It was the same warhead that had been atop the missile during the deadly Searcy fire 15 years earlier. We were so used to it that it didnt scare us.. Three of the Arkansas launch sites--in White, Van Buren, and Faulkner counties--have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. "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. This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. Material from the Associated Press is Copyright 2023, Associated Press and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Lately, many have been closed and the . Powell was working on a Titan II missile fitted with a thermonuclear warhead, tucked away underground in Damascus, Arkansas. The PTS crew stayed at the site as an investigative crewDevlin, Rex Hukle, David Livingston, and Jeffrey K. Kennedyarrived. Mondale and Jimmy Carter lost their bid for re-election in 1980. The control room space sits on level two of an internal, solid steel birdcage structure. We met with Nick, one of the current hosts, who led us down the steps into the bunker. That's a multimillion dollar project to do anything with it," he said. The first missile launch facility was located in jersey shore,. 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. Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev signed the START Treaty in 1991. 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. But the newly constructed test facility was so badly damaged it wasnt worth salvaging. Titan II was developed as much for use in space flight as it was for an ICBM, Stumpf says. They were used to launch satellites into space as recently as 2003. The first Titan II missile in Arkansas was installed in a silo near Searcy in 1963. During the next year, the other 18 missile silos in central Arkansas received ICBMs, and Jan. 1, 1964, all silos in Arkansas were active and on alert status. 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. During the next year, the other 18 missile silos in central arkansas received icbms, and jan. 5 megaton hydrogen bomb and was likely a target of the soviet nuclear arsenal. During the next year, the other 18 missile silos in central Arkansas received ICBMs, and Jan. 1, 1964, all silos in Arkansas were active and on alert status. A total of 21 people were injured. Six Young Women of Color Making a Difference in Arkansas, Crystal Bridges 2023 Exhibitions Unveiled, Things To Do In Independence and Stone Counties, KOKY: The Peoples Station in Little Rock, This Month in Arkansas History: September | Only In Arkansas, Military Bases in Arkansas - Only In Arkansas. Investigations including a congressional inquiry delved into the Damascus tragedy. Walking across the gangplank feels something like a sci-fi movie, and my childrens insistence on bringing Star Wars costumes was rather apropos. Lieutenant General Lloyd R. Leavitt Jr., the Vice Commander of the Strategic Air Command, commanded the effort to save the launch complex. The discovery follows the report earlier this month that China appears to be constructing 120 missile silos near Yumen in Gansu province. President Reagan announced plans to retire the Titan II program in September 1981, only one year after the Damascus disaster. In 1965, a civilian welder working on upgrades in an Arkansas silo accidentally hit a hydraulic line, causing a fire that killed 53 of the 55 workers there that day. [13], Season 4, episode 4 (ep. He called the station, and word spread. Maps to the LRAFB missile sites Be warned Arkansas Farmers aren't against shooting trespassers! There was a lot of white smoke, Ayala tells Popular Mechanics, but it was hydrazine.. Phew!We decided not to drive 14 hours back to Rapid City as we did on the trip down, but to stop about half way and spend the night. Whiteman Air Force Base (AFB) was headquarters for the 510th Strategic Missile Squadron of the 351st Strategic Missile Wing, consisting of 150 Minuteman II Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) silos and 15 launch control facilities spread over 14 counties of west central Missouri . A civilian crew was working throughout all nine floors of the missile silo, which plunged 150 into the ground. 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. Today they are still used, although . Sign up for our newsletter and enter to win the second edition of our book. Its worth it, I promise. It appears that you're using a severely outdated version of Safari on Windows. One can visualize men in uniform going about their business far below the surface of the earth, manning and maintaining the silos with their guided missiles armed with nuclear warheads smack in the middle of Colorado while cattle graze peacefully just outside of the wire fences enclosing the silos. It's what happened on the journey that prompts this week's column. Ultimately, the Titan system was declared to be essentially reliable, though minor changes were recommended. In a Sept. 12, 2014 photo, Teri Kramer points out an escape hatch over from www.washingtontimes.com. To this day, those Titan II targets remain classified, he said. USS Cyclops Is the Navys Last Missing Big Ship, Russias New Warhead Is an Engine of Destruction, How Drones and Sats Have Given Ukraine a Chance. Level 3 now serves as the living room and kitchen area. Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) systems were . "But that was part of the psychological training. 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. Greg Devlin and his wife, Annette, in 1980. Since that time there have been hundreds of Atlas, Titan, Minuteman and Peacekeeper sites constructed all the way from Texas to North Dakota, New Mexico to Montana. Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. If the Soviets had missiles, then the Americans needed them, too. However, the missile sites represented only 3 percent of the cooperative's annual sales of $26 million, according to a . 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. Janet Choate: An Everyday Hero of Small-Town U.S.A. Owen Sims, a cattle farmer, says he is breathing easier now that the last Titan 2 nuclear missile silo, situated over a ridge less than 2,000 feet from his home, has been dismantled. The United States quickly developed a second model of ICBMs called Titan. By 1986 these sites were all decommissioned and destroyed. Warren Air Force Base In Wyoming. The state is armed with 150 nuclear missile silos that form a . The space has been turned into a luxury master bedroom, complete with an open concept walk-in shower, soaking tub, and enclosed toilet room. The Reagan Administration decided to . All that was left to do was return the missile back to its silo and remove the dangerous oxidizer. The police facilitating the movement of the population in Little Rock following the explosion at Damascus. 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 . The Pentagon plans to spend $264 billion on its next-generation ICBM program, which . https://www.dimoc.mil/resources/limitations, The 18 Arkansas Titan II sites were a third of the total Titan II fleet in service from 1963 until 1984. The explosion scattered debris across 400 acres of farmland. "Some people feel that the missile had a little bit of a bad omen, if you will.". The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. There do remain some active missile silos, in Montana, North Dakota, and at Warren Air Force Base, which is in both Colorado and Wyoming. "When it came to mutually assured destruction, the U.S might only have 30 minutes to respond to a Soviet nuclear attack. Due to the safety features built into the warhead, it did not detonate and was recovered about 300 feet away from the explosion. Rex Peters was up to get a blood pressure pill. Meanwhile, as a countermeasure, the silo was filling with water to douse potential flames and dilute the vapor. Titan II rockets were adapted to use in the space program and launched the first Gemini manned missions in the early 1960s. It was sitting there at a moments notice, and putting the enemy on notice that they couldnt win the war.. The site is also booked for a wedding later this year. The second missile silo field is located 380 kilometers (240 miles) northwest of the Yumen field near the prefecture-level city of Hami in Eastern Xinjiang. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. The large master bed appears to be floating above the floor, thanks to a creatively designed cantilever. 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. It was dank and smelled of fresh vomit. Within a couple hours, there was a crowd of about 25 to 30 journalists and law enforcement personnel gathered just outside the gate. Designed by The Twiggs Group. Investigators later discovered that a welder working on level 3 had "hit a hydraulic line with his welding rod, rupturing the hose and causing the spray of hydraulic fuel to catch fire." Check out the other articles in the series: The demon core that killed two scientists, missing nuclear warheads, the bombs that fell on North Carolina, and the underground test that didnt stay that way. 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. Little Rock, Conway, Searcy, Benton, Heber Springs, Fayetteville, Bentonville, Springdale, Fort Smith, Jonesboro, West Memphis, Batesville, Mountain View, Hot Springs, Pine Bluff, Texarkana, Arkadelphia. At the end of the 1950s, the United States military began developing the Titans as part of its growing supply of intercontinental ballistic missiles. The 308th Strategic Missile Wing was created and operated from the base, overseeing the missiles, [], Your email address will not be published. I was living out of state at the time, but the disaster was covered in depth by the national press. They tried to recreate it in an empty silo, and it bounced into the wall. The team had met its goal. These sites in Springhill in Faulkner County, Southside in Van Buren County and Center Hill in White County are now on the National Register of Historic Places. "You didn't know if it was going to Cuba or if it was going to Moscow," Hill said. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. While these missiles were retired in 1987, the company that made them, Martin-Marietta (by then Lockheed Martin) took them back and reconditioned them for space use. During the 25-year period of operations, Arkansas experienced two disasters connected to the missiles. Thats why a Propellant Transfer System (PTS) crew was in the silo in the early evening of September 18, 1980, at the end of a long day, pressurizing the fuel tank of the missile (which, in a morbid coincidence, was the same one that 15 years earlier was in the silo that caught fire). There do remain some active missile silos, in montana, north dakota, and at warren air force base, which is in both colorado and wyoming. Two of the most serious disasters to plague the Titan II missile program during the Cold War occurred in Arkansas. 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. Its a lot of heavy information in a short time, but worth absorbing every minute of it. Winner will be selected at random on 04/01/2023. Many were built in Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota. I enjoyed a cup of coffee in the master suite thanks to the in-room coffee bar and read a few more chapters. Civilian construction workers were working in all nine levels of the launch duct, painting and flushing the hydraulic systems that operated the steel platforms beside the missile. All rights reserved. [2], Kennedy, initially praised as a hero, later received an official letter of reprimand for his first entry into the complex, as it later transpired that he had disregarded an order to stay away. Tom Dillard is a historian and retired archivist living near Glen Rose in rural Hot Spring County. The Damascus Titan missile explosion (also called the Damascus accident[1]) was a 1980 U.S. nuclear weapons incident involving a Titan II Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). 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.". Senator David Pryor's office had been concerned about the safety of the Titan sites since January 1978 when a cloud of toxic vapor was accidentally released at the Damascus launch site, resulting in four hospitalizations. The first launch complex completed was situated near Pangburn northwest of Searcy, going operational on July 31, 1962. Decommissioning the former missile silos included destroying the top 25 feet of each silo and the access portal and elevator to the LCC. It is eerie to see military vehicles and military personnel going to and from these scary silos in the middle of wheat country. Many features won't work correctly, and functionality can't be guaranteed. "And we don't have any vacancies because there's a tournament in town," he spat. Bottom: Damascus after the explosion. The Titan missile silo disasters. A 1961 decommissioned Atlas-F intercontinental ballistic missile silo complex is for sale. Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety, National Register of Historic Places listings in Van Buren County, Arkansas, "Titan II Missile Explosion (1980) Encyclopedia of Arkansas", "Missile silo blast kills 1, hurts 21; no radiation leak", "Colonel Replaced in Action Linked to Fatal Titan Explosion", "Command and Control American Experience WGBH PBS", "Air Force truck removes damaged warhead", "Titan warhead flown to nuclear arms plant", "Season 4, Episode 4 Nuke Kids on the Block", "The night we almost lost Arkansas a 1980 nuclear Armageddon that almost was", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1980_Damascus_Titan_missile_explosion&oldid=1137032445, National Register of Historic Places in Van Buren County, Arkansas, September 1980 events in the United States, Nuclear accidents and incidents in the United States, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 2 February 2023, at 12:19. If you would like to republish please give the photographer appropriate credit. Jackie and I set out from Rapid City to Albuquerque for two reasons. That's how far it is from Rockyford to Limon. The 308th SMW was the last active titan wing, but after 23 years of continuous service, the ICBM mission at Little Rock AFB was over. From 1963 to 1987, crews maintained the missiles on 24-hour alert and . Crews of four men would work 24-hour shifts, followed by 24 hours off. Hill said he had no plans to excavate the silo in the immediate future. 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. Created with Sketch. However, a new threat arose from the growing heat inside the silo. He was also the station manager and news reporter. 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. By the evening of December 3, 1960, eight tests had already failed because of minor equipment malfunctions, Stumpf writes. 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. You don't know who you were killing. For a one-night stay, I would recommend bringing all of your own food. .css-v1xtj3{display:block;font-family:FreightSansW01,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-weight:100;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-v1xtj3:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.1387rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-v1xtj3{line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.18581rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.5rem;margin-top:0rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.23488rem;line-height:1.2;margin-top:0.9375rem;}}Why Russian Hybrid Warfare Failed in Ukraine, Meet the E-7 Wedgetail, the Air Forces New Plane, Report: Pilot Error Ruined a $112 Million F-35 Jet.
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