Missile Buffs Raise Money for Museum

A group of missile buffs is raising money to build a historical museum of guided missiles on Navy-owned land near the Pacific Missile Test Center at Point Mugu, the group’s president said Monday.

The Missile Technology Historical Assn. hopes to raise $260,000 from defense contractors to build the museum for missiles, blueprints and other artifacts at the test center, President Bill Cunneen said.

The collection ranges from the shell of a recent $1.2-million Tomahawk anti-ship missile to an original 1940s-vintage Loon test missile, which Ford Motor Co. modeled after the dreaded “buzz-bombs” built by the Nazis. The collection also includes target drones like the BQM-34, a pilotless, radio-controlled aircraft that is launched to provide a moving target for missile tests, said Cunneen, a former vice commander of the test center.

The association plans an open house at the test center May 9 for defense contractors, such as General Dynamics and Hughes Aircraft, to solicit donations.

On May 8 at the Harbortown Marina Resort in Ventura, the 11-year-old association plans to induct 13 scientists and engineers into the Guided Missile Hall of Fame.