Building a Titan II Missile Silo

[@fido2006]

In the early 60's my dad worked for the General Electric Re-entry Systems Division in Philadelphia. They made the re-entry vehicle for the Titan II. That's the nose cone that held the warhead plus a lower skirt that held the electronics and the penetration aids. The upper part of the nose was made of "ablative" material. Basically a metal honeycomb with some sort of high-temp resin poured over it. The ablative material functioned as the heat shield during the re-entry phase. The lower portion of the re-entry vehicle housed penetration aids or decoys, in tubes mounted crosswise. The pen-aids would be ejected during re-entry and would inflate to confuse ABM systems. To open the side of the vehicle so the pen-aids could be ejected, long, about 1/2 inch wide, shaped charges that outlined where an opening needed to be, would be blown by the electronics. Dad said the tooling that GE had in Philadelphia at the time was WW2 era and had trouble holding the tolerances required by the contract. At the Hill AFB Museum near Ogden they have or had a re-entry vehicle on a trailer transporter on its side and you can see the tubes for the pen-aids and the shaped charges bolted to the inside of the lower skirt of the REV. The National Atomic Museum in Albuquerque has a complete static Titan II and a REV on display (along with an atomic cannon.) On the base of the REV is a little GE nameplate. And of course there's both an REV and full missile at the Titan II Missile Museum south of Tucson. There's also a Titan II re-entry vehicle mounted in front of the Moon Valley High School ("Home of the rockets!") on Cactus Road just west of 35th Avenue in Phoenix. Thanks for the video!

[@Bramon83]

That last one is a little odd but cool as hell.

[@gatorshd]

I worked at Chestnut St. So did my dad. He was a guard. Great place to work. Brilliant people.

[@Telephony954]

In the late 80's early 90's I worked on the natural gas gathering systems as a xray tech doing nondestructive testing on the pipelines in the Roswell area, on the way back from the right of way one evening, Ii had the occasion to enter one of the abandoned Atlas missile silo. They were smaller than these, I remember how much cooler the air was down there. And dark. there were 3 of us and I was still pretty nervous. down the inital stairs to a curved door, right turn then a quick left down more stairs in the dark, when i turned on my flashlight I could see the giant round room with the floors suspended by steel rods. down more stairs to a really long hallway that entered into the silo. looking up I could see daylight way the hell up there. pretty spooky. The other thing I remember was the wind blowing in that hallway. later on I heard there was a nasty accident with fueling a missile and someone was hurt in that.

[@fido2006]

@@gatorshd The Chestnut St. plant is where my dad worked. Later he transferred to Manned Spaceflight at King of Prussia. 😀

[@fido2006]

@@Bramon83 When I drive by it I always imagine it's in a Nicholas Cage movie like National Treasure; a fully fueled Titan II, put there by modern Illuminati, waiting for someone to find the two launch keys hidden behind some bricks at the school.

[@ScaleModelKitReview]

I was a Missile Maintenance Technician who worked in these Silos in the early eighties, it was a real thrill. Great video.

As a maintenance technician i think the sound of working in these back then would of been exhilarating

[@dmoore319]

The engineering and hard work building these and countless other magnificent structures is simply amazing.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

It is pretty cool seeing how these places were made. Lots of time and resources were used to make them!

[@warrenjones744]

I was stationed in Little Rock 1982-84 as a heavy equipment operator. We would often go out to the sites to perform maintenance on the facilities. Usually in support of the plumbers. Sometimes we would have to go down inside the silos to work or get our briefing after entering the facility. It was always fun to go through the blast lock doors and into the control center. Once I was able to look inside the silo and see the missile. impressive facilities for sure.

[@danielmcconnell1096]

Hats off to the workers and engineers who designed and then built these so quickly.

[@gmcinnis6304]

in the scorching heat of the desert that has 8 months of SUMMMMMER HEAT. 120* in the shade? means 160* in the desert sun

[@mattstone8878]

They gambled with the lives of every American and it paid off.

