Original vintage 1970s McDonnell GAM-72 Quail decoy missile advertisement, w/iconic Cold War "Deterrent Strength of the Free World" wording.
 
Dimensions: Approx. 8 inches wide by 11 inches high.
 
The McDonnell GAM-72 Quail Decoy Missile
The McDonnell GAM-72, later redesignated ADM-20 Quail, was a subsonic, jet-powered, air-launched decoy missile developed by McDonnell Aircraft Corporation.  It was designed to be carried and launched by B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers – along with intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear weapon-equipped “boomer” submarines, one of the three legs of the American military nuclear triad – primarily to confuse enemy air defenses during bombing raids.  The Quail was designed to mimic the radar signature of the B-52, making it difficult to distinguish the decoy from the actual bomber.
 
The GAM-72 was a significant part of the USAF's strategic bomber defense strategy during the Cold War, although its effectiveness decreased with advancements in radar technology.  In order to fit inside the B-52 bomb bay, the Quail was equipped with folding wings – during launch, the wings unfolded for flight.  Although originally planned for deployment with the B-47 and the B-52, the GAM-72A was only deployed with the B-52.
 
The Quail contained electronics and radar reflectors intended to make it indistinguishable from a B-52 approaching at low altitude.  This would force Soviet defenses to divide their missiles and interceptors between multiple targets, reducing the chance a B-52 bomber would be targeted.  Design of an improved version of Quail began in January 1968, with the system being termed the Subsonic Cruise Aircraft Decoy.  This program incorporated several significant changes to the starting design before the AGM-86 Air-Launched Cruise Missile was created.
 
The GAM-72 carried internal radar reflectors facing forward and to each side of the aircraft.  Up to 100 lb (45 kg) of payload could be accommodated internally by the GAM-72, with this internal space used to house a radar repeater or a chaff dispenser.  An infrared burner in the tail could produce intense heat to simulate the heat signature of a bomber.  Eight GAM-72A decoys could be accommodated in the B-52's weapons bay, but the normal decoy load was two.
 
The first production GAM-72A was delivered to the 4135th Strategic Wing, at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, in late 1960.  Initial operational capability occurred in early 1961, when the first squadron of the 4135th Strategic Wing was equipped with the GAM-72A.  In early 1962, B-52 bombers carried the GAM-72A decoy on airborne alert for the first time.  Full operational capability was reached when the GAM-72A was deployed with the fourteenth and final B-52 squadron on April 15, 1962.
 
Ground radar continued to improve, and the effectiveness of the GAM-72B, redesignated in 1963 as the ADM-20C, decreased over time.  By 1971, the USAF no longer considered the ADM-20C a credible decoy.  The commander of the Strategic Air Command wrote the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force that, "the Quail was only slightly better than nothing."  The last ADM-20C operational test was flown at Eglin Air Force Base mid-1972, and in late June 1978, the last ADM-20C came off alert status; the last ADM-20C was removed from USAF inventory on December 15, 1978.
 
McDonnell Aircraft Corporation
The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri.  The company was founded in mid-1939, by James Smith McDonnell, and was best known for its military fighters and crewed spacecraft.  
 
In 1943, McDonnell began developing jets when they were invited to bid in a U.S. Navy contest and eventually built the successful FH-1 Phantom in the postwar era.  The Phantom introduced McDonnell's telltale design with engines placed forward under the fuselage and exiting just behind the wing, a layout that was used successfully on the F2H Banshee, F3H Demon, and the F-101 Voodoo, and the company would later develop the legendary F-4 Phantom II in 1954, which was introduced into service in 1960.
 
McDonnell made a number of missiles, including the pioneering Gargoyle and unusual Quail here, as well as experimenting with hypersonic flight, research that enabled them to gain a substantial share of the NASA projects Mercury and Gemini.  The success of the Mercury capsule led the company adopted a new logo features the capsule circling a globe with the motto "First Free Man in Space."
 
Subsequently merging with Douglas Aircraft Company to form McDonnell Douglas in 1967, this company would in turn later merged with Boeing in August 1997. Boeing's defense and space division includes portions purchased from Rockwell (ROK) in 1986 and is based at the former McDonnell facility in St. Louis, and is responsible for defense and space products and services.  McDonnell Douglas' legacy product programs include the F-15 Eagle, AV-8B Harrier II, F/A-18 Hornet, and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.