One of the most fascinating sites I've ever visited. 21M-HGM25A-1-1 Technical Manual Operation and Organizational Maintenance HGM-25A Missile Weapon System, United States Air Force, 1964, Pg 1-9, United States Air Force, The T.O. The guidance system and stage separation all performed well, and aerodynamic drag was lower than anticipated. Hopefully I can find another of these somewhere close. [57] There were also a cook and two Air Police. Not sure if this is true because I haven't tried and not sure which house it is, a there are 4 or 5 pretty close to the location of the silo. The Cold War-era facility costs just a little more than the average American home. About 33 were distributed to museums, parks and schools as static displays (see list below). The main improvements of the Titan I over the first Atlas's deployed were vertical storage in a fully underground silo and an improved fully internal inertial guidance system. Sitting on nearly 58 acres of land, 12 miles east of Sturgis is a Titan I missile site, one of three in South Dakota. Send me a message on Google+, Instagram, or Facebook. 21M-HGM25A-1-1 Technical Manual Operation and Organizational Maintenance HGM-25A Missile Weapon System, United States Air Force, 1964, paragraph 1-159, On Alert An Operational History of the United States Air Force Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Program, 1945-2011, Spires, David, p 147, Air Force Space Command, United States Air Force, Colorado Springs, Colorado 2012, Stumpf, David K., Titan II, p 31, The University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2000. . [77][78], On 6 September 1985 Strategic Defense Initiative (AKA "Star Wars" program), a scrapped Titan I Second Stage was used in a Missile Defense test. . Aerojet produced the excellent LR87-AJ-3 (booster) and LR91-AJ-3 (sustainer). Diving Missile silo - DCS Website Missile Silo Diver Specialty Certification: starting at $65.00 ( details) This dive is both a deep dive and a night dive. Titan was originally planned for a 1 X 10 (one control center with 10 launchers) "soft" site. Lots of memories of Deer Trail and the missile site. Is it still possible to explore this site? I have a very extensive document detailing how to get to and how to enter the silo. Where are all the missile silos in the US? - Quora The Atlas E and Titan I missiles were installed, and during 1961-1962, the ICBM bases became operational. The second stage was pressurized with nitrogen gas to 60-psi and did not contain any fuel or oxidizer. Green Warren E..1962, The Development of the SM-68 Titan, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base: Air Force Systems Command, 1962, AFSC Historical Publications Series 62-23-1, p. 85. If I recall correctly, the water and air temp was pretty constant in the 60s year round due to ground temperature. Last appraised 2020 for $420,000 W/ out bunker or greenhouse. On November 18, 1959, the Walla Walla District opened bid packages. Although no workers died while working at Larson, the frequency of lost-time accidents doubled that of the national average. Green, Warren E., The Development of the SM-68 Titan, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base: Air Force Systems Command, 1962, AFSC Historical Publications Series 62-23-1, p. 11. I'd gladly sign a waiver and drop $100 to go back. . I know that this sounds self absorbed of me. silly. Generally considered an easy route, it takes an average of 1 h 38 min to complete. Nuclear missile complex for sale on Zillow, asking price $395,000 Site plan and floor plan - Titan One Missile Complex 2A, .3 miles west I didn't explore to this depth and wish I had, but I can explore vicariously :). Titan Missile Silo dive site in Royal City, Washington The first successful launch was on 5 February 1959 with Titan I A3, and the last test flight was on 29 January 1962 with Titan I M7. We spent so much time and money on these silos and they were only operational for 3 to 5 years in the early 60s. 1954 October 25 - .LV Family: Titan. 21M-HGM25A-1-1 Technical Manual Operation and Organizational Maintenance HGM-25A Missile Weapon System, United States Air Force, 1964, Pg 1-52, United States Air Force, The T.O. Unfortunately, a broken hydraulic line caused the Titan's engines to gimbal hard left almost as soon as the tower was cleared. The one that Davenport bought in 2006 for . The basement of Oyster-Adam school. A decommissioned Titan II missile complex is being sold for $395,000 on the real estate site Zillow. I think I'll visit the Arizona Titan museum instead. Sadly, this one is off-limits now. . Although Titan I's two stages gave it true intercontinental range and foreshadowed future multistage rockets, its propellants were dangerous and hard to handle. This one although it has been for sale for a long time i think the Hotchkiss family still owns it. When the storable-fueled Titan II and the solid-fueled Minuteman I were