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). It was morning in America, and the Ronald Reagan administration undertook massive military spendingincluding missiles to supplant the Titan II. GT has renovated the second level to be a multipurpose space, complete with projectors, a sound system, party lights, multiple whiteboards, and tables and chairs if needed. 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. Once clear of the silo, the second stage exploded. 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 . 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. By 1960, teams at Cape Canaveral had run several successful tests of the new missiles, and a new facility, located at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, was ready to start testing out the missile under operational conditions. And the origin of those dates back to the height of the Cold War in the 1950s and '60s, specifically the Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1957. Rex Peters was up to get a blood pressure pill. He was also the station manager and news reporter. Livingston lay amid the rubble of the launch duct for some time before security personnel located and evacuated him. God. On September 19, 1980, a second tragedy struck the 308th Strategic Missile Wing. Winner will be selected at random on 04/01/2023. [7][8], Livingston died at the hospital, and 21 others in the immediate vicinity of the blast sustained various injuries; Kennedy struggled with respiratory issues from inhaling oxidizer but survived. The large master bed appears to be floating above the floor, thanks to a creatively designed cantilever. Of course, thats just as true on purpose as it is on accident. Sid King had just sat down to dinner on September 18, 1980 when he got the call. The lake was blue and beautiful and we parked about 25 yards away and opened the hatch of our SUV intent on a nice, tailgate lunch. There are only a few places in the United States where you can tour a former nuclear missile silo, but only one with luxury accommodations where you can also host a party, and its only a few hours away. 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. Soviet Ukraine held around one-third of the U.S.S.R.'s nuclear arsenal, most of . The initial explosion catapulted the 740-ton silo door away from the silo and ejected the second stage and warhead. These are MAJOR nuclear war targets, each one of these silo's will be hit with minimum one warhead with a fairly large yield as part of a Russian counterforce attack. Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day. Jackie and I set out from Rapid City to Albuquerque for two reasons. The blast completely destroyed the silo and sent the 750-ton silo door . The United States quickly developed a second model of ICBMs called Titan. From Level 2, visitors may climb a spiral staircase to Level 1which previously served as the crew's sleeping quarters and kitchen or descend to Level 3, which housed the communication equipment that kept the facility connected to the larger world. Say what? 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. That night, the only clue we had that it was way past bedtime was our fatigue. I was living out of state at the time, but the disaster was covered in depth by the national press. My son was absolutely thrilled to learn how to use the tablet to control the lights in the room. "If we built rooms, it would kind of take away from it.". The Titan II's earth-shattering payload was 30 times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. Missile Site 8 in Green Valley, Arizona, is a national historic landmark and the home of the Titan Missile Museum. If you need to flag this entry as abusive. Here's what the terrifying incident . The land is now under private ownership. The entire property spans 18 acres, with the silo near . Moving down from level two is the kitchen and entertainment space on level one. Christ explained that the deaths were not caused by the explosion itself, but by the rapid loss of oxygen. Ayala said Livingston, a native of Heath, a small town in central Ohio, would let him use his ham radio to talk to people in his hometown in the Bronx. The film was broadcast by PBS as part of its American Experience series. Due to the safety features built into the warhead, it did not detonate and was recovered about 300 feet away from the explosion. Air Force personnel were evacuated, and a civilian evacuation soon followed as concerns grew that the empty fuel tank could collapse and bring the rest of the rocket and missile down on top of it. At the end of the 1950s, the United States military began developing the Titans as part of its growing supply of intercontinental ballistic missiles. "Thank you" will n, We were so proud to be awarded New Boston's Busine, Do you have home improvements planned for this spr, Were counting down the days until the Arkansas, Congratulations to Lairie Kincaid on his well-dese, SAU Trap Team Takes Top Prize at 3rd Annual South Arkansas Outdoor Social, Farmers Bank & Trust Announces NCAA Name, Image, Likeness Student-Athletes, Farmers Bank Foundation Grants $125,000 to the Hope Public Schools, Farmers Bank & Trust to Acquire Community First Trust Company, Farmers Bank & Trust Opens New Full-Service Branch in Bryant, AR, Farmers Bank & Trust Opens New Full-Service Branch in Paris, TX, AR Governor appoints Chris Gosnell to Arkansas Economic Development Council, Prescott Donation to Benefit Families in Need, Shark Teeth in the Sulphur River? Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev signed the START Treaty in 1991. Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) were developed in response to the Soviet Union achieving nuclear capabilities. All rights reserved. Out of 55 workers, only two survived. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. The AirBnB listing even drew the attention of a couple central Arkansas musicians, who filmed three music videos inside the facility. Answer (1 of 19): Used to be in the middle of the countrywhere they were safer from sneak attacks. 