[@mytwocents7527]

I remember walking into the silo on level 7 as a 19 year old airman and looking up. I was in awe at the immensity of the missile. As a Gallery Volunteer at the National Museum of the United States Air Force I get the same feeling every time I walk into the Missile Gallery and look up. I was so lucky to get that opportunity.

[@fordworkmate]

Absolutely astonishing, hard to believe we could get it done today, surely not in a year!

[@markclark1654]

Another awesome video! Titan was an amazing weapon system, and I'm glad to have been a part of it. Major Mark Clark, USAFR (Ret), former senior DMCCC at MAFB and LRAFB.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

Thanks for your service and thanks for watching :)

[@ibbylancaster8981]

Thank you for your service. Much love and thanks for protecting our country 🤙

[@Hey_MikeZeroEcho22P]

Major Clark, OS1 (SW) Mares.....as a Former 'Cold Warrior' also, I Thank You for your Service, Sacrifice and Time (SST Baby!!!). Thanks for standing the 'Mid-Watch' with me, Thanks for training those Men/Women, and Thanks...... for All you Sacrificed during your time!

[@jessejohnson6435]

Thanks for your service Sir.

[@byronking9573]

Fascinating presentation. Love the background music. Great narration and information. Visuals are excellent. Many thanks for creating this video and posting it.

[@Pricklyhedgehog72]

Can't get enough of these vids, the construction and the operation of the facilities is fascinating stuff. Watching them being repurposed is a journey of Cold War discovery.

[@maxwellsilver6588]

O KK k0úm0í

[@scroungasworkshop4663]

This could be ten times longer and it would still be fascinating. 👍👍👍

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

Haha! So glad that you enjoyed it! Have you seen the other videos on my channel yet?

[@scroungasworkshop4663]

@@ThompsonAtomicRanch Not yet but I will be👍👍👍

[@MauricioVives]

Thank you for putting this together! I wondered how such an underground complex could be built, and your explanation definitely satisfied that curiosity.

[@riverman4798]

WOW.. And thank you. I have always wondered how these were built.

[@chinesechicken20]

Undertakings such as these and the Manhattan project show the awesome capabilities of Americans when there is a common goal. This is what is needed to bring America together.

[@blipco5]

Vote Blue 🇺🇸

[@traffic71]

You are so right. If this happened today in the UK, work would take months and months to start, it would go way over budget, the time taken would be double the estimate and the final result would not be as designed ie it could only launch half a missile!

[@brucebarnes9638]

What an incredible achievement of engineering and construction. I grew up in the 50's and 60's. The Cold War and our drills in school, preparing for a nuclear war. What memories!!

[@sscalf31]

I spent a great deal of time in one of those silos. Hooah SAC elite. USAF retired

[@labman9912]

What a great video. Should be played at the Titan Missile Museum Green Valley Arizona. These weapons systems never should have been deactivated instead they should have been updated and retrofitted.

[@dundonrl]

I'd guess it's cheaper to build new than completely removing all the old stuff and building new in it's place.

[@rubbermannequin6595]

Seriously? You're hilarious.

[@ronjon7942]

The Titan missiles used liquid propellant, which was expensive and difficult to maintain and replenish; the solid fuel Minuteman had a much longer shelf life. If you’re referring to repurposing the massive silo complexes, they were decommissioned and made unusable per START treaties with the Soviets.

[@txtifosi]

So even by the 1970s the writing was on the wall. The guidance systems would be no longer supported by IBM and by 1977 the fleet would have compromised readiness. They were able to adapt the inertial guidance system from the 747 to work on the titan as essentially a stopgap. But the obsolete electronics coupled with the hard to manage liquid propellant marked these magnificent missiles for replacement. We are looking at a similar problem with the minuteman iii today. I’m an AF aficionado, but I have to wonder if the SLBM isn’t the better platform after all.

[@michaeldumais1784]

Very informative piece of Cold War history. When I served in the Navy I knew , in general, about their existence, but never these details. Kudos for posting.