deployed in 1963, the Titan I and Atlas missiles became obsolete. Green, Warren E., The Development of the SM-68 Titan, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base: Air Force Systems Command, 1962, AFSC Historical Publications Series 62-23-1, p. vi. I(WENDY SELLS)was wondering if you ever got any pictures of the Ghosts because I sure would like to know very much. Great work! Not respectful of those who's served. One of the nation's aged Titan II intercontinental ballistic missiles developed a leak early yesterday morning, sending a red plume of poisonous propellant fuel into the Kansas sky . ), SM-63 60-3708 In storage at Edwards AFB (still there?) At the height of the Cold War, the government had hired contractors to shore up the strength . This black ghostly figure with white eyes appeared in several places throughout the complex. It would be a shame to lose the fruits of his labor. It was still very awesome when I was there, but abandoned places are always more interesting when artifacts are still lying around. After it's renovated with houses in all access points above ground. 11/93 from MCDD) Vertical (st 1 mate to SM-94 st 1), SM-93 61-4520 (st. 2) SLC-10 Museum, Vandenberg AFB, Lompoc, Ca. That must have been amazing! Looking down the silo from the launcher elevator motor platform. I haven't had the opportunity, but I'm hoping someday I will. In 1959, the Department of Defense began constructing missile silos around Eastern Washington. 21M-HGM25A-1-1 Technical Manual Operation and Organizational Maintenance HGM-25A Missile Weapon System, United States Air Force, 1964, paragraph 1-159 - 1-161, Achieving Accuracy a Legacy of Computers and Missiles, by Marshall W. McMurran, p 141, Xlibris Corporation, 2008. This complex is currently privately owned and is not open to the public. I'm sure I'll NEVER get there, despite the fact that I lived within about 45 miles of this place for over 30 years. It was excavated for some reason, but nobody was sure if it was due to site salvaging after it had been decommissioned, or if a later property owner had done it (yes, that site is on private property. That must have been such interesting work! By Alyssa Donovan. Even started to so some renovations on it. And his fascination with these historic weapons and the underground spaces that housed them never diminished . The launch pads at Cape Canaveral were quickly converted for the new vehicle. So did you get permission from the property owner? Horizontal, SM-67 61-4494 Titusville High School, Titusville, Florida (on Route US-1) removed, was horizontal, SM-70 61-4497 Veterans Home, Quincy, IL Vertical (removed and sent to DMAFB for destruction in May 2010), SM-73 61-4500 former Holiday Motor Lodge, San Bernardino (now missing?). The water mus have been freezing. Hoselton, Gary A., Titan I Guidance System, Brekenridge, Colorado: Association of Air Force Missileers, Volume 6, Number 1, March 1998, p. 5. Green, Warren E., The Development of the SM-68 Titan, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base: Air Force Systems Command, 1962, AFSC Historical Publications Series 62-23-1, p. 96. I noticed what appeared to be an old asphalt road and some concrete areas. Cause of the failure was a LOX valve closing prematurely, which resulted in the rupture of a propellant duct and thrust termination. The flight ended in failure when an improper disconnect of a pad umbilical caused an electrical short in the second stage. A Missile Silo in Kansas Is on Sale for $380,000 on Zillow. There could be a number of electricians, plumbers, power production technicians, air conditioning technicians, and other specialist when maintenance was being performed. Just a thought of a way into the others. In total, there were 6 Titan-1 sites in Colorado, each containing 3 erector-launchers; Titan-1 ICBMs had to be erected outside of the silo before being launched, whereas Titan-2 ICBMs were launched from inside the silo. On Aug. 9, 1965, 55 civilian men returned from lunch to missile silo 373-4. Stumpf, David K., Titan II, p 276, The University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2000, Stumpf, David K., Titan II, p 277, The University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2000. There are a few areas you can enter the silo from but the safest is the spot where you walk down into an excavated area and don't have to do any climbing. [74] This accounts for the varied degree of salvage at the sites today. Standing on the former Titan I missile site, it's not every day you hear about an auction that includes missiles, I'm talking about three Titan I silos that were originally assigned to Ellsworth Air Force Base in the early '60s. One is in the Smithsonian. Because the RSO charges had spilled out the propellants and minimized mixing of them, the explosion was not as powerful as that of Titan B-5, and so damage to LC-16 was less extensive. I wish I could have