Wednesday, July 20, 1960: Underwater missile

Sitting about 30 miles off Cape Canaveral, Florida, the USS George Washington fires a Polaris A1 nuclear missile. It was the first successful launch of a ballistic missile by a submerged submarine. The launch was a key progression in the ongoing arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Polaris' 1,200-mile range meant that the U.S. could strike nearly any land target from the safety of international waters.

* More about Polaris missile system: @ and @

* Polaris timeline: @

* More about USS George Washington: @ and @

* Newsreel: @

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