[@timmotel5804]

This is excellent and very educational for me. I've been to the Titan Missile Museum in Green Valley Arizona several times, as I lived in Phoenix. My young son at the time of our visits, turned the launch keys 3 times. A wonderful, educational and historic place for anyone to visit. Thank you for filling in so many "blanks" for me. My son is in his early 40s now. I will make sure that he watches this video. Thank You Very Much.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

So cool! Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@timmotel5804]

@@ThompsonAtomicRanch I told my son earlier and he said that he is one of your subscribers. Best Regards.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

@@timmotel5804 awesome! Glad to have y’all following along on the Titan ii journey!

[@blueboats7530]

I was born in Tucson and was in First Grade in school right after these were finished. Even that young I remember the "duck and cover" drills, and I remember the huge windows I was looking out of from under the desk. Now I grasp the gravity of those drills, though now I'm pretty sure those flimsy grade school desks wouldn't have done much for us.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

Those were some scary times I’m sure!

[@destinationunknown7857]

This is one of the best vids I have seen about a missile silo's construction. Thank you.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

So glad that you enjoyed it!

[@gregdevlin2162]

Sliding and burning 60’ on my back on the morning of September 19, 1980 in Damascus Arkansas, as a result of the Titan II explosion, along with the loss of David Livingston, and the injuries to all my Titan II Brothers that morning will be forever burned in my brain. But with that said, I truly loved my job as a PTS (Propellant Transfer Systems) technician from 1977-1981 at Little Rock Air Force Base, and most importantly I value the great friendships with all the guys and girls I worked with there. It’s awesome we still have reunions every few years bringing anyone and everyone whoever worked on these complexes together.

[@SteveWright-oy8ky]

The story told in the book, " COMMAND AND CONTROL " is one of the most frightening incidents in our nuclear history ! That the loss of Livingston could have been avoided along with the the injuries of the others had the officers allowed the fully experienced PTS crews to do they're jobs as they had been trained to perform ! My heart felt THANKS to you and all who underwent this horrific ordeal !

[@ricochetaz3846]

Thank you for making it possible for United States of America citizens to sleep without worry. 🇺🇸

[@gregdevlin2162]

@@SteveWright-oy8kyIf the commanders would have listened to Martin Marietta, who built the silos, there wouldn’t have been anyone inside the complex when it exploded. Their suggestion was to back away for a short period of time and let everything sit. That way if it exploded, there wouldn’t have been any lives lost and most likely no injuries either. But it is what it is, and I, like the many others out there who survived are lucky, blessed, or both to still be able to talk about it :)

[@gregdevlin2162]

@@ricochetaz3846 Thank you. Honestly, we were just doing our jobs out there that night :)

[@travelinman70]

wow, what perspective on the enormity of this construction. Thank you for the reference.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

No problem at all! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@sganzerlag]

Amazing system! Thanks so much for sharing this. Best regards from Brasilia, Brazil.

[@jamesthompson8008]

Thanks for posting this, I think it's a cool video myself. Amazing how much was put into these so fast, & then equally amazing how much work it is for guys like yourself to bring them back just for your own use. More updates as you can please. Thanks

[@JoshHookerJoshhook123]

The museum in Tucson is definitely a must see

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

It really is! They do such a good job over there of preserving this awesome history!

[@sebell69]

WOW They certainly made them well!

[@GM8101PHX]

The blast doors are still perfectly balanced in 2024, they were placed in about 1960!!

[@chefchemist7343]

I live 1/4th of a mile from the Titan II missile museum in Sahuarita, AZ...there are many abandoned sites around this area that are just absolutely fascinating to visit. Thanks for the video...the site you have here is near Madera Canyon recreational area...Continental 571-5, Site 6.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

Nice! We must live pretty close to eachother actually. My brother and I both live in Sahuarita and have always loved to go to the museum. We still remember when the long cableway at 571-5 was topside just sitting there. Eventually it was hauled off and scrapped, sad day!

[@BPerezsr]

The missile site in Madera Canyon recreational area 571-5, is Site 1-5. Former MCCC 571SMS Site 5-1. Retired Major Ben Perez Sr.

[@tomblah]

Phenomenal that they built this all in a year and have it fully operational

[@ateamfan42]

Shows what our government could do when properly motivated.

