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. 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. Will China Give Lethal Support to Russia? This isnt ancient history, Schlosser, who wrote Command and Control, the seminal book about the Damascus incident and the history of nuclear weapons in America, tells Popular Mechanics. Arkansas was home to 18 Titan II ICBMs in a missile field located north of Conway. All the guys that walked down with their RHFCO suits, I just assumed they were all killed.. The former disaster took far more lives, but the Damascus explosion posed a far greater potential threat because the missile was armed with its warhead at the time. One of the strangest things about the master suite is the domed concrete ceiling. It was morning in America, and the Ronald Reagan administration undertook massive military spendingincluding missiles to supplant the Titan II. The Titan II missiles were the largest intercontinental ballistic missiles ever developed. 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. "Some people feel that the missile had a little bit of a bad omen, if you will.". Matthew Kroenig, a Defense Department adviser during the Trump administration, suggested in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed that "the Pentagon should . But the effects of the explosion and working with the potentially toxic fuel linger for many of the airmen who were on site. Investigations including a congressional inquiry delved into the Damascus tragedy. These missiles had a range of 5,500 miles, but they required a high level of upkeep. King remembers sitting on the hood of a sheriffs car, aimlessly slipping his shoes on and off. In 1965, dozens of people died after a fire started in a Titan II silo in Arkansas. 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 likely missile field, comprising 120 silos that could potentially house weapons capable of reaching the United States mainland, was documented by researchers at the James Martin Center for . The initial PTS team was sent home. We didnt want to leave, but I understand why they wanted us to leave.. The first Titan II missile in Arkansas was installed in a silo near Searcy in 1963. Meanwhile, as a countermeasure, the silo was filling with water to douse potential flames and dilute the vapor. "There was metal debris, concrete, all sorts of stuff we had to pull out," he said. But the newly constructed test facility was so badly damaged it wasnt worth salvaging. 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. They tried to recreate it in an empty silo, and it bounced into the wall. 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 . 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. These were giant rockets, designed to fly long distances while carrying nuclear weapons. Crews of four men would work 24-hour shifts, followed by 24 hours off. They were used to launch satellites into space as recently as 2003. 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. Missiles were programmed with three potential targets. A concussion of wind hit me like a truck, and I slid 60 feet, and every foot, it felt like I was going faster. Pieces of debris were taken away from the 400 acres (1.6km2) surrounding the facility, and the site was buried under a mound of gravel, soil, and small concrete debris. He's the author of two books, and his byline has appeared in Deadspin, Jalopnik, CityLab and POLITICO, among other places. The state is armed with 150 nuclear missile silos that form a . The Air Force-owned property houses the only remaining Titan II intercontinental ballistic missile complex left of the 54 that were active during the Cold War. Jimmy Roberts and Donald Green saw the explosion. 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 . More than half of the potential arsenal is in Amarillo, Texas, at the Pantex plant, which will dismantle them. In 1981, by Presidential order, all 54 of these missile silos were to be dismantled and abandoned by 1987. 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. They were ordered to leave the launch duct when the measurements proved alarmingly high. 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. The tanks that held the rockets fuel and oxidizers broke open, mixed, and exploded. An airman dropped a wrench socket and it fell 80 . "It's a little weird," Hill said. He said, "The same as it was when you came in." 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. They told of groping around in total darkness, hearing the screams of co-workers: "Men were screaming and crying. 40 Years Ago, We Almost Blew Up Arkansas. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced the retirement of the Titan II program. The missiles were stored in massive underground silos, which were constructed in the early 1960s and closed in the early 1980s. What Happens When a Giant Nuclear Missile Accidentally Falls Back Into Its Silo. Copyright 2023, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. The master suite is on the very top floor of the birdcage and is housed in what used to be crew quarters. Further, any commercial or non-commercial use of this photograph or any other The missile base I visited, Foxtrot-01, is right there on Google Maps. Kennedy went down into the silo by himself to get readings. The film was broadcast by PBS as part of its American Experience series. Fuel vapor started to fill the silo. He Ended Up With A Titan Ii Missile Silo That Was Decommissioned In Spring Of 1986. Two airmen were performing maintenance at Missile Complex 374-7, located 3 miles north of Damascus, the evening of September 18th. (February 2011) Air-to-air missiles. Mondale and Jimmy Carter lost their bid for re-election in 1980. Air Force crews reacted quickly to the disaster, putting out fires and searching for survivors. 