Three years later the Pangburn launch site was rocked by an explosion which killed 53 of the 55 contract workers doing maintenance work. Unsettling as that history may be, its worth it just to say you did it. The AirBnB listing even drew the attention of a couple central Arkansas musicians, who filmed three music videos inside the facility. The blast completely destroyed the silo and sent the 750-ton silo door . We always take Highway 71 South taking us through Kimball, Nebraska and Limon, Colorado coming out at Highway 25 at Trinidad, Colorado. Oh yes, Jackie's checkup, despite her MS, showed her to be in excellent health. Each of the mammoth doors can withstand 1,000 psi of pressure, Hill said. In a Sept. 12, 2014 photo, Teri Kramer points out an escape hatch over from www.washingtontimes.com. The team started running the procedure for readying the missile for liftoff. The blast and thermal effects within a dozen miles or so of each of these silo's will be deadly, and the fallout radiation will . The tanks that held the rockets fuel and oxidizers broke open, mixed, and exploded. But the site King and Phillips were driving to in their company Dodge Omni was worse. We were joined by GT himself, who gave us an incredible tour, along with stories about the restoration effort and a few SNAFU moments during the massive project. The first missile launch facility was located in jersey shore,. The first Titan II missile in Arkansas was installed in a silo near Searcy in 1963. On the night of September 18, 1980, a Titan II missile carrying a thermonuclear warhead exploded in rural Arkansas. 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GT has also set the space up to be able to host DJs and dance parties, for any kind of event. President Reagan announced plans to retire the Titan II program in September 1981, only one year after the Damascus disaster. Decommissioning the former missile silos included destroying the top 25 feet of each silo and the access portal and elevator to the LCC. We drove past these remnants of the cold war toward Brush, Colorado where we intended to stop at a small lake near Brush just off of the highway and have our picnic. Early in the morning of Friday, September 19, a two-man PTS investigation team consisting of Senior Airman David Lee Livingston and Sergeant Jeff K. Kennedy entered the silo. Kennedy went down into the silo by himself to get readings. As Jackie waved her hands around my head trying to chase the flies out of the window, cars passing us must have thought she was a woman gone mad who was assaulting the driver. The Titan II missiles were the largest intercontinental ballistic missiles ever developed. "If we built rooms, it would kind of take away from it.". The last of the Titan launch sites in Arkansas, located near Quitman in Cleburne County, was demolished on Nov. 19, 1986. Top: Vanderberg Air Force Base, for reference. We didnt want to leave, but I understand why they wanted us to leave.. All the guys that walked down with their RHFCO suits, I just assumed they were all killed.. Will China Give Lethal Support to Russia? [11], The launch complex was never repaired. This released a cloud of noxious gas, leaving a few people sick and eager to file lawsuits. KGFL, Sid Kings radio station, had a daytime-only license, but this was a big enough exception that King was on the air by 3:30 a.m., telling everyone to get the hell out of there. By 4 a.m., the studio was full of people and a flurry of activity. The control room space sits on level two of an internal, solid steel birdcage structure. He saw the explosion, and he told the New York Times his first thought was, It kind of reminded me of the old days. The fuels so volatile, it could explode on its own, Greg Devlin, who was a 21-year old Airman in the U.S. Air Force at Damascus on the night of the explosion, tells Popular Mechanics. That made the trip well worth the bumps along the way. It was forecast as a beautiful day so we decided to pack a lunch, find a nice spot along the highway and enjoy our lunch. This time, Livingston and Kennedy went down. The following is a list of active missiles of the United States military. Visitors to the site first descend down the 50 feet to a concrete pad, where they are greeted by the first of two 6,000-pound blast doors, one of which was kept closed at all times during the Cold War. We stopped at Rockyford, Colorado about 6 p.m. and walked into the lobby of the only motel in town. Hed worked on the Manhattan Project and had retired to Damascus after years in Los Alamos, New Mexico. While I wouldnt recommend this for small children, its certainly a bucket list-worthy experience for adults and older children. More adventurous souls can use the escape hatch to leave the facility when they check out. On May 22, 1958, a crew was servicing Nike missiles at a site in Middletown, N.J. One missile exploded, starting a chain reaction that set off seven others, causing what the Associated Press . The elderly man behind the counter was a dead ringer for the man lying on a gurney in the movie Young Frankenstein who Gene Wilder, Dr. Frankenstein, assaults unintentionally while instructing a group of medical students. "So this is purposefully, 'Hey, you're not in a missile silo.' Using decades-old U.S. Air Force training footage, re-enactments and drone . The discovery of what appear to be hundreds of new missile silos under construction in China has inspired arguments that imply the United States needs more nuclear weapons. The entire property spans 18 acres, with the silo near . The most common sites have been the . Tom Dillard is a historian and retired archivist living near Glen Rose in rural Hot Spring County. In his official statement in the investigation, Kennedy said it didnt make sense: Why would you energize an electrical circuit in a fuel leak? Livingston flipped the switch and then came topside. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). After nearly being run over by the sheriff, King and Phillips jumped in their car and took off. Email him at Arktopia.td@gmail.com. They all knew each other. The Pentagon plans to spend $264 billion on its next-generation ICBM program, which . The main theory is that when the vent switch was pushed, it sparked the explosion, Devlin says. AddThis Utility Frame. "TheThree Side" 373-1: 373-3: 373-2 . The Titan II missiles were located near three air force bases around the country: Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas and Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas. The unique Cold War-era relic is part of an 11-acre Kansas lot on the market for $380,000. She believes magic can be found in life and books, loves to watch the stars appear, and still dreams of backpacking the world. The facility was one of 18 underground Titan II missile silos in Arkansas that helped formthe backbone of the United States' nuclear arsenal from the 1960s until the 1980s. It took about 15 minutes to load the fuel and move the Titan I into position before firingnot a great selling point when every second might count. You have to try it to see what I mean. Feeling very unwelcome we decided to try reaching Limon, Colorado, before dark. King decided to hang around. What Happens When a Giant Nuclear Missile Accidentally Falls Back Into Its Silo. He can be reached at editor@nsweekly.com. 2010 Native Sun News. The incident occurred on September 18-19, 1980, at Missile Complex 374-7 in rural Arkansas when a U.S. Air Force LGM-25C Titan II ICBM loaded with a 9-megaton W-53 nuclear warhead experienced a liquid fuel explosion . DoD image must be made in compliance with guidance found at Livingston died of his injuries [later] that day." While researching what was going to be a book about warfare in space, journalist Eric Schlosser heard the story of the Damascus explosion. The Damascus incident was front page news for at least a few days. But the effects of the explosion and working with the potentially toxic fuel linger for many of the airmen who were on site. Tim Giago, an Oglala Lakota, is the editor and publisher of Native Sun News. Over its 25 years in the service, the Titan II series had it share of accidents, two of the most well-known occurring in Arkansas. It was dank and smelled of fresh vomit. Senior Airman David Livingston, one of the two airmen on the scene, died from injuries sustained during the explosion. It is eerie to see military vehicles and military personnel going to and from these scary silos in the middle of wheat country. which pertains to intellectual property restrictions (e.g., copyright and Say what? Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. Required fields are marked *. More than half of the potential arsenal is in Amarillo, Texas, at the Pantex plant, which will dismantle them. Nuclear weapons are just ideal for that., The next nuclear bomb to go off will not be delivered by a missile. His book Children Left Behind was awarded the Bronze Medal by Independent Book Publishers. The SALT I Treaty, signed in 1972 by the U.S. and Soviet Union, allowed for the Titans to be traded for more missile submarines, but Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev wouldnt sign the treaty without assurances the trade wouldnt happen. Two of the most serious disasters to plague the Titan II missile program during the Cold War occurred in Arkansas. Why the Air Force Wants a Stealthy Tanker by 2040, Why Runaway Mines Are Detonating in the Black Sea, How This Humble Drone Shrugs Off Russian Jamming. The 390th Strategic Missile Wing, headquartered at Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, was active from 1962-84 and had command of the 18 sites in Southern Arizona. A far more deadly disaster struck a Titan launch site near Searcy in White County on Aug. 9, 1965, resulting in the deaths of 53 men. One of the workers, Airman David P. Powell, had brought a ratchet wrench 3ft (0.9m) long weighing 25lb (11kg) into the silo instead of a torque wrench, the latter having been newly mandated by Air Force regulations. The Cold War was over, and with it the threat of annihilation right? The Air Force refused to confirm or deny if a nuclear weapon was involved in the explosioneven to Vice President Walter Mondale, who was in Arkansas that day for the state Democratic convention, trying to help the states young governor, Bill Clinton, in a re-election bid. The elevator structure and