After nearly being run over by the sheriff, King and Phillips jumped in their car and took off. 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. What you may not know is that at one time, there were 18 ICBM (intercontinental nuclear missile) silos surrounding the Little Rock area. The Reagan Administration decided to . They realized it was way worse, not worse than we felt it would be, but probably worse than a lot of other people thought, Devlin says. They tried to recreate it in an empty silo, and it bounced into the wall. Top: Vanderberg Air Force Base, for reference. The team had met its goal. A high-end master bedroom, spacious living room and stainless steel kitchen gives a visitor the feeling of visiting a supervillain's lair more than a military facility engineered for Armageddon. The United States built many missile silos in the Midwest, away from populated areas. During the 25-year period of operations, Arkansas experienced two disasters connected to the missiles. Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev signed the START Treaty in 1991. 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. He was a 19-year-old missile technician, a new trainee, riding with another guy, David Powell, who was showing Plumb the ropes. Back in September 1980, September 18, Jeff Plumb climbed into his pickup and headed toward the nuclear missile silo near a tiny town in Arkansas called Damascus. Matthew Kroenig, a Defense Department adviser during the Trump administration, suggested in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed that "the Pentagon should . A compilation of platforms and weapons, the three legs of the U.S. nuclear triad serve as the backbone of America's national security. The united states built many missile silos in the midwest, away from populated areas. The four men at the silo were blown off their feet. In southeastern Wyoming, portions of the silo field are . Titan II was developed as much for use in space flight as it was for an ICBM, Stumpf says. Sid King had just sat down to dinner on September 18, 1980 when he got the call. On the night of September 18, 1980, a Titan II missile carrying a thermonuclear warhead exploded in rural Arkansas. The main theory is that when the vent switch was pushed, it sparked the explosion, Devlin says. Out of 55 workers, only two survived. But the investigative crew was in a holding position for a while, and finally, around 1 a.m., Devlin and Hukle went into the silo. Airbnb feels you, so now you can for $324 a night. I heard somebody yelling "Help me! The weapons here in Montana are intercontinental ballistic missiles or ICBMs. A missile took 15 minutes to launch and had to be fueled with a highly flammable mix of kerosene and liquid oxygen. The unique Cold War-era relic is part of an 11-acre Kansas lot on the market for $380,000. In 1981, by Presidential order, all 54 of these missile silos were to be dismantled and abandoned by 1987. After a decommissioned Titan II missile silo in Arizona was sold in just two weeks late last year, two more desert silos . Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); We select one featured photo per week, but we show many more in our gallery. Deactivated silos were located in Arizona, California, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, New York, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington. 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 first disaster occurred on August 9, 1965 at launch complex 373-4, located near Searcy. It was used for the Gemini project, which launched men like Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Jim Lovell into space in the 1960s. He started the radio station after his previous employer, Dogpatch, a Li'l Abner theme park, went belly-up. Two years earlier, a trailer at Damascus leaked oxidizer, the component that mixes with rocket fuel to propel a rocket into space or toward a strategic target. If you would like to republish please give the photographer appropriate credit. 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 land was sold back to the owners for as little as $600 to as much as $12,000. Ultimately, the Titan system was declared to be essentially reliable, though minor changes were recommended. When the socket fell, it plunged 70 feet to pierce the side of the . The aerozine 50 fuel immediately began leaking into the launch duct. Christ explained that the deaths were not caused by the explosion itself, but by the rapid loss of oxygen. Many of the dead were found crowded around an escape ladder. From 1963 to 1987, crews maintained the missiles on 24-hour alert and . 