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. The PTS crew stayed at the site as an investigative crewDevlin, Rex Hukle, David Livingston, and Jeffrey K. Kennedyarrived. Within a couple hours, there was a crowd of about 25 to 30 journalists and law enforcement personnel gathered just outside the gate. 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. 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. 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. The Titan II Missile program was a Cold War weapons system featuring fifty-four launch complexes in three states. The steel structure needed to be able to move within the concrete silo and dome, in order to remain operational regardless of what was occurring outside. Be sure to fill out all the fields in order to have yours selected. The situation was critical. There do remain some active missile silos, in Montana, North Dakota, and at Warren Air Force Base, which is in both Colorado and Wyoming. The large underground facility at Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, New 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). President Ronald Reagan announced the retirement of the Titan II program, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. 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 . View of the nose of a Titan II intercontinental ballistic missile sitting in its 150-foot deep underground launch pad at McConnell Air Force Base near Wichita, Kansas, circa 1965. The weapons here in Montana are intercontinental ballistic missiles or ICBMs. "The nuclear warhead landed about 100 feet from the launch complex's entry gate; its safety features operated correctly and prevented any loss of radioactive material. From there, we watched a video all about the missile base, the history, and the long and difficult renovation. It was still dark outside early the next morning when we dropped the room key in the office mailbox and boogied down the highway eager to get back to good old Rapid City. Christ explained that the deaths were not caused by the explosion itself, but by the rapid loss of oxygen. which pertains to intellectual property restrictions (e.g., copyright and "So this is purposefully, 'Hey, you're not in a missile silo.' During the Cold War, Arkansas played a role in the protection of the nation by housing a series of intercontinental ballistic missiles across otherwise peaceful farmland. 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. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Perhaps most famously, as the investigative journalist Eric Schlosser recounts in his book Command and Control . For a minute, it was the same deal as an A-bomb. But Peters realized it wasnt a nuclear explosion, because he had time to think. 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. Missile Site 8 in Green Valley, Arizona, is a national historic landmark and the home of the Titan Missile Museum. Extremist groups like to destroy cities. Livingston lay amid the rubble of the launch duct for some time before security personnel located and evacuated him. The Damascus incident was front page news for at least a few days. The land is now under private ownership. The main theory is that when the vent switch was pushed, it sparked the explosion, Devlin says. They were given codes on paper, to be confirmed by the crew in place for a changeover, and the paper was burned. We backed out of the room quickly and asked for another room. Today, theres still a giant hole in the ground, now overgrown and given over to wild animals. 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. That made the trip well worth the bumps along the way. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. After the missiles were retired, they were again used as space launchcraft until the last one was launched in 2003. The story behind Colorado's Minuteman missiles and the people at the controls. And Mondale then refused to confirm or deny when he was asked about it at the state convention. Pen & Quin: International Agents of Intrigue - The Mystery of the Painted Book is her debut novel. The unique Cold War-era relic is part of an 11-acre Kansas lot on the market for $380,000. What Happens to Pilots That Defect to the U.S.? 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 second airmen survived his injuries, while 21 others suffered injuries from the blast and following rescue operation and cleanup. The first disaster occurred on August 9, 1965 at launch complex 373-4, located near Searcy. Maps to the LRAFB missile sites Be warned Arkansas Farmers aren't against shooting trespassers! What you may not know is that at one time, there were 18 ICBM (intercontinental nuclear missile) silos surrounding the Little Rock area. Eighteen were in Arkansas, from which intercontinental ballistic missiles carrying nine-megaton nuclear warheads could be launched to strike targets as far as 5,500 miles away. [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. 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. But spend any amount of time here and you'll forget that you're underground," he said. The space has been turned into a luxury master bedroom, complete with an open concept walk-in shower, soaking tub, and enclosed toilet room. On the night of September 18, 1980, a Titan II missile carrying a thermonuclear warhead exploded in rural Arkansas. Possibly a fuel leak. 