Project Emily

Project Emily was the deployment of American-built PGM-17 Thor intermediate-range ballistic missiles in the United Kingdom between 1959 and 1963.

Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command operated 60 Douglas Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles, dispersed to 20 RAF air stations, as part of the UK nuclear deterrent force.

Due to concerns over the buildup of Soviet missiles, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower met Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in Bermuda in March 1957 to explore the possibility of short-term deployment on UK soil, until more powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles were deployed.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, 59 of the RAF missiles, with their W49 1.44 megaton thermonuclear warheads, were brought to operational readiness.

Intended to remain in place until 1968, the missile force was disbanded in 1963, and the missiles were returned to the U.S., most for eventual use in developing hardware and techniques as part of the space race.

RAF Strategic Missile (SM) stations and squadrons