The Titan II was the largest operational land based nuclear missile ever used by the United States. View of Titan Missile II re-entry vehicle (which housed the 9 megaton warhead) ![]() All operational Titan II silos throughout the country were demolished, including 18 sites around McConnell AFB in Wichita, Kansas, 17 sites near Little Rock AFB, Arkansas (one additional site previously damaged beyond repair in a mishap/non-nuclear explosion) and 17 other sites by Davis-Monthan AFB and Tucson with the exception of this one. The silo became operational in 1963 and was deactivated in 1984 as part of President Reagan's policy (announced in 1981) of decommissioning the Titan II missiles as part of a weapon systems modernization program. All of the support facilities at the site remain intact, complete with all of their original equipment. The dummy reentry vehicle mounted on the missile has a prominent hole cut in it to prove it is inert. In accordance with a US/USSR agreement, the silo doors are permanently blocked from opening more than half way. The 103-foot (31 m) Titan II missile inside the silo has neither warhead nor fuel, allowing it to be safely displayed to visitors. Level 8, at 140 ft (43 m) underground, houses the propellant pumps. Visitors on the "Beyond the Blast Doors" tour are allowed to stand directly underneath the missile. Level 7 provides access to the lowest part of the launch duct. The top level of the silo permits viewing the silo missile doors. The complex was built of steel reinforced concrete with walls as much as 8-foot-thick (2.4 m) in some areas, and a number of 3-ton blast doors sealed the various areas from the surface and each other. The underground facilities consist of a three-level Launch Control Center, the eight level silo containing the missile and its related equipment, and the connecting structures of cableways (access tunnels), blast locks, and the access portal and equipment elevator. It is the only Titan II complex to survive from the late Cold War period. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1994. It is now a museum run by the nonprofit Arizona Aerospace Foundation and includes an inert Titan II missile in the silo, as well as the original launch facilities. ![]() It was constructed in 1963 and deactivated in 1984. The Titan Missile Museum, also known as Air Force Facility Missile Site 8 or as Titan II ICBM Site 571-7, is a former ICBM ( intercontinental ballistic missile) site located about 40 km (25 mi) south of Tucson, Arizona in the United States.
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