[@ropeaccessinspection9472]

Excellent video, thanks so much for all the photos and video of such a great piece of history.

[@garypillischafske1425]

I spent a lot of time in these silos as QC&E. Loved it all.

[@robertslugg8361]

The portable concrete plant that my dad used for highway construction began its life building silos.

[@marvinschmitz3442]

I grew up with the silo at cheney lake kansas, I would work our farmland about five miles from it. When I got bored I would try to imagine it going off. Thank God it never did. Then in the beef packing house in Wichita, KS. I worked with a guy who said he was on a construction crew that built it. Funny how lives mingle with each other. Those were the days.

[@SteveWright-oy8ky]

Watch the movie/video, " THE DAY AFTER " and there you will get a much more detailed viewing of what you had imagined !

[@albertoclipper]

2-9 was my favorite site to visit. The lake always looked nice. It was the last site for me as my discharge in 76 was coming up.

[@pi.actual]

One of the sites near Tucson was preserved and made into a museum. We visited it back in August of 2023 and I highly recommend taking the tour if you get a chance. They even run a mock simulated launch procedure with all of the bells and whistles. Pretty spooky.

[@FlyGuy2000]

We took the tour a few years back but didn't get the launch simulation, that sounds pretty cool. We did have a guy who worked in the control room for a decade while it was operational though; the one thing that really stuck in my mind was that the final destination for the warheads is still classified. Really neat seeing it live and in person, just the way it was when it was operational.

[@insideoutsideupsidedown2218]

@@FlyGuy2000that is one thing that will remain classified, if not Top Secret.

I’m sure you could guess the locations

[@ForbiddTV]

I made an effort to see many of the missile sites in 2017 and I gotta say the Titan was the most interesting. Also saw; Atlas E in KS, Minuteman in SD, Nike in CA, Titan in AZ. Always wished I had the money to buy one, instead I'm building underground structures now for myself.

[@JamsheedRpgGodBoss]

Grew up around the Kansas City area, seen and been in my fair share of Nike bases. There’s one in Missouri that I used to play airsoft at. Never have gone down into the magazines but would love to. My favorite site would have to be a Titan 2 and I’ve never been to one.

[@ForbiddTV]

@@JamsheedRpgGodBoss If you ever go to San Francisco there is a Nike site just north of the Golden Gate bridge that you can tour that has fully operational hydraulics to open the doors, raise the missile to the surface from the magazine and orient the missile into the near vertical launch position. You can observe this from inside the magazine, then from the surface when returned to the magazine. I made a video of the entire process and posted it on my channel. My understanding is it's the most complete Nike site left in the country that you can visit.

[@donchaput8278]

You can tour the last remaining one in Tucson, worth the visit! If you want to volunteer you can turn the launch key as well. The engineering of this is absolutely amazing and it's over 60 years old.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

The museum is such a great experience! I’m glad you’ve been able to go there :)

[@georgesealy4706]

Very interesting video. Thanks for posting.

[@GermanMic]

Fascinating, mindblowing & truly shocking! What a waste of precious earth & minds!

[@cruisemissle87]

Seeing this in a new light since the war in Ukraine. We under-appreciate how vital these efforts have been for global political stability even today.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

So true! They play a key role in keeping the peace in this crazy world!

[@xrayguy65]

I was a combat crew member (BMAT) in early 70's. The four man crew would maintain readiness for 24hrs. This was a very cool film. It gave me a new perspective of the site. We were kids and took so much for granted back then. Except for the serious part.

[@bobnat2]

Brooms, mops and trash. Lol. It's amazing to think our phones today are more powerful than that monstrosity of a computer you thought you knew how to take care of.

[@philipem1000]

My brother worked in construction of the Titan sites near Tucson; a decade later I was stationed at DM and did maintenance at the two ACP sites as well as the Command Post.

[@Veldtian1]

They're a sturdy shelter, worthy of 'The Withstandinator' moniker.

[@Darrell1981]

Thanks. Seen someone do a view through of one for training exercise and thought how the world they get that underground. Excellent video.

[@bubbaseth1]

My dad helped build those. Cool video!

[@bobnat2]

I was an MFT in 373 SMS, 308 SMW Jacksonville, Arkansas in the mid-late 70's. I was just thinking about this today while walking through the woods. Forty some odd years later, I still shake my head at the thought of what I was willing to do at 18 years old. Btw, it was the most excruciatingly boring job in the AF.

[@blurglide]

The distance between sites is to protect them from a first strike by the Soviets. In a retaliatory strike by the Soviets, the silos would already be empty. I'd love to see something about Titan 1. Colossally expensive, MUCH bigger facilities, and were only used for a few years.

[@marzsit9833]

3 former titan 1 sites in my state, i've visited 2 of them and they are crazy big..... and yes they were only active for about 5 years, then abandoned...

[@blueboats7530]

Yeah, the Titan I had to be fueled-up just before launch, so the whole facility was much more elaborate and vulnerable. The big change with the Titan II was the fuel could be in the rocket all the time that it was waiting for Armageddon.

[@krashd]

The distance was in case the US was a retaliatory strike, if the US was a first strike it wouldn't matter where the silos were located.

[@blurglide]

@@krashd Why would we care if our empty silo's were targeted? The distance is to survive a Soviet first strike so WE can retaliate- not to survive a Soviet retaliatory strike after we strike first

[@user-yd4rn4ez6m]

US first strike could’ve been from a bomber or submarine instead of these silos though.

[@kiereluurs1243]

Yes, makes me realize what a gigantic task this was. And costs.

[@user-hw1cr5uq4z]

Remember the Martin plant southwest of Denver where the Titan Missiles were built. They would be trucked under canvas covers to Lowry AFB and Buckley ANG, to be loaded on USAF cargo aircraft for deployment around the US.

[@eatcommies1375]

Still work with some old timers that built them….

[@devinhallsworth5531]

When you look at how much goes into building these silos the soviets decision to base their ICBMs on mobile platforms like large trucks or rail lines looks really smart and cost effective in comparison.

[@BeechSportBill]

btw… there are three missile Titan II Missile launch complexes at Vandenberg… They were built first and went on alert during the Cuban Missile Crisis…. and were used for many test launches. They are still there.

[@roostercogburn2600]

One is a museum that is no longer in use. A few years ago when I had the opportunity to tour it everything was still in place.

[@silopedia]

@@roostercogburn2600 what year did you visit 395-C (the museum), and what condition was it in?

[@roostercogburn2600]

@@silopedia 2015 or so. It was leaking ground water at the time due to the high water table. Power was still on. Dead animals inside. All of the equipment was still in place as if it was walked away from yesterday. A couple of k-spans with equipment are still rotting away topside.

[@silopedia]

@@roostercogburn2600 very interesting! So far, you’re the most recent person I’ve talked to that’s been underground at the site. A former care taker said mold and “bad air” was becoming an issue back in 2012, but didn’t mention water infiltration. Could you see how much was at the bottom of the silo? There’s literally only four pictures of the site on the internet.. somewhat of a “holy grail” for enthusiasts

[@cstraws]

My father was an electrician on the Rock, Ks. sites in the mid 1960's. He said it was interesting work but scary to think about what could happen if the missile had to be launched. Once that job concluded he went to work at Boeing in Wichita, Ks. building...what else but B-52 bombers that are still in service today.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

That’s awesome! He was part of sometime great, that’s for sure

[@williamwisener5778]

Unfortunately the site at Rock Kansas was to be the site of 2 major events. On August 21st 1978 during a propelent transfer, a accident took place that killed and injured many personnel. Many of the personnel that responded were exposed to chemical residue, and were not given proper discharges, and never received any treatment or benefits for their injuries or disabilities caused by the incident.

[@cstraws]

@@williamwisener5778 I had never heard of that situation. Could it have been covered up by the powers that be?

[@dods2002]

@@cstraws Check out the History Guy. He has done stories on several near US nuclear detonations. Very interesting Stuff.

