Overhead view of Martin Viking No. 7 rocket on gantry, prepared for record-breaking altitude flight, White Sands Proving Ground

Overhead view of Martin Viking No. 7 rocket on gantry, prepared for record-breaking altitude flight, White Sands Proving Ground
  • 3090
  • Photograph
  • September 5, 1954
  • HOLD FOR RELEASE UNTIL 7 P.M. (EST) SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 1953
    Boeing “GAPA” Test Missile Shown: Research Vehicle Blasts Off Ground in Tests
    Released for the first time, with the approval of the Department of Defense, this photo—one of a series—shows one of the more than 100 Boeing Airplane Company “GAPA” supersonic research vehicles fired at Alamogordo, N.M. GAPA was an Air Force–sponsored development program of new-type defense against possible bomber attacks on the United States which was concluded in 1949. The GAPA missile, begun in 1945, was never placed in production but provided valuable knowledge now being utilized by Boeing in a new, advanced missile program. The GAPA missile reached a speed of more than 1,500 miles per hour.
    Picture #2: One of the sleek Boeing GAPA research missiles just after leaving its launching rack during tests at Alamogordo, N.M.
    Stamped Boeing Airplane Company, Seattle / Wichita.