Project Emily Display to be Unveiled Published June 19, 2009 By History Office Space and Missile Systems Center LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Project Emily was the code name for the deployment of 60 Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBM) in the Eastern part of England between 1958 and 1963. The Thor was a nuclear-armed, single-stage, intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) with a range of 1,500 nautical miles. It served as a significant strategic deterrent until the United States could complete the development and deployment of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) such as the Atlas. June 22 marks the 50th Anniversary of the first Thor missile squadron, armed with 15 Thor IRBMs, being transferred to the Royal Air Force at RAF Feltwell, England. To commemorate the anniversary, a Project Emily display will be to unveiled in Bldg. 270, next to the Club. Dr. Peter Portanova, one of the engineers most critical to the deployment of the Thor in England, will be on hand for the event. He will share his personal insights from his involvement with this historic project. His contributions to SMC/s historical archives of over 400 historical photographs, maps, newspaper collections and essays on the Thor missile are an invaluable addition to the Air Force historical resources.