Operation Skyshield: Grounding the National Airspace System
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Event address:
The Fuge
780 Falcon Circle
Warminster, PA 18974
The Fuge
780 Falcon Circle
Warminster, PA 18974
The lecture will be held in “The Lab” on the 1st floor of the Fuge. Enter the building from the Tranquility Brewing Co. entrance and proceed down the hallway ahead of you to the Lab door on the left. If you reach the circular hallway with the white marble floor, turn around and the door to the Lab will be on your right, past the restrooms.
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More than sixty years ago, Cold-War games halted all civilian air traffic—long before September 11 did the same. Did “Operation Skyshield” work, and why was it forgotten in history?
After the terrorist attacks in September 2001 all civil aircraft in the U.S. and Canada were grounded, with devastating effects on commerce and travel. The media said this was the first such grounding in history. But in fact, it was not. Follow along with retired Smithsonian researcher Roger A. Mola as he tells the forgotten story of "Operation Skyshield," held once each fall from 1960 to 1962 by the North American Air Defense Command, U.S. Air Force, along with British and Canadian allies to test our national defense against a simulated aerial attack. During Skyshield all airlines and private aircraft in the continental U.S. and Canada were grounded as a quarter-million military personnel took control of the skies and airports to evaluate not only the military response to an enemy strike, but a comprehensive national assessment as to whether civilians should shelter or evacuate, readiness of civil medical and rescue personnel, and emergency communication in case broadcast networks were destroyed. “Operation Skyshield” suspended or disrupted nearly all facets of daily routine and was front-page news, yet its results and lessons were censored and eventually forgotten, and its procedures and methods largely reinvented on the fly during the actual air attacks of 2001.
After the terrorist attacks in September 2001 all civil aircraft in the U.S. and Canada were grounded, with devastating effects on commerce and travel. The media said this was the first such grounding in history. But in fact, it was not. Follow along with retired Smithsonian researcher Roger A. Mola as he tells the forgotten story of "Operation Skyshield," held once each fall from 1960 to 1962 by the North American Air Defense Command, U.S. Air Force, along with British and Canadian allies to test our national defense against a simulated aerial attack. During Skyshield all airlines and private aircraft in the continental U.S. and Canada were grounded as a quarter-million military personnel took control of the skies and airports to evaluate not only the military response to an enemy strike, but a comprehensive national assessment as to whether civilians should shelter or evacuate, readiness of civil medical and rescue personnel, and emergency communication in case broadcast networks were destroyed. “Operation Skyshield” suspended or disrupted nearly all facets of daily routine and was front-page news, yet its results and lessons were censored and eventually forgotten, and its procedures and methods largely reinvented on the fly during the actual air attacks of 2001.
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About the speaker
Roger A. Mola is a researcher and video editor retired from Smithsonian/Air & Space Magazine. He has more than 1,000 published articles in aviation and aerospace spanning history, technology, and business.
In 2002 Roger was honored as Aviation Journalist of the Year in the category of Breaking News, for his hour-by-hour coverage of the National Airspace System after the attacks of September 2001 forced a national grounding of traffic.
Roger’s previous experience includes managing training programs for a national retail trade association, and with IBM in headquarters-level asset management and contract administration.
He is a 1983 graduate of Cornell University, and in his diverse career was honored with awards for his writing, training programs, video production, and marketing. He holds a Private Pilot certificate. Roger has lectured at the National Air and Space Museum as well as historical societies, trade groups, and libraries.
Date
Thursday, April 9, 2026
Times
7:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Location
The Fuge- 780 Falcon Circle, Warminster, PA