[@albertoclipper]

@@williamwisener5778 What was the other event? I asked that once before but no one answered. I went to the sites the mid seventies and had heard of an incident but I don't remember what it was. I thought at the time 3-7 was jinxed. I was there also in Rock when an F105 went down. We could see the smoke from topside.

[@tommycolton4971]

I live in tucson the green valley one is now a museum it's fun as hell to visit

[@kilokslr]

Very informative. Good video! Thnx

[@Anolbea]

Very interesting. Thank you.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

Thanks for watching!

[@lawerancedodd690]

My grandfather was a pipefitter and welder. He helped build them.

[@machstem6390]

Id love to havr a scaled down yet just as impressive one. Thats so cool

[@brentmiller7075]

BMAT at 570-3, 570-7, 570-5 (ACP) and other 570 sites from 1969 to 1975. Long boring days and nights with a few times of WTF mixed in. Wouldn't trade the experience.

[@shane41225]

Let’s not forget about the titan 2 that exploded in Arkansas and almost wiped us off the map, only thing keeping the warhead from detonating was a simple switch wasn’t flipped, crazy to think a small switch is what kept a huge nuke from insta-wiping Arkansas off the map!

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

This weapons system did pack a punch! Thankfully the warhead was unharmed in the Damascus incident. Crazy to think tho that the warhead was unaccounted for until they found it laying out in a field nearby. :P

[@dickiebrewer1232]

I guarded complex 47 the month after it exploded. 308th Security Police Squadron, SAC. I worked in the silos from 1981 -1984.

[@franknsnodge]

How many schools or hospitals or houses could have been built for the same cost?

[@montanaplease]

Or think about how many more welfare checks could’ve been cut to all those that didn’t feel like working for the price of just one of these stupid Silos

[@rogers7884]

Thank you great video

[@robertkerby2581]

Very informative!

[@geniferteal4178]

Fun to watch this after having seen many of the current recovery videos. people that bought these and tried to make something of them again.

[@taxpayer6079]

Proud to be an American. We were much more capable than.

[@JustinHunnicutt]

Those inflation costs seem to be off by at least a factor of 10x. I quickly checked multiple cpi inflation calculators for 1960 and the highest I got was much less than 180 million which would be 1/10 of the value you mentioned. Awesome video though. Would have been cool to hear about what's happened to them since the 80s if you want to make a follow up.

[@allenludwin]

The titan missile museum off Duval mine rd in Sahuarita Arizona is well worth the visit.

[@fw1421]

Amazing that anybody would want to live anywhere near these cities out of fear of what could happen. I sure wouldn’t!

[@dahur]

I would love to have one of these in my backyard.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

It is SO fun to go out and work at our Titan ii site. Lots of work but it is a blast! Get it?! Jk

[@reallyhappenings5597]

You can buy one if you don't mind the flooding

[@insideoutsideupsidedown2218]

The Titan II was a retaliatory weapon, not a first strike weapon. The sites were designed to withstand a near miss, and then retaliate, not the other way around.

[@anotherguy9402]

Who told you that the government? 😂

[@insideoutsideupsidedown2218]

1. Because if they were first strike weapons, they would not have based silos in Arkansas or Arizona. They would be in Alaska. 2. The US Air Force would not have spent that much money to insure they could survive a near miss.

[@albertoclipper]

That's true. I was stationed at McConnell. The thing that got me was we would have known an attack was launched against us {I was out once when they went on alert, going through the procedure to launch ours. We had the DEW line and other ways of telling. The point being, if Russia targeted the sites they would be firing out an empty hole. That made no sense to me.

[@geniferteal4178]

1:29 My first thought when starting to watch this video. We need more of those kind of Presidents. The ones that stand up to stuff like that.

[@barriewright2857]

Absolutely amazing. These buildings have to be put back in to use. For civilian usage otherwise it's a waste of a brilliant asset.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

Yes, exactly

[@PaletoB]

Wow, that some impressive engindering.

