![]() They were ordered to leave the launch duct when the measurements proved alarmingly high. In the early morning hours of September 19th, two airmen entered the complex to measure the airborne fuel concentration. ![]() After the missiles were retired, they were again used as space launchcraft until the last one was launched in 2003. Titan II rockets were adapted to use in the space program and launched the first Gemini manned missions in the early 1960s. The second fuel tank, sitting just above the first, contained a different fuel that could spontaneously ignite if a collapse occurred and it came into contact with the aerozine 50 already in the launch duct. The aerozine 50 fuel immediately began leaking into the launch duct.Īir Force personnel were evacuated, and a civilian evacuation soon followed as concerns grew that the empty fuel tank could collapse and bring the rest of the rocket and missile down on top of it. An airman dropped a wrench socket and it fell 80 feet and pierced the thin skin of the rocket’s first stage fuel tank. Two airmen were performing maintenance at Missile Complex 374-7, located 3 miles north of Damascus, the evening of September 18th. On September 19, 1980, a second tragedy struck the 308th Strategic Missile Wing. The first Titan II missile in Arkansas was installed in a silo near Searcy in 1963. A welder accidentally hit a hydraulic fluid line with his welding rod, which sparked a fire that quickly filled the missile shaft and sucked the oxygen out. A civilian crew was working throughout all nine floors of the missile silo, which plunged 150 into the ground. The Air Force decided to take measures to improve security within the launch complexes. ![]() This was the first missile site to become operational in Arkansas in 1963. The first disaster occurred on Augat launch complex 373-4, located near Searcy. During the 25-year period of operations, Arkansas experienced two disasters connected to the missiles. Though these missiles were judged essential to the protection of the United States, storing and maintaining them proved deadly. The newly formed 308th Strategic Missile Wing oversaw the operation of 18 missile sites, manned by groups of four soldiers 24 hours a day. The missile sites in Arkansas fanned out from the base into Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner, Van Buren and White counties. ![]() The Titan II missiles were located near three air force bases around the country: Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas and Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas. The missile could launch in 60 seconds, without the cumbersome raising and fueling procedures the Atlas and Titan I models required. These ICBMs were fueled with Aerozine 50, which allowed the fuel to stay in the missile while stored in its silo. They stood 103 feet tall and had a range of 9,300 miles. The Titan II missiles were the largest intercontinental ballistic missiles ever developed. The Titan II missile was the tallest ICBM used by the U.S. These shortcomings led to the rapid development of the Titan II missiles, which would become part of the three-pronged nuclear strategy the U.S. A missile took 15 minutes to launch and had to be fueled with a highly flammable mix of kerosene and liquid oxygen. This left the powerful nuclear warheads exposed to attack. Titan I missiles were stored in silo lifts and had to be raised to the surface to be fueled before launch. The United States quickly developed a second model of ICBMs called Titan. These missiles had a range of 5,500 miles, but they required a high level of upkeep. The first ICBMs, called Atlas, were ready by 1959 and deployed at air force bases around the nation. Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) were developed in response to the Soviet Union achieving nuclear capabilities. ![]() 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. ![]()
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