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. These shortcomings led to the rapid development of the Titan II missiles, which would become part of the three-pronged nuclear strategy the U.S. military used for the next 25 years. Warren Air Force Base In Wyoming. "It's all illuminated. The explosion blew the silo blast doors off and sent chunks of debris flying everywhere, including the nine-megaton nuclear warhead that sat atop the missile. All rights reserved. The most common sites have been the . Visitors actually drive over the top of the former missile silo on their way to the LCC. A concussion of wind hit me like a truck, and I slid 60 feet, and every foot, it felt like I was going faster. To this day, those Titan II targets remain classified, he said. At around 6:30 p.m. CDT on Thursday, September 18, 1980, two airmen from a Propellant Transfer System (PTS) team were checking the pressure on the oxidizer tank of a USAF Titan II missile at Little Rock AFB's Launch Complex 374-7. GT has also set the space up to be able to host DJs and dance parties, for any kind of event. Walking across the gangplank feels something like a sci-fi movie, and my childrens insistence on bringing Star Wars costumes was rather apropos. Just as they sat down on the concrete edge of the access portal, the missile exploded, blowing the 740-ton launch duct closure doors 200 feet into the air and some 600 feet northeast of the launch complex. I tucked my children into the beds on the second floor, while my son picked a color for the light to stay while they fell asleep. However, the missile sites represented only 3 percent of the cooperative's annual sales of $26 million, according to a . It had happened before. The missile was installed later that month at the Albion site, northwest of Searcy, Ark., but not active until May. The missile base I visited, Foxtrot-01, is right there on Google Maps. His book Children Left Behind was awarded the Bronze Medal by Independent Book Publishers. He can be reached at editor@nsweekly.com. 2010 Native Sun News. The missile silo itself is one of the few remaining atlas f silos that is naturally dry, with many interior levels and crib structure. A piece of Cold War history is now available as an Airbnb property.. Titan Ranch, located at 23 Missile Base Road in Vilonia, Arkansas, offers renters the chance to spend a night underground in a converted intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) facility.The facility was one of 18 underground Titan II missile silos in Arkansas that helped form the backbone of the United States' nuclear . After finally reaching Limon we discovered that two of the three motels in town had shut down and the only one open, the KS Motel, was it. During the mapping of the missile sites in South Dakota, Delta- 01 was assigned the name of "Mike and Beth's Launch Control Center" after Mike Sprong and Beth Preheim, peace activists that mapped the Delta Flight and directed the mapping project in South Dakota. They were situated in north-central Arkansas to ensure ready access to Little Rock Air Force Base, where the 308th Strategic Missile Wing coordinated the work in Arkansas. There still wasnt any official word about what was going on, but they all put on rocket fuel handlers coverall outfits (RFHCO)rubberized protective gear that resembled space suitsand walked to the silo, which had been filling with corrosive and potentially explosive vapor for hours. Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. A bathroom with a bathtub and a double shower helps break up the circular feel of the LCC's top floor. The entire process of the opening, cleaning, renovation and updating is documented on his largely followed Titan Ranch YouTube channel, and I highly recommend checking it out. But spend any amount of time here and you'll forget that you're underground," he said. [5] The 8lb (3.6kg) socket fell off the ratchet and dropped approximately 80 feet (24m) before bouncing off a thrust mount and piercing the missile's skin over the first-stage fuel tank, causing it to leak a cloud of its aerozine 50 fuel. The Titans sat fueled and ready to go at a moments noticebut that meant constant monitoring and maintenance. It was the loudest explosion Id ever heard in my lifebefore or since, Devlin says. One moment, the team at the new operational test facility had been on the verge of celebrating, finally, a successful trial run of the launch sequence for the powerful Titan I missile. The demon core that killed two scientists, the underground test that didnt stay that way, One man died and more than 20 others were injured. He was the first Native American ever inducted into the South Dakota Newspaper Hall of Fame in 2007. "Some people get a little nervous down here. Slumbering just beneath the earth, a silent army of nuclear warheads waited for the outbreak of armageddon during the Cold War. While renovating, GT decided to put in a spiral staircase to