[@dundonrl]

The only thing I have to disagree with, 12.6 million in 1960 is worth 124 million in 2022, not the over a billion as the video said.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

Not sure. I read it in a book. Perhaps it is not accurate

[@robdavy4468]

@@ThompsonAtomicRanch certainly isn't. Probably worth calculating yourself as you present if with some confidence, even though it doesn't pass the sniff test

[@omnianti0]

@Amethyst for sure it is the calculation but duno how it translate in 60years

[@SJR_Media_Group]

Amazing what man can build when presented with a negative outcome if not built. They did the almost impossible, in an almost impossible location. Glad we were never 'tested' for our resolve. I have seen where some of these silos have been repurposed; private home, high end doomsday bunker, etc.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

They built these places in record time!

[@SJR_Media_Group]

@@ThompsonAtomicRanch very impressive

[@bruceparker985]

It's amazing at the price then and now!! Any other ones out there for sale in Arizona?

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

Not currently. Within the last 4 years, there have been four that have sold, ours included. Are you interested in buying one?! :)

[@bruceparker985]

@@ThompsonAtomicRanch if I had the money, most definitely would buy one!! Would really like to have one in all 3 states, and get them linked up to play War Games. Just seeing what price and other stuff they would have..

[@jungleb]

Great video! You should like Isaac Arthur btw

[@SteveStoltz]

I love the documentary's.

[@bxb590]

Any video of putting the missiles into the silo?

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

There is a video of them removing a missile just before it got decommissioned. I’ll try and find it and I’ll send ya the link here :)

[@Matt-re8bt]

Great documentary. Thank you. One of the things that has always confused me is the usability of fixed ground locations for these missiles. Their location is almost certainly programmed as a tier-1 target for US' adversaries. So their utility is almost certainly for first strike. Wouldn't a larger number of subs or bombers be a better option for survivable response?

[@aRareKindOfMonster]

Wether offensively or defensively, once fired they will have served their purpose. If they get launched they will all get launched. It's not like will be a second wave of nukes fired. And even if it were the case, the nuclear missile carrying subs would be it. Once the order is given to launch, they will be no more reason for them to exist, as any silos that were not fires would be as you say targetted. That is why they have early warning detectection for nuclear missile launches, so they can fire all they got to the predetermined targets before the enemy destroys their nuclear deterrent.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

I would say that youre right! Perhaps these were the "hard hitters" mainly which was a show of strength?

[@SteveWright-oy8ky]

Back in those days, any viable method was needed to created deterrent systems and missiles were so new and experimental that it was a matter of ," Waste ANYTHING but TIME " to get workable systems up and running ! So much so that a missile system was basically OBSOLETE before it became OPERATIONAL, .... BUT , it was all we had at the moment, so it got built ! The progression of each missile, Short Range, Medium Range, Intermediate Range and Inter-Continental Range . First was Surface Launched , then COFFIN LAUNCHERS, then SILO LAUNCHED. The final but never built was the MX Mobile Missile Underground Rail Garrison ! For Submarines, it was Top Deck Launched Cruise Missiles, then Silo Launched at the surface and immediately, Silo Launched below surface ! Each system was an improvement over the pre-existing one while the next generation was being designed ! TITAN 1 was abandoned only 5 years after it became operational in favor of the TITAN 2. Next came MINUTEMAN 1, then MM-2 and later MM-3 ! Bombers were going that same general direction but economies of scale became the policy !

[@michaelhawk8230]

We’ve several abandoned sites built the same time frame in Northern California

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

Thats awesome! Have you ever explored them?

[@goulartaf66]

I bet we're still paying for these. Unbelievable.

[@LeicaM11]

I assumed, the US is modernized and do not use inches, feet and miles anymore. 😮

[@gakab2209]

You is damn quick for an old fella ;-)

[@gakab2209]

PS that site ain't mine, nor do I know the owner ;-)

[@johngaither3830]

In the summer of 1968 the oil company seismograph crew I worked on had permission to cross a corner of a Titan II missile site near Greenbrier, Ar. The permit said we were to give 24 hours notice in advance of our operations. That detail failed to be passed along and we entered unannounced. Yes, our operations literally stirred up a hornets nest of activity. Helicopters full of armed men and then trucks descended upon the 5 of us making the trespass. We had guns pointed at us for the 45 minutes it took to sort things out.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

Wow! Quite that made for quite the story to tell! Haha

[@williamhaynes7089]

I have visited the Titian missile museum outside of Tucson, az... If you have the chance its worth every penny of the tour...

