An official website of the United States government, 19th AW InfoSplash & Digital Bulletin Board, Sexual Assault Prevention & Response Office, https://www.dimoc.mil/resources/limitations, Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil. Human error in a nuclear facility nearly destroyed Arkansas "So you work on things when you can. [8][17], Jeff Plumb's account of his role in the incident was featured in a 2017 episode of WBEZ's This American Life. These 5 states were designed to be America's 'nuclear sponge' 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. 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. It is eerie to see military vehicles and military personnel going to and from these scary silos in the middle of wheat country. Missile Site 8 in Green Valley, Arizona, is a national historic landmark and the home of the Titan Missile Museum. locate Its a lot of heavy information in a short time, but worth absorbing every minute of it. 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. I just hope it doesnt hurt., After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Kennedy could be heard on the radio saying, Im dying.. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. At the end of the 1950s, the United States military began developing the Titans as part of its growing supply of intercontinental ballistic missiles. More than half of the potential arsenal is in Amarillo, Texas, at the Pantex plant, which will dismantle them. This hidden gem, a former missile silo in Vilonia, Arkansas, was designed not only to survive a nuclear explosion, but also launch a nuclear . List of active missiles of the United States military - Wikipedia God. 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 Damascus Titan missile explosion (also called the Damascus accident) was a 1980 U.S. nuclear weapons incident involving a Titan II Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). Along with bombers and sea-launched ballistic missiles, the Titan II missile program was a bulwark in the nation's three pronged-response to threats posed by the Soviet Union's large nuclear warfare capacity. There do remain some active missile silos, in montana, north dakota, and at warren air force base, which is in both colorado and wyoming. Titan Ranch is located in Vilonia, Arkansas, just northeast of Conway. But somethinglater determined to be an elevator malfunctionwent wrong. Ten years ago, Hill purchased the site that Titan Ranch sits on. 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 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. We backed out of the room quickly and asked for another room. The fire started whena high-pressure hydraulic line was cut by anoxyacetylene torch. (Kennedy died in 2011 at the age of 56.) 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. The Air Force also chose two other states to site Titan II missiles: Arizona and Kansas. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Only in Arkansas. Where's this story? 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Basically, you crawl 10 feet and then it's a 50-foot ladder," Hill said. Tim Giago, an Oglala Lakota, is the editor and publisher of Native Sun News. Going Nuclear: Locations of Nuclear Weapons in the United - BatchGeo Within a couple hours, there was a crowd of about 25 to 30 journalists and law enforcement personnel gathered just outside the gate. Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day. All rights reserved. A missile took 15 minutes to launch and had to be fueled with a highly flammable mix of kerosene and liquid oxygen. While researching what was going to be a book about warfare in space, journalist Eric Schlosser heard the story of the Damascus explosion. And Mondale then refused to confirm or deny when he was asked about it at the state convention. [2] The warhead landed a short distance away and no radioactive material was lost. It was used for the Gemini project, which launched men like Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Jim Lovell into space in the 1960s. The rental space is inside what was once the crew quarters and missile launch control center. The last of the Titan launch sites in Arkansas, located near Quitman in Cleburne County, was demolished on Nov. 19, 1986. Livingston was posthumously promoted to staff sergeant. It was the same warhead that had been atop the missile during the deadly Searcy fire 15 years earlier. Copyright 2023, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. [5], A 1988 television film, Disaster at Silo 7, is based on this event. On the way up, Livingston and Kennedy were told to turn an exhaust fan on. The situation was critical. The missile was not armed at the time. They dont know where the warhead is, King recalls being told. "People who stay here do so willingly, and they have a blast.". Layer by Layer: A Mexico City Culinary Adventure, Sacred Granaries, Kasbahs and Feasts in Morocco, Monster of the Month: The Hopkinsville Goblins, Writing the Food Memoir: A Workshop With Gina Rae La Cerva, Reading the Urban Landscape With Annie Novak, How to Grow a Dye Garden With Aaron Sanders Head, Making Scents: Experimental Perfumery With Saskia Wilson-Brown, Indigenous Desserts of Turtle Island With Mariah Gladstone, University of Massachusetts Entomology Collection, The Frozen Banana Stands of Balboa Island, The Paratethys Sea Was the Largest Lake in Earths History, How Communities Are Uncovering Untold Black Histories, The Medieval Thieves Who Used Cats, Apes, and Turtles as Accomplices. PBS explores 1980 nuclear threat triggered by socket wrench Driving up to the ranch, you would never guess that youre headed to an underground missile silo. The Reagan Administration decided to . 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. 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. Each launch complex contained underground operational offices as well as living quarters for a staff of four. In 1965, dozens of people died after a fire started in a Titan II silo in Arkansas. But we dealt with hydrazine [the fuel] and nitrogen tetroxide [the oxidizer] every day. He was a 19-year-old missile technician, a new trainee, riding with another guy, David Powell, who was showing Plumb the ropes. Then it faded into relative obscurity. In April 2018, Atlas Obscura told the stories of five nuclear accidents that burst into public view. After a half hourthey could only stay in the silo that long because of their oxygen tanksthey came back up. The Titan II missile was the tallest ICBM used by the U.S. military. Senior Airman David Livingston, one of the two airmen on the scene, died from injuries sustained during the explosion. Of course the flies didn't swarm on us until we opened the tailgate and started to prepare our lunch. 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. The first missile launch facility was located in jersey shore,. Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) systems were . Email him at Arktopia.td@gmail.com. 1980 Damascus Titan missile explosion - Wikipedia 40 Years Ago, We Almost Blew Up Arkansas. Oh yes, Jackie's checkup, despite her MS, showed her to be in excellent health. 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. For a one-night stay, I would recommend bringing all of your own food. 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. 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. 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. 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. Top: Vanderberg Air Force Base, for reference. 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. They were given codes on paper, to be confirmed by the crew in place for a changeover, and the paper was burned. 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 . Many of these locations hold warheads awaiting dismantlement. Designed by The Twiggs Group. The blast completely destroyed the silo and sent the 750-ton silo door . There was a lot of white smoke, Ayala tells Popular Mechanics, but it was hydrazine.. We drove maybe 10 miles before we said anything to each other, King recalls. Is Russias Only Aircraft Carrier Cursed? Here's what the terrifying incident .