With all the shit that is going on with North Korea at the moment, I was reminded of a visit I did to this nuclear missile silo back in 2005.
This was a permission visit - but this was mega…. I can’t believe I haven’t posted it before. The control room was certainly epic, but the silo - with an 8 storey intercontinental nuclear missile - was the most hardcore part.
A sobering experience – the weapons of mass destruction, if the unthinkable should happen.
Visited this on my fourth roadtrip to the states. On this trip revisited Monument valley Grand Canyon, The meteor crater & Canyon de Chelly. I have returned to Arizona three more times as part of other roadtrips, for it’s spectacular dessert scenery, and remote open spaces.
Excuse the quality of the photos - they were taken on a compact 12 years ago.
The Titan Missile Museum, also known as Air Force Facility Missile Site 8 or as Titan II ICBM Site 571-7, is the only remaining Titan II site open to the public, allowing you to relive a time when the threat of nuclear war between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union was a reality.
The silo became operational in 1963 and was deactivated in 1982 as part ofPresident Reagan’spolicy (announced in 1981) of decommissioning the Titan II missiles as part of a weapon systems modernization program. All operational Titan II silos throughout the country were demolished, except this one which was maintained as museum.
The Titan II was the largest operational land based nuclear missile ever used by the United States. The missile had one W53 warhead with a yield of 9Megatons (9,000 kilotons).
The facility's highest state of alert was November 22, 1963, when President Kennedy wasshot.
At launch, orders from the National Command Authority would have specified one of three pre-programmed targets which, for security reasons, were unknown to the crew.Target 2, which is classified to this day but was assumed to be within the borders of the former Soviet Union, was designated as a ground burst, suggesting that the target was a hardened facility such as a Soviet missile base. The underground facilities consist of a three-level control centre the eight level silo containing the missile and its related equipment, and the connecting structures of cableways (access tunnels), blast locks, and the access portal and equipment elevator. The complex was built of steel reinforced concrete with walls as much as 8-foot-thick (2.4 m) in some areas, and a number of 3-ton blast doors sealed the various areas from the surface and each other. The silos cost around $20 million each to build. The site was also used for filming of Star Trek First contact in 1996.
The Nuclear Missile
control room
NOTE - the 24 hour clock & shock absorbers in the background - To try & keep the the silo operational in the event of pre-emptive strike
The blast doors
The corridor between the control room & silo
the missile
on the surface
thanks for looking
This was a permission visit - but this was mega…. I can’t believe I haven’t posted it before. The control room was certainly epic, but the silo - with an 8 storey intercontinental nuclear missile - was the most hardcore part.
A sobering experience – the weapons of mass destruction, if the unthinkable should happen.
Visited this on my fourth roadtrip to the states. On this trip revisited Monument valley Grand Canyon, The meteor crater & Canyon de Chelly. I have returned to Arizona three more times as part of other roadtrips, for it’s spectacular dessert scenery, and remote open spaces.
Excuse the quality of the photos - they were taken on a compact 12 years ago.
The Titan Missile Museum, also known as Air Force Facility Missile Site 8 or as Titan II ICBM Site 571-7, is the only remaining Titan II site open to the public, allowing you to relive a time when the threat of nuclear war between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union was a reality.
The silo became operational in 1963 and was deactivated in 1982 as part ofPresident Reagan’spolicy (announced in 1981) of decommissioning the Titan II missiles as part of a weapon systems modernization program. All operational Titan II silos throughout the country were demolished, except this one which was maintained as museum.
The Titan II was the largest operational land based nuclear missile ever used by the United States. The missile had one W53 warhead with a yield of 9Megatons (9,000 kilotons).
The facility's highest state of alert was November 22, 1963, when President Kennedy wasshot.
At launch, orders from the National Command Authority would have specified one of three pre-programmed targets which, for security reasons, were unknown to the crew.Target 2, which is classified to this day but was assumed to be within the borders of the former Soviet Union, was designated as a ground burst, suggesting that the target was a hardened facility such as a Soviet missile base. The underground facilities consist of a three-level control centre the eight level silo containing the missile and its related equipment, and the connecting structures of cableways (access tunnels), blast locks, and the access portal and equipment elevator. The complex was built of steel reinforced concrete with walls as much as 8-foot-thick (2.4 m) in some areas, and a number of 3-ton blast doors sealed the various areas from the surface and each other. The silos cost around $20 million each to build. The site was also used for filming of Star Trek First contact in 1996.
The Nuclear Missile
control room
NOTE - the 24 hour clock & shock absorbers in the background - To try & keep the the silo operational in the event of pre-emptive strike
The blast doors
The corridor between the control room & silo
the missile
on the surface
thanks for looking