[@VasE1980]

Безумие просто. 44 закопанных небоскрёба.

[@803mastiff9]

I toured the one in Tucson. If I rembwr correctly, the monthly electric build for a site was close to $90,000.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

Yikes! Ours stays at 65 degrees year round since we have no computers or other equipment running.

[@803mastiff9]

@@ThompsonAtomicRanch I could be wrong but as I remember the rocket propellant required the temperature to be maintained at specific degree otherwise it went boom.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

@@803mastiff9 correct! It has to be maintained at about 60 degrees or so

[@803mastiff9]

@@ThompsonAtomicRanch You live in a silo? For what ever reason, I have always found the idea of subterranean living fascinating . What is the most interesting thing you have noticed about living under ground and how does it affect the quality of sleep?

[@klettersteig599]

Great presentation, curious how you calculated inflation though, 12.6 mil would be a lot closer to $115 mil today..

[@robdavy4468]

Yeh that's what I got too. Over a billion just didn't pass the sniff test

[@montanaplease]

Perhaps inflation of the materials but now you have to pay so much more per worker especially by the time you include a 401(k), healthcare.

[@montanaplease]

1960’s at maybe $5 an hour compared to $30 plus today for 5000 workers

[@westrotter7847]

My Dad worked on the Atlas and i worked on a rebuild of the a Titan site at Rock Ks.

[@lorriecarrel9962]

this would be ultra bad ass to own...

[@ldr9146]

During 1966 I was in the Air force stationed at Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson AZ 390th SMS. While there I worked with a SGT Brewer, we were good friends but lost contact, would like information where he lives

[@schwags1969]

Wow, the government sure knows how to get things back then. Nowadays it is nearly impossible to build a family house without some form of bureaucracy.

[@Name-ps9fx]

Weapons can be quickly designed and built, when one is staring down many Soviet missiles, and orbiting objects (Sputnik).

[@Fossillarson]

Remember gov can when they have to

[@c1ph3rpunk]

The environmental impact study alone would take 5 years today.

[@alanrogers989]

This is a weird comment. Do you think they were building Nuclear Missile Silos, costing 1.8 billion dollars each in today's money, without any bureaucracy?

[@david7384]

That's because it was built when men were men

[@montanaplease]

I’d love to know how much water Has to be pumped out of these things in just a 24 hour span ?

[@montanaplease]

Imagine adjusting for inflation just in the past 18 months for this build😳 The price of everything has just skyrocketed since the 2000 mules did their thing.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

Prices are nuts right now! Hoping it starts to come down :)

[@montanaplease]

There’s nothing indicating price is coming down unfortunately. They just keep printing more money causing inflammation for all of us to pay

[@bb21again.67]

Is it really a hummer or just body panels?

[@kentkirkpatrick7953]

There's one west of Spokane Washington in medial lake WA.

[@Jesusisyhwh]

We have old Titan II missile bases here in Washington state. They were the coffin style bases.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

I believe y’all have some Titan I bases up that way. Cool facilities :)

[@Jesusisyhwh]

@@ThompsonAtomicRanch maybe that's what they were. I don't remember which type.

[@silopedia]

@@Jesusisyhwh sounds like Atlas E!

[@krashd]

0:40 This documentary only covered one of the four phases...

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

Check out my video page and you’ll see that part 2 is there as well :)

[@buckmanriver]

Correction. There is a complex in Colorado of HY 70.

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

I think there are some Titan I complexes in Colorado. The only places Titan ii complexes are located are in California, Arizona, Kansas and Arkansas.

[@LUVSTWOSPWGE]

How did they deliver the missiles so covertly?

[@BlueMoonday19]

Incredible story. Thanks!

[@ThompsonAtomicRanch]

Thanks for following along with us :)