Visiting the Last Titan II Nuclear Missile Silo

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  • Опубликовано: 16 ноя 2024

Комментарии • 856

  • @saxophool
    @saxophool 8 месяцев назад +217

    I took the tour last year. The young tour guide was unbelievably knowledgeable about every detail of the operation. Definitely worth a stop even if you just took the tour with Steve. 😊

    • @Ryanscali
      @Ryanscali 8 месяцев назад +11

      Been here too back in 2014 and I agree all of the guides are very happy and knowledgeable

    • @conniewojahn6445
      @conniewojahn6445 8 месяцев назад +11

      I'm surprised a "young" tour guide would be knowledgeable but these missiles and facilities. Seems to me kids now are only interested in video games, rock/pop music, and being disrespectful to adults, especially when they're behind the wheel of an automobile. I'm sure there are some who have other interests and are respectful, but I don't cross paths with many of them. Sound like you did. Good.

    • @SidetrackAdventures
      @SidetrackAdventures  8 месяцев назад +20

      Our guide was amazing too. He really knew his stuff. You could tell he had actually spoken to people who had been on duty in these things.

    • @agent0066
      @agent0066 8 месяцев назад +20

      ​@@conniewojahn6445And yet we all shuffle our feet and stare at the floor when someone asks which generation raised them to behave like that.

    • @Johnketes54
      @Johnketes54 8 месяцев назад

      ​@@conniewojahn6445I've come across 3 or 4 this year and was pleasantly surprised to meet them

  • @flashbazbo3932
    @flashbazbo3932 8 месяцев назад +496

    I pulled alert there as a Crew Commander when I was a kid, back in 1979. My home site was 571-5 down south east of this site. People get all excited about "hypersonic" weapons. This thing was hypersonic back in the 50's. They advised us that every site was triple targeted by the Russians. One high altitude air blast (50,000 feet) to soften the earth up and then two ground burst weapons. The running joke amongst crews was, it wasn't the initial blast that would kill you but the fall to the quarter mile deep crater in the earth created by the fireball hotter than the sun. Behind the site is a giant copper mine. The mine used to lay explosives all day and then, in the early morning, between shifts when everyone was accounted for and away from the blast area, they'd set off a couple tons of dynamite for the next days mining. This blast would set the old guidance system off kilter and the missile would go off alert for a few minutes. SAC didn't like that so they offered to buy the copper mine. The mine responded, "How much do you want for your missile site?" The later Carousel II INS guidance system wasn't bothered by the blasts. If you stood on the silo door, you could see a 7-11 across the road and the roofs of houses nearby. Green Valley is a big retirement community. My new wife and I bought a house while stationed there. The loan lady asked me a bunch of questions about my employer and job title. When she got to job description, I responded, "Global nuclear destruction." She said, "I'll just put missile duties..." Lol. My tour was during the Iranian Hostage Crisis. Periodically, they would de-fuel a missile and replace the airframe with a spare. This de-fueling-refueling operation was time consuming and highly dangerous for the crews. One week, during pre-departure briefing when we had the Vice Wing Commander about to give us a pep talk before alert, all 18 crews started softly banging their coffee mugs on the desks, chanting, "parking lot...Parking Lot...PARKING LOT!" hinting to the boss that we could end the Iranian crisis in 30 minutes and save the hassle of the refueling operation. He smiled and told us to "Quiet down boys..." Who said SAC had no sense of humor? This particular site had a hilarious Crew Log detailing much of the drama and goofiness going on at the base and on the cover was a drawing of the site as a space ship 'ala Star Trek. All the entries were in Star Dates and it was hilarious. Sadly, it got round-filed. Amazing today, many young people don't want the responsibility of a drivers license. At 25, I was a Titan II Launch Crew Commander.

    • @deanwilliams433
      @deanwilliams433 8 месяцев назад +45

      Cool story bro. You should ask why they don't want the driver's license. Young people can't afford shit at 25 today.

    • @jshepard152
      @jshepard152 8 месяцев назад +26

      Great post. Thank you for your service. The Titan II is my favorite missile.

    • @billotto602
      @billotto602 7 месяцев назад +11

      Man, sitting in a hole in the ground had to suck. My survival chances on an aircraft carrier were slim to none, but after I loaded my plane with a nuke & it took off, I could sit on the flight deck & have a cigarette while I waited for the brilliant flash !