seen the place when it was in better shape. Titan I at Larson AFB, Washington - themilitarystandard.com Staging was performed successfully, but the second stage engine failed to start. SPOKANE Back in 1961 the U.S. Air Force, without any attempt at secrecy or stealth, hauled nine long-range ballistic missiles by truck . HGM-25A Titan I ICBM 1961-1965 Operated three missile sites: (1 August 1960-25 June 1965) 725-A, 14 miles SE of Watkins, Colorado 393515N 1042742W 725-B, 4 miles NNE of Deer Trail, Colorado 39 . [44] Martin, in part, was selected as the contractor because it had "recognized the 'magnitude of the altitude start problem' for the second stage and had a good suggestion for solving it. (stg. Of the 18 silos commissioned, nine were in . I went late in the summer of 2015 and there really weren't any "no trespassing" signs, the road was clear, and my group was perfectly fine. [24], The string of failures during 195960 led to complaints from the Air Force that MartinMarietta weren't taking the Titan project seriously (since it was just a backup to the primary Atlas ICBM program) and displayed an indifferent, careless attitude that resulted in easily avoidable failure modes such as Missile C-3's range safety command destruct system relays being placed in a vibration-prone area. The missiles were stored in massive underground silos, which were constructed in the early 1960s and closed in the early 1980s. Titan I 568-B [58], These early complexes while safe from a nearby nuclear detonation, however, had certain drawbacks. [55] Both antenna terminals and all three launchers were isolated with double door blast locks the doors of which could not be open at the same time. Sheehan, Neil, A Fiery Peace in a Cold War: Bernard Schriever and the Ultimate Weapon. New York: Random House. +12 Washington State Missile Silos For Sale References Titan base cost: $170,000,000 (US$ 1.56 in 2023), Propellants: liquid oxygen (LOX), kerosene, 17 were test launched from VAFB (September 1961 March 1965), one was destroyed in Beale AFB Site 851-C1 silo explosion 24 May 1962, 54 were deployed in silos on 20 January 1965, R&D (572743) Colorado State Capitol display 1959 (SN belongs to a Bomarc) Vertical, R&D G-type Science and Technology Museum, Chicago 21 June 1963 Vertical, SM-53 60-3698 Site 395-C Museum, Vandenberg AFB, Lompoc, Ca. A Dive Into the Past: Washington's Titan Missile Silo The launch site was established in redmond, washington, in 1957 as the last line of defense against the soviet. Titan I - Warren ICBM and Heritage Museum Active from 1961-1965, they were to be used as our last deterrent and were capable of supporting 150 personnel for 30 days in a nuclear war scenario. The property sold for $119,000 to a Sturgis local, but the Royer family walked away with everything they needed. Walker,Chuck, Atlas The Ultimate Weapon, Burlington Canada: Apogee Books, 2005, Widnal Perair S., Lecture L14 - Variable Mass Systems The: Rocket Equation, 2008, MIT OpenCourseWar. I wonder if its for sale. Titan I's ability to jettison this mass prior to the ignition of the second stage meant that Titan I had a much greater total range (and a greater range per pound of second-stage fuel) than Atlas, even if the total fuel load of Atlas had been greater. The Titan I was first American ICBM designed to be based in underground silos, and it gave USAF managers, contractors and missile crews valuable experience building and working in vast complexes containing everything the missiles and crews needed for operation and survival. Related Persons: Schriever, Power.. Entrance is gained through the original hatch and corresponding stairs that descended around the the equipment elevator shaft. 21M-HGM25A-1-1 Technical Manual Operation and Organizational Maintenance HGM-25A Missile Weapon System, United States Air Force, 1964, paragraph 1-173. [18], A total of 62 flight test missiles were constructed in various numbers. Simpson, Charles G, The Titan I part 1, Breckenridge, Colorado: Association of Air Force Missileers, July 1993, p. 3. 101 - Mar 13 1962. George P. Sutton wrote "Aerojet's most successful set of large LPRE was that for the booster and sustainer stages of the versions of the Titan vehicle". Longitude: 119 3'15.54"W Going once . The Titan I was unique among the Titan models in that it used liquid oxygen and RP . Do you know if it is still possible to get under? Titan I - Epitaph ++ Missile Silos I'd hoped to go back one day, but it seems like that's no longer a possibility. Green Warren E., 1962, The Development of the SM-68 Titan, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base: Air Force Systems Command, 1962, AFSC Historical Publications Series 62-23-1, p. 77. [71], By November 1965 the Air Force Logistics Command had determined that the cost of modifying the widely dispersed sites to support other ballistic missiles was prohibitive, and attempts were made to find new uses.