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. Vince Guerrieri is a writer based in the Cleveland area. The control room space sits on level two of an internal, solid steel birdcage structure. The police facilitating the movement of the population in Little Rock following the explosion at Damascus. The first launch complex completed was situated near Pangburn northwest of Searcy, going operational on July 31, 1962. We were so used to it that it didnt scare us.. All missiles in the silos are currently Minuteman III (LGM-30G). You don't know who you were killing. 5 Specifications. Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. Oh yes, Jackie's checkup, despite her MS, showed her to be in excellent health. Out of 55 workers, only two survived. Two airmen were performing maintenance at Missile Complex 374-7, located 3 miles north of Damascus, the evening of September 18th. "Basically, what your smart phone can do today, the bottom floor of the launch control center did back then," Hill said. It took a while to locate the nine-megaton nuclear warhead in the dark and gloom; it was still intact and not leaking. It was dank and smelled of fresh vomit. The explosion scattered debris across 400 acres of farmland. A look inside Level 3 of the Titan Ranch in Vilonia, featuring the facility's emergency escape tunnel and ladder. There are not many food options close by, and besides, who else can say they cooked themselves dinner in a missile silo launch control center? 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. So the Titans stayed in placeand demonstrated time and again their peril. The AirBnB listing even drew the attention of a couple central Arkansas musicians, who filmed three music videos inside the facility. 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. "Then there was the water.". The remaining half, the author David K. Stumpf writes in Titan II: A History of the Cold War Missile Program, had launched into the air and spun 180 degrees before landing back on the ground. He was a 19-year-old missile technician, a new trainee, riding with another guy, David Powell, who was showing Plumb the ropes. Many features won't work correctly, and functionality can't be guaranteed. From 1963 to 1987, crews maintained the missiles on 24-hour alert and . The large master bed appears to be floating above the floor, thanks to a creatively designed cantilever. Level 3 also contains the facility's emergency escape tunnel and ladder. "People who stay here do so willingly, and they have a blast.". The air turned white and chunks of steel-reinforced concrete fell out of the sky after the fuel ignited. 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. We stopped at Rockyford, Colorado about 6 p.m. and walked into the lobby of the only motel in town. By comparison, a house my be blown down by 5 psi of pressure, he said. Dig for Fossils in Northeast Texas. As if they didn't have enough to worry about. Had the Cold War ever turned hot, it was capable of being launched in one minute and could deliverits 9 megaton warhead to a target 9,000 miles away. "But that was part of the psychological training. "From a weapon of mass destruction to hosting birthday parties and weddings, that's pretty wild ride," Hill said. 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. If you stand in the middle of the room and talk, the sounds seem strangely muffled but also echo at the same time. Say what? silo: [noun] a trench, pit, or especially a tall cylinder (as of wood or concrete) usually sealed to exclude air and used for making and storing silage. https://www.dimoc.mil/resources/limitations, (AP) For about 10 hours in 1980, the United States faced a nuclear threat of its own making after an airman performing maintenance on a Titan II missile dropped a 9-pound socket 70 feet, ripping a hole in a fuel tank and leading to an explosion that propelled a 9-megaton warhead out of the ground. King decided to hang around. Also some used to be in Arkansasthe Titan or Atlas missilesuntil one blew its fuel loadbecause of a dropped wrenchand threw its payload quite a distance. file size: 5 MB. The blast completely destroyed the silo and sent the 750-ton silo door . Driving up to the ranch, you would never guess that youre headed to an underground missile silo. A projector turns the far wall into a giant screen for movies or events, and a raised platform creates a bar area and kitchen space overlooking the floor along the other wall. "We never wanted to build rooms," Hill said, referring to the circular layout and feel to the LCC. Ten years ago, Hill purchased the site that Titan Ranch sits on. That night, the only clue we had that it was way past bedtime was our fatigue. The last of the Titan launch sites in Arkansas, located near Quitman in Cleburne County, was demolished on Nov. 19, 1986. She believes magic can be found in life and books, loves to watch the stars appear, and still dreams of backpacking the world. Senior Airman David Livingston, one of the two airmen on the scene, died from injuries sustained during the explosion. 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. I retreated upstairs to enjoy the incredible shower in the master suite and stayed up entirely too late reading a book in bed. Itll be in a port in a shipping container or something like that.. 