BELLEVUE, Wash. — The National Air Force Museum got a rather unusual call this week.
That call came from a resident of Bellevue, Washington who said they had found an item that belonged to a neighbor and wished to donate it.
That item? A rocket capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, according to Bellevue Police Department.
The National Air Force Museum called the Bellevue Police Department who responded, along with the bomb squad, to the home.
Bomb squad members inspected the object and then learned that it was a Douglas AIR-2 Genie (previous designation MB-1), an unguided air-to-air rocket that is designed to carry a 1.5 kt W25 nuclear warhead. There was no warhead attached.
The rocket was inert and contained fuel.
Because the item was inert and the military did not request it back, police left the item with the neighbor to be restored and displayed in a museum.
A spokesperson for the National Air Force Museum said they are not affiliated with the item and will not be putting it in their museum.