Small effortpost: USA's coolest weapon found in Washington garage . The AIR-2 Genie

The AIR-2 Genie was an unguided air to air nuclear missile. It was developed early in the cold war prior to ICBM's and guided air to air missiles. By the early 50's, the Soviets had reversed engineered the B-29 Superfortress into the TU-4 which could theoretically bomb the United States in a one way mission. The bomber's routes would take them over the Arctic Circle.

An air to air guided missile sounds like something Curtis LeMay would come up with in a fever dream. However, the mission profile makes sense in the context of its time. The Genie was designed to be fired into bomber formations, as that was the only delivery mechanism at the time. The 1.5kT warhead would be detonated at the cruising altitude ~33,000 feet. The missile didn't need to be guided since the blast radius would take out the bomber formation over the uninhabited Arctic Circle. It was never intended to be fired over civilian population center and the Air Force was keen to show that it was ""harmless"" to people on the ground.

_{Curtis "Bomb's Away!" LeMay}

To demonstrate , during the Plumbob John test, five Air Force personnel stood below the blast.

The AIR-2 Genie was deployed to the Royal Canadian Air Force in a Dual Key arrangement. This ment that the Leafs would deploy the weapon, but the Burgers had to give the order. The Genie was obsolete by the mid 60's when guided missile technology improved and ICBM's became the main delivery systems.

_{Titan 2 ICBM at the Titan Missile Museum}

I got to see one in person when I went to the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, AZ. Well worth it if you're in the area.

_{Inert AIR-2 Genie at the Pima Air and Space Museum}