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. Level 3 also contains the facility's emergency escape tunnel and ladder. The silos launch door was propelled over 600 feet from the launch complex. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. 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. 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. 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 situation was critical. They told of groping around in total darkness, hearing the screams of co-workers: "Men were screaming and crying. regarding use of images of identifiable personnel, appearance of endorsement, and related matters. By the evening of December 3, 1960, eight tests had already failed because of minor equipment malfunctions, Stumpf writes. I just hope it doesnt hurt., After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Kennedy could be heard on the radio saying, Im dying.. It was the same warhead that had been atop the missile during the deadly Searcy fire 15 years earlier. 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. 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. Fortunately, the situation stabilized and the grim task of removing the bodies began. The team had met its goal. First Security Bank, Member FDIC. They were used to launch satellites into space as recently as 2003. Only two men escaped the silo, both telling stories of horror. Then it faded into relative obscurity. They stood 103 feet tall and had a range of 9,300 miles. This hidden gem, a former missile silo in Vilonia, Arkansas, was designed not only to survive a nuclear explosion, but also launch a nuclear . He was a 19-year-old missile technician, a new trainee, riding with another guy, David Powell, who was showing Plumb the ropes. Offer subject to change without notice. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The discovery follows the report earlier this month that China appears to be constructing 120 missile silos near Yumen in Gansu province. I can recall vividly the September 1980 explosion which destroyed a missile in its silo located near Damascus on the Faulkner-Van Buren County line. Livingston was posthumously promoted to staff sergeant. 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 time, Livingston and Kennedy went down. The Strategic Air Command facility of Little Rock Air Force Base was one of eighteen silos in the command of the 308th Strategic Missile Wing (308th SMW), specifically one of the nine silos within its 374th Strategic Missile Squadron (374th SMS), at the time of the explosion. Janet Choate: An Everyday Hero of Small-Town U.S.A. [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. 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. Lieutenant General Lloyd R. Leavitt Jr., the Vice Commander of the Strategic Air Command, commanded the effort to save the launch complex. They were Titan II missile silos that housed nuclear weapons on a Gemini rocket, designed to be launched into space in under one minute. While I wouldnt recommend this for small children, its certainly a bucket list-worthy experience for adults and older children. There are 1,000 kilotons in a megaton). "We could excavate it, but if you think about it, it's like, 'Why?' We were so used to it that it didnt scare us.. The nosecone from the Judsonia site sits atop a time capsule that will be opened Aug. 17, 2037. The missile base I visited, Foxtrot-01, is right there on Google Maps. "Some people get a little nervous down here. From 1963 to 1987, crews maintained the missiles on 24-hour alert and were ready to initiate launch within minutes after receipt of authenticated orders from the National Command Authorities. The silos were of necessity deep, about 150 feet. Despite the size of the explosion, no one was hurt in the accident: The second-set of recently reinforced blast doors held. The W53 thermonuclear warhead landed about 100 feet (30m) from the launch complex's entry gate. 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. 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. In April 2018, Atlas Obscura told the stories of five nuclear accidents that burst into public view. Arkansas was home to 18 Titan II ICBMs in a missile field located north of Conway. See. "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. The missile not only survived the explosion in 1965, it was the same missile which exploded in 1980 near Damascus. The two airmen had just left the missile silo to await further orders when the rocket exploded at 3 a.m. Today, theres still a giant hole in the ground, now overgrown and given over to wild animals. But the effects of the explosion and working with the potentially toxic fuel linger for many of the airmen who were on site. Unlike its predecessor, the Titan II used hypergolic propellant, with fuel and oxidizer stored in the missileat room temperatureand mixed to launch almost instantaneously. One of the strangest things about the master suite is the domed concrete ceiling. The missile was not armed at the time. The tanks that held the rockets fuel and oxidizers broke open, mixed, and exploded. (February 2011) Air-to-air missiles. The last active duty Titan II silo, she went off alert 5/5/87: 373-9 This site is currently for sale for $85K according to www.missilebases.com: 373-7 "The Four Side" "So you work on things when you can. The Doomsday Clock is at 100 seconds to midnight., The odds of a city being destroyed are probably the highest since World War II, says Schlosser. The first Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) silos arrived on the Great Plains in 1959 when Atlas sites were constructed in Wyoming. 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. He called the station, and word spread. You can see the locations of all silos on the ICBM History page. Mondale and Jimmy Carter lost their bid for re-election in 1980. "When power failed in the launch duct," Mark Christ has noted, "the air-conditioning turned off, raising temperatures in the silo and creating conditions that could lead to an explosion of the oxidizer within the missile, which had a boiling point of 70 degrees." Lately, many have been closed and the . The PTS crew stayed at the site as an investigative crewDevlin, Rex Hukle, David Livingston, and Jeffrey K. Kennedyarrived. Jan 14, 2020. It was dank and smelled of fresh vomit. 