save space and it adds to the industrial ambiance. We drove maybe 10 miles before we said anything to each other, King recalls. On Sept. 19, 1980, a silo near Damascus, Arkansas, exploded, killing one airman. They stood 103 feet tall and had a range of 9,300 miles. A WWII Bomb Has Been Found at the Fukushima Nuclear Site, Dozens of Previously Hidden Nuclear Test Videos Declassified, Uploaded to YouTube, In the 1960s, Telegraph Poles Were Equipped With Nuclear Bomb Alarms, Decades Ago, the U.S. Military Set Off a Nuke Underwater, And It Went Very Badly. Police discussing evacuation plans after the explosion. Print Headline: The Titan missile silo disasters. Airmen Jeffrey Plumb and David Powell were in the silo working on the missile. That's how far it is from Rockyford to Limon. [1][15][16] A documentary film titled Command and Control from director Robert Kenner, based on Schlosser's book, was released on January 10, 2017. In the silo, they have a close-up view of the missile from less than ten feet away. I enjoyed a cup of coffee in the master suite thanks to the in-room coffee bar and read a few more chapters. Titan Ranch has a little gift shop with some fun coffee mugs and t-shirts and I bought my kids t-shirts. U.S. The missile was installed later that month at the Albion site, northwest of Searcy, Ark., but not active until May. But it doesn't come cheap at $600 a night but only if you can . The second fuel tank, sitting just above the first, contained a different fuel that could spontaneously ignite if a collapse occurred and it came into contact with the aerozine 50 already in the launch duct. At about 6:30 p.m. Sept. 18, 1980, an airman working on the missile dropped a wrench socket, which fell 80 feet before hitting and piercing the rocket's first-stage fuel tank, causing a leak, but not an immediate explosion. What you may not know is that at one time, there were 18 ICBM (intercontinental nuclear missile) silos surrounding the Little Rock area. Today, the area is home to one of the most mind-blowing destinations in the state. The high water table in Arkansas meant that without regular maintenance the bottom of the facility was prone to flood with groundwater. Around 1 a.m. on September 19, they watched a helicopter and a bus full of people enter the base. That night, the only clue we had that it was way past bedtime was our fatigue. The rental space is inside what was once the crew quarters and missile launch control center. Once through the blast doors, visitors enter Level 2, which is the former operations center where the officers would initiate the order to launch the ICBM. We got some weird looks. Construction on the Minuteman II structures began in 1946. 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The Pentagon plans to spend $264 billion on its next-generation ICBM program, which . It took a while to locate the nine-megaton nuclear warhead in the dark and gloom; it was still intact and not leaking. It's what happened on the journey that prompts this week's column. President Reagan announced plans to retire the Titan II program in September 1981, only one year after the Damascus disaster. The process was eye-opening, and a great history lesson. Be sure to fill out all the fields in order to have yours selected. Theres a unique history surrounding Little Rock, Arkansas that you may not know about. The incident began with a fuel leak at 6:30 p.m. on September 18, and culminated with the explosion at around 3:00 a.m. on September 19, ejecting the warhead from its silo. Titan Ranch began hosting conferences and meetings in 2019, and added its AirBnB listing in November 2020. Greg Devlin and his wife, Annette, in 1980. The aim was to bring the weapon right up to the point where it could be launched, without actually sending it off: They needed to know the missile would be ready to use in attack, if needed. The Cold War was over, and with it the threat of annihilation right? Fueled and ready to go 24 hours a day, Titan IIs could be ready to go at a moment's notice. By then, a lot of the documents detailing just how bad the incident wasand how close wed come before to accidental nuclear explosions had been declassified. This released a cloud of noxious gas, leaving a few people sick and eager to file lawsuits. All missiles in the silos are currently Minuteman III (LGM-30G). They were used to launch satellites into space as recently as 2003. Though these missiles were judged essential to the protection of the United States, storing and maintaining them proved deadly. The initial PTS team was sent home. The entire motel was quite ramshackled and we entered number 20 with trepidation. "It's a little weird," Hill said. 40 Years Ago, We Almost Blew Up Arkansas. Reports in the Arkansas Gazette described the devastation: "The inside of the 155-foot-deep silo was reduced to rubble and its concrete doors which weigh 740 tons were blown to pieces. While the Polaris, a solid-fuel missile, was developed at the same time as the Titan missiles for use in submarines, the military was attached to the Titan II for diplomatic reasons. They all knew each other. The space has been turned into a luxury master bedroom, complete with an open concept walk-in shower, soaking tub, and enclosed toilet room. Rex Peters was up to get a blood pressure pill. which pertains to intellectual property restrictions (e.g., copyright and The man behind the counter actually looked like a street person, a homeless man. NORTHERN WELD COUNTY If it weren't for the 184-foot tall antenna tower stretching far above the prairie, many . Locked into a nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union, the United States developed the Titan II rocket system in the 1960s to be the nation'sfirst missile that could be launched from an underground silo. Robert Rhodus, the test conductor for the company that had built the missile, watched in fascination as the elevator, carrying a missile fully loaded with propellants, plummeted to the bottom of the silo, Stumpf writes. Titan Ranch, located just northeast of Conway, Arkansas, is one of these nuclear missile bases. Hill said he had no plans to excavate the silo in the immediate future. These sites stayed active until President George H.W. Today, theres still a giant hole in the ground, now overgrown and given over to wild animals. We hurriedly put our food away, closed the hatchback and put some distance between ourselves and the pasture. Once clear of the silo, the second stage exploded. From there, we watched a video all about the missile base, the history, and the long and difficult renovation. These ICBMs were fueled with Aerozine 50, which allowed the fuel to stay in the missile while stored in its silo. It turned out a worker doing routine maintenance on one of the missiles had dropped a nine-pound socket. So the Titans stayed in placeand demonstrated time and again their peril. 6. Its safety features prevented any loss of radioactive material or nuclear detonation. When in service, the 110-foot long, 10-foot wide Titan II missile carried the largest warhead the United States military ever placed on an ICBM. Mark Christ set the stage: "Senior Airman David Livingston and Sergeant Jeff K. Kennedy then entered the launch complex early on the morning of Sept. 19 to get readings on airborne fuel concentrations, which they found to be at their maximum. Placed on the western edges of the Soviet Union due to their limited range of 2,000 kilometers, the Sandals could . And Mondale then refused to confirm or deny when he was asked about it at the state convention. It never bounced into the missile.. "And we don't have any vacancies because there's a tournament in town," he spat. The missile sites in Arkansas fanned out from the base into Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner, Van Buren and White counties. 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. Winner will be selected at random on 04/01/2023. There was a lot of white smoke, Ayala tells Popular Mechanics, but it was hydrazine.. So every minute counted.". Fortunately, its safety mechanisms prevented any loss of nuclear material. Tom Dillard is a historian and retired archivist living near Glen Rose in rural Hot Spring County. The nosecone from the Judsonia site sits atop a time capsule that will be opened Aug. 17, 2037. We spent the next 300 miles trying to shoo flies out of interior of our vehicle. He excavated the entrance to the LCC, opening the door to the facility in October 2010. On September 19, 1980, a second tragedy struck the 308th Strategic Missile Wing. Not that the Air Force was sharing that information. This time, Livingston and Kennedy went down. You know you're definitely in someplace different, but we wanted to make it nice enough that you didn't think you were in a silo.". The silos were of necessity deep, about 150 feet. The military continued to use Titan rockets as part of its intercontinental ballistic missile program through the 1980s, and this was not the only dramatic incident involving them. The Titan II Missile program was a Cold War weapons system featuring fifty-four launch complexes in three states. Powell was working on a Titan II missile fitted with a thermonuclear warhead, tucked away underground in Damascus, Arkansas. However, thanks to the ingenuity and tenacity of one person with a unique determination, one of those missile sites have been renovated into a luxury rental that you can stay in! Arkansas was home to 18 Titan II ICBMs in a missile field located north of Conway.
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