.

The park is part of a missle test facility. Part of the testing includes attacking target drones, some of which are painted in high-visibility colors.

The facility is also defending the streets of Pasadena. Don’t be running any stop lights in that town… (Picture from my file, taken some years ago at a parade. The large “Tomahawk” cruise missle on the truck is not among those on display at missle park.)