    • @uuuultra
      @uuuultra 7 месяцев назад +8

      Sounds like nobody took it seriously and everyone was just goofing off

    • @rickrudd
      @rickrudd 7 месяцев назад

      ​@deanwilliams433 why?
      Because they're pathologically-lazy AND they're more interested in virtue signaling than succeeding, so they continually vote for leftists.

  • @chuckputnam566
    @chuckputnam566 8 месяцев назад +110

    Woo Hoo! I am a Titan II alumni, having been an Electronics and Guidance maintenance technician serving at Mc Connell AFB, Kansas. I visited the Titan II museum a few years ago. It brought back so many memories.

    • @Mike-01234
      @Mike-01234 5 месяцев назад +1

      They sell the spare parts old circuit boards says they are part of the guidance computer from the Titan II for $50. I didn't get one was there in 2021 kind of think I should go back get one could be worth something some day. I was kind of surprised they were selling them money goes to the museum. I suppose it's not really any classified information just seems so unlike anything military ever does no matter how old things are.

  • @Javelina_Poppers
    @Javelina_Poppers 8 месяцев назад +24

    The missile museum and silo tour is a must for anyone. I was in the Air Force in the 70s and had a kind of shirt tail connection to them, I was in NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain Complex outside of Colorado Springs. Many of the people I worked with were former missileers and all wore their "pocket rocket" badges with pride.

    • @Aiwendill
      @Aiwendill 7 месяцев назад +2

      Is the Stargate still at its place? :D

  • @gardenparty3288
    @gardenparty3288 8 месяцев назад +71

    Thanks for the tour. Minuteman, Titan, & Bomarc trained, Chanute Tech school 1967.

    • @MrBen527
      @MrBen527 8 месяцев назад +2

      I've toured that facility, and hope to do this one some day! 👍 👍

    • @mikestafford2792
      @mikestafford2792 8 месяцев назад +5

      I attended Chanute schooling Spring 1969. Aircraft electrician.

    • @Desert-edDave
      @Desert-edDave 8 месяцев назад +3

  • @SilverSergeant
    @SilverSergeant 7 месяцев назад +74

    I was a Titan II launch crew member (BMAT) from 1978-1987 at Little Rock AFB, AR. I visited this museum in 2017. The tour experience is as real as it gets. It took my mind back 30 years .... But 18 days survival? I always thought we had enough rations for a month.....LOL.

    • @SpiGAndromeda
      @SpiGAndromeda 7 месяцев назад +1

      Maybe 1 month for half the persons. Maybe there was a card in the safe with an order who kills who to survive longer. 🤣

    • @darwinsjoke
      @darwinsjoke 7 месяцев назад +2

      My dad pulled alerts at this silo. After the Davis-Monthan squadrons were deactivated he transferred to the 374th so we wound up spending 4 years at Little Rock AFB.

    • @dennisstorie4604
      @dennisstorie4604 7 месяцев назад +1

      I was in Batesville when the matinace crew drop a wrench in silo and cause the missle to blow up kicking the warhead out in the field beside the silo site

    • @darwinsjoke
      @darwinsjoke 7 месяцев назад

      @@dennisstorie4604 The Damascus silo explosion was a couple of years before we transferred to Arkansas. That was a 373rd site if I remember correctly.

    • @bobbybooshay8641
      @bobbybooshay8641 7 месяцев назад +1

      I was there in that window of time and most likely coded on to your site. 314th CES. We were the guys who put the foam around the doors up top and we anchored a bunch of equipment to the floors down in the control center. Pain in the ass coding on. I liked the ride out to the sites though.
      Rosebud, Arkansas was wiped off the map by a tornado one year while I was there. Crazy times man.

  • @xifled63
    @xifled63 7 месяцев назад +14

    Brought back a lot of memories from my life underground in the 80’s. My wife and I will be visiting the museum at the end of the year so she can see what I did or didn’t do for a living. I always told my family I got paid not to do my job. Thanks for the video.

    • @JoeL-zb1yd
      @JoeL-zb1yd 7 месяцев назад +2

      You did your job well. You did not send one off when it was NOT authorized.

  • @2muchfab
    @2muchfab 8 месяцев назад +42

    A good friend of mine worked on this site. He told me it took 36 straight hours to pour the concrete. The one thing I remember when I took the tour back in the 80's was the "fail safe" security of one person not able to push the 2 red launch buttons at the same time because they were out of reach of each other. Thanks for the tour.

    • @innocentbystander8038
      @innocentbystander8038 8 месяцев назад +4

      Nothing a broom handle couldn't have fixed💀

    • @2muchfab
      @2muchfab 8 месяцев назад +1

      I guess that technique wasn't in their wheelhouse. Besides, it would have had to be 8 feet long.

    • @bostonrailfan2427
      @bostonrailfan2427 8 месяцев назад +3

      IIRC it was actually turning the keys together on both the console and the safe, but the out of reach is true

    • @2muchfab
      @2muchfab 8 месяцев назад +3

      @@bostonrailfan2427 oops! I gotta take the tour again. I live in Tucson so not a problem. Of course the entry fee is a sticker shock; I was there in the middle 80's.

    • @bostonrailfan2427
      @bostonrailfan2427 8 месяцев назад

      @@2muchfab i might be wrong, it’s possible it was only true for the submarines…i haven’t seen the documentary about the missiles in years so my kind is foggy

  • @abbert5553
    @abbert5553 8 месяцев назад +21

    Living in Arizona for only the past 7 or 8 years, I find your channel so interesting and informative please, keep up the good work!

  • @Acceleronics
    @Acceleronics 8 месяцев назад +18

    Your comment about 3 minutes to get from A to B reminded me of a story told by my coworker at Hughes Aircraft in Colorado back in the 1980s. During his first visit to "the site", which is where the ground station communication equipment we were designing would be installed, he cut across the grass to get from the parking lot to the building door. He said that soon after he deviated from the designated path, a 20 year old "Barney Fife" pushed him to the ground and was pointing an M16 at the back of his head, and asking why he did not stay on the path. Must have been exciting!

  • @mobiltec
    @mobiltec 8 месяцев назад +47

    I was in the Air Force in the early 70s and worked in one of these. Brought back a lot of old memories. Thanks for the tour. We also traveled around and worked at Minute Man silos.

    • @JohnCouch-m4f
      @JohnCouch-m4f 8 месяцев назад +12

      Thank you for your service!

    • @SidetrackAdventures
      @SidetrackAdventures  8 месяцев назад +10

      Wow. I can only imagine what it was like. I'm sure the shifts were boring and nerve wrecking at the same time.

    • @mobiltec
      @mobiltec 8 месяцев назад +10

      I was an installer and maintenance. So I was able to keep busy. We built a lot of those places so never even met the operators until going back for mantenance.. @@SidetrackAdventures

    • @sandyzalecki1145
      @sandyzalecki1145 8 месяцев назад +3

      I worked at the Launch Control Facilities at Grand Forks, ND. Thank you for your service.

    • @mobiltec
      @mobiltec 8 месяцев назад

      Oh cool Sandy. I never got to go to ND but would have liked to. And I still want to visit the state. @@sandyzalecki1145

  • @loucatozzi7656
    @loucatozzi7656 8 месяцев назад +10

    I visited this museum about 10-12 years ago and it looks just as good to me now as then. They have maintained it well. It was a sobering reminder of the world our parents lived thru, duck and cover exercises in school, etc. However, I have even better reminder of this world now as one of my boys serves on a ballistic missile submarine. Visiting the Titan Missile Museum with it's one disarmed missile and launch control system is interesting but walking thru the missile silo area of his sub with it's 24 missile silos that contain an unspecified number of very much armed and ready to launch missiles is quite another. I was totally amazed that they let family of crew members even near the sub, let alone allowed to get a stem to stern tour of almost every portion of the sub. We were not allowed to enter or even see the radio room, the launch control room, or the reactor spaces. Everything else was open and available, just no phones or cameras allowed.

  • @projekt6_official
    @projekt6_official 8 месяцев назад +10

    Steve - another neat video. I really enjoy your random quips - always good for a chuckle. Thanks for sharing and looking forward to the next one!

  • @beckyweissberg7644
    @beckyweissberg7644 7 месяцев назад +2

    My husband and I spent a week in the Tucson area and this was a highlight. Excellent tour on your part. We remember the duck and cover times. When we saw the silo and missile we had to laugh. Both of our fathers were in WWII, his father state side in a security situation. My father was pilot of a B-24 bomber. Touring Pima Air Force Base was a great time as there are few B-24s left. Thanks for your videos. Having grown up in San Diego through College, you have shared many of my fondest