the launchertons and tons of steel that one witness later likened to red spaghetticame flying from the silo as the test team ran for cover. My son was absolutely thrilled to learn how to use the tablet to control the lights in the room. Its a bit of a chilling experience. These missiles had a range of 5,500 miles, but they required a high level of upkeep. Should the missile need to be fired in anger, launch instructions would indicate that either Target 1, Target 2, or Target 3 was in the crosshairs; the men firing the ICBMs never knew what the targets actually were. Pen & Quin: International Agents of Intrigue - The Mystery of the Painted Book is her debut novel. The master suite is on the very top floor of the birdcage and is housed in what used to be crew quarters. "Every bullet and bomb used in World War II including the two atomic bombs was only half the yield of what a Titan II was capable of," said Titan Ranch owner GT Hill, who doubles as the facility's historian and tour guide. Wed been there for a while, and we were like, Send us in or send us home, Devlin recalls. The United States built many missile silos in the Midwest, away from populated areas. By comparison, a house my be blown down by 5 psi of pressure, he said. Eric Ayala was topside, at ground level near the silo. Thats the idea of the Titan II. The other B-52 wing at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana has more than 900 warheads, and White-man AFB in Missouri has more than 130 bombs for its B-2 bombers. The four men at the silo were blown off their feet. As if they didn't have enough to worry about. Before the unit inactivated, a Mark VI re-entry vehicle from the last Titan II ICBM on alert status in Strategic Air Command was dedicated in Heritage Park. by Tom Dillard | May 19, 2019 at 1:45 a.m. Two of the most serious disasters to plague the Titan II missile program during the Cold War occurred in Arkansas. [2] The warhead landed a short distance away and no radioactive material was lost. Walking across the gangplank feels something like a sci-fi movie, and my childrens insistence on bringing Star Wars costumes was rather apropos. He was the first Native American ever inducted into the South Dakota Newspaper Hall of Fame in 2007. The Titan II Missile program was a Cold War weapons system featuring fifty-four launch complexes in three states. Ten years ago, Hill purchased the site that Titan Ranch sits on. Your email address will not be published. For us, there were two, queen size beds set up for my children. The first disaster occurred on August 9, 1965 at launch complex 373-4, located near Searcy. "We could excavate it, but if you think about it, it's like, 'Why?' Don't go passed the gate without permission! 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Today, theres still a giant hole in the ground, now overgrown and given over to wild animals. "There was metal debris, concrete, all sorts of stuff we had to pull out," he said. This wasnt the first time; in most instances, it hit the platform. They were simple-looking white canisters. One of the strangest things about the master suite is the domed concrete ceiling. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Air Force also chose two other states to site Titan II missiles: Arizona and Kansas. The newly formed 308th Strategic Missile Wing oversaw the operation of 18 missile sites, manned by groups of four soldiers 24 hours a day. I heard somebody yelling "Help me! John Hooks Well, first we got to dig into how they got here in the first place. Deactivated silos were located in Arizona, California, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, New York, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington. Despite the size of the explosion, no one was hurt in the accident: The second-set of recently reinforced blast doors held. The Damascus Titan missile explosion (also called the Damascus accident) was a 1980 U.S. nuclear weapons incident involving a Titan II Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). It was time-consuming and costly, but thanks to GTs determination to recover and preserve some history, you can experience it firsthand by touring or staying the night at Titan Ranch. Eventually, the missile combat crew and the PTS team evacuated the launch control center, while military and civilian response teams arrived to tackle the hazardous situation. Answer (1 of 19): Used to be in the middle of the countrywhere they were safer from sneak attacks. We drove maybe 10 miles before we said anything to each other, King recalls. After the accident, the area around the missile silo was littered with debrisboulders of concrete, giant springs, pieces of navigation systems. That's how far it is from Rockyford to Limon. We backed out of the room quickly and asked for another room. Airbnb feels you, so now you can for $324 a night. The first thing that makes this particular route interesting is the still active missile silos that dot the highway from Kimball to the Colorado border. A compilation of platforms and weapons, the three legs of the U.S. nuclear triad serve as the backbone of America's national security.
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