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. Fueled and ready to go 24 hours a day, Titan IIs could be ready to go at a moment's notice. 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. While researching what was going to be a book about warfare in space, journalist Eric Schlosser heard the story of the Damascus explosion. (Kennedy died in 2011 at the age of 56.) How far is it from Rockyford to Limon? Incredible Active Missile Silos In Arkansas Ideas. Titan Ranch has a little gift shop with some fun coffee mugs and t-shirts and I bought my kids t-shirts. Using decades-old U.S. Air Force training footage, re-enactments and drone . 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. Its worth it, I promise. Workers from . Basically, you crawl 10 feet and then it's a 50-foot ladder," Hill said. This was the first missile site to become operational in Arkansas in 1963. His book Children Left Behind was awarded the Bronze Medal by Independent Book Publishers. Copyright 2023, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. Its a lot of heavy information in a short time, but worth absorbing every minute of it. Theyd heard on the scanner there was something going on at Missile Complex 374-7, the Titan II Missile installation in nearby Damascus. King remembers sitting on the hood of a sheriffs car, aimlessly slipping his shoes on and off. The first U.S. intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), like the Atlas and the Titan I, were cryogenically fueled, relying on substances like liquid oxygen, which had to be kept cold. The second airmen survived his injuries, while 21 others suffered injuries from the blast and following rescue operation and cleanup. In the silo, they have a close-up view of the missile from less than ten feet away. Two airmen were performing maintenance at Missile Complex 374-7, located 3 miles north of Damascus, the evening of September 18th. Devlin and Hukle werent certified to work a hydraulic pump, Devlin recalls, and were unsuccessful in trying to manually open a blast lock door. We always take Highway 71 South taking us through Kimball, Nebraska and Limon, Colorado coming out at Highway 25 at Trinidad, Colorado. Inside the super-hardened silo, meant to be protected from nuclear attacks, the team loaded the rocket with oxidizer, a key ingredient for blast-off, and sent it up to the surface. If you stand in the middle of the room and talk, the sounds seem strangely muffled but also echo at the same time. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). "It's all illuminated. 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. "It's a little weird," Hill said. There was a lot of white smoke, Ayala tells Popular Mechanics, but it was hydrazine.. Kennedy went down into the silo by himself to get readings. He Ended Up With A Titan Ii Missile Silo That Was Decommissioned In Spring Of 1986. God, help me! Find out more at KSMitchell.com. Investigations including a congressional inquiry delved into the Damascus tragedy. The Titan II ICBM Missile Silo 374-7 Site, located west of U.S. 65, 1.7 miles north of intersection with Arkansas Highway 124 near Southside in Van Buren County, is nationally significant by virtue of its unique and exceptionally important history within the Titan II program: it was the site of a September 1980 accident that severely damaged . Our destination in the vicinity of this sleepy little town was an enormous subterranean Dvina missile silo complex, once the home of R-12 medium-range ballistic missiles (NATO designation: SS-4 Sandal) of the Soviet nuclear arsenal. Police discussing evacuation plans after the explosion. After getting the last fly out of the car, we hoped, everything went as planned. Because their vapor detectors indicated an explosive atmosphere, the two were ordered to evacuate. The man behind the counter actually looked like a street person, a homeless man. After the accident, the area around the missile silo was littered with debrisboulders of concrete, giant springs, pieces of navigation systems. The warhead was found 100 feet from the launch complex. Two of the most serious disasters to plague the Titan II missile program during the Cold War occurred in Arkansas. 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. And Mondale then refused to confirm or deny when he was asked about it at the state convention. The North Star Missile Silo was used during the height of the Cold War in the early 1960s and is up for sale, with a price tag of $989,000. What you may not know is that at one time, there were 18 ICBM (intercontinental nuclear missile) silos surrounding the Little Rock area. AddThis Utility Frame. A look inside Level 3 of the Titan Ranch in Vilonia, featuring the facility's emergency escape tunnel and ladder. Your email address will not be published. The incident occurred on September 1819, 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 inside its silo.[2]. A missile silo during the Cold War is now a popular, and high-rated, short-term vacation rental near Roswell, New Mexico. The first launch complex completed was situated near Pangburn northwest of Searcy, going operational on July 31, 1962. Jimmy Roberts and Donald Green saw the explosion. Nodak, based in Grand Forks, served 55 missile silos around the region. 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. 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." Possibly a fuel leak. Both areas were then filled in with concrete, scrap iron, gravel and dirt, and the property wasreturned to the previous landowners. In Arkansas, three launch sites remain with both launch pads and control centers. On the way up, Livingston and Kennedy were told to turn an exhaust fan on. Top: Vanderberg Air Force Base, for reference. Level 3 now serves as the living room and kitchen area. Meanwhile, as a countermeasure, the silo was filling with water to douse potential flames and dilute the vapor. The Pentagon plans to spend $264 billion on its next-generation ICBM program, which .