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. 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. Since it was very hot outside I asked this cadaver of a man, "What's the temperature." His 4-year-old great-granddaughter held the calf in the passenger seat, trying to hug it back to . After nearly being run over by the sheriff, King and Phillips jumped in their car and took off. If you would like to republish please give the photographer appropriate credit. We met with Nick, one of the current hosts, who led us down the steps into the bunker. Livingston was posthumously promoted to staff sergeant. 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. When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik into space in 1957, it made the idea of long-range nuclear bombers obsolete. In a Sept. 12, 2014 photo, Teri Kramer points out an escape hatch over from www.washingtontimes.com. Warren Air Force Base In Wyoming. A missile silo during the Cold War is now a popular, and high-rated, short-term vacation rental near Roswell, New Mexico. Heres what the terrifying incident was like, from those who were there. It was the same warhead that had been atop the missile during the deadly Searcy fire 15 years earlier. This design allows the structure to absorb the force from a nearby nuclear strike, with eight giant springs serving as shock absorbers. You knew it was 10 million people, but you didn't know where.". Many of these locations hold warheads awaiting dismantlement. A bathroom with a bathtub and a double shower helps break up the circular feel of the LCC's top floor. (By comparison, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima was around 15 kilotons, and the one dropped on Nagasaki was around 21 kilotons. The land was sold back to the owners for as little as $600 to as much as $12,000. The missile was more than 100 feet in length and 10 feet wide. The Air Force also chose two other states to site Titan II missiles: Arizona and Kansas. A total of 54 Titan II missiles, capable of going from launch to a target 8,000 miles away in about half an hour, were installed in Arizona, Kansas, and Arkansas. The Hami missile silo field is in a much earlier . [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. She has hiked the Inca Trail, walked into Panama on a rickety wooden bridge and once missed the last train of the night in Paris and walked several miles home (with friends). 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. It took six years to retire the missiles, demolish the launch ducts and fill in the silos with debris. The triad, along with assigned . Take the time to ask questions and hear the stories. The Damascus missile complex was at the Southside location, indicated by the red star on the map above. [18], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}352451N 922350W / 35.4141N 92.3972W / 35.4141; -92.3972. Illustration: Ada Amer/Background image: Public Domain. "So you work on things when you can. They dont know where the warhead is, King recalls being told. 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. Nuclear weapons are just ideal for that., The next nuclear bomb to go off will not be delivered by a missile. Three of the Arkansas launch sites--in White, Van Buren, and Faulkner counties--have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. This photograph is considered public domain and has been cleared for release. Not that the Air Force was sharing that information. We need your stories about the city's hidden corners and unusual places. Slumbering just beneath the earth, a silent army of nuclear warheads waited for the outbreak of armageddon during the Cold War. On the night of September 18, 1980, a Titan II missile carrying a thermonuclear warhead exploded in rural Arkansas. The United States quickly developed a second model of ICBMs called Titan. The newly formed 308th Strategic Missile Wing oversaw the operation of 18 missile sites, manned by groups of four soldiers 24 hours a day. Warren Air Force Base oversees ICBM fields that cover parts of Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado. Launch Complex 374-7 was located in Bradley Township, Van Buren County farmland just 3.3 miles (5.3km) NNE of Damascus, and approximately 50 miles (80km) north of Little Rock.[3][4]. The site was closed, and President Ronald Reagan chose to retire the Titan II missile program, announcing his decision a year after the Damascus Titan II missile explosion. "We could excavate it, but if you think about it, it's like, 'Why?' Airmen Jeffrey Plumb and David Powell were in the silo working on the missile. The man behind the counter actually looked like a street person, a homeless man. Tom Dillard is a historian and retired archivist living near Glen Rose in rural Hot Spring County. [5], A 1988 television film, Disaster at Silo 7, is based on this event. [14], In September 2013, Eric Schlosser published a book titled Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety. Three years later the Pangburn launch site was rocked by an explosion which killed 53 of the 55 contract workers doing maintenance work. 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). The missile sites in Arkansas fanned out from the base into Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner, Van Buren and White counties. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. trademark, including the use of official emblems, insignia, names and slogans), warnings 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.