This strategy earned the Minuteman its nickname: America's "Ace in the Hole."Īnd the Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and agreed to eliminate some nuclear weapons. would only use the Minuteman if the nation came under nuclear attack. (For comparison, the Hiroshima and Nagasaki explosions were approximately 13 and 21 Kilotons).ĭespite it destructive power, the primary mission of the Minuteman was not to destroy but to deter. Upon reaching its target the missile could unleash a 300+ kiloton nuclear explosion. Although this order never came, if it had, the missileers could command the Minuteman to launch from the LF and race 6,000 miles at 15,000 miles per hour towards its target. In the LCC were two Air Force "missileers" who could respond to a presidential order to launch the missile. In this underground silo, from 1966 to 1997, one of humankind's most powerful weapons-a nuclear-tipped Minuteman missile-stood waiting to be launched.Īpproximately 15 miles away was a launch Control Center (LCC) that controlled this LF. It is Near Cooperstown in Griggs County North Dakota You are on the access road to November-33 - one of 150 Launch Facilities (LF) of the 321st Strategic Missile Wing (SMW) of Grand Forks Air Force Base. This historical marker was erected by State Historical Society of North Dakota. , An Air Force sergeant with the 321st Organizational Missile Maintenance Squadron inspects a Minuteman missile inside a silo in 1989. , A 1981 test launch of a Minuteman missile from an Launch Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. , Photo Captions, A Launch Facility diagram produced by the 321st SMW Training Control Division in the 1980s. The topside of this LF and the Oscar-Zero Missile Alert Facility, with its underground LCC, were preserved for historical interpretation by the State Historical Society of North Dakota. The 150 LFs and 14 of the 15 LCCs were emptied and imploded. To fulfill its treaty requirements, the U.S. and the Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and agreed to eliminate some nuclear weapons. This strategy earned the Minuteman its nickname: America's "Ace in the Hole.", In 1991 the U.S. , Despite it destructive power, the primary mission of the Minuteman was not to destroy but to deter. (For comparison, the Hiroshima and Nagasaki explosions were approximately 13 and 21 Kilotons). , Approximately 15 miles away was a launch Control Center (LCC) that controlled this LF. In this underground silo, from 1966 to 1997, one of humankind's most powerful weapons-a nuclear-tipped Minuteman missile-stood waiting to be launched. You are on the access road to November-33 - one of 150 Launch Facilities (LF) of the 321st Strategic Missile Wing (SMW) of Grand Forks Air Force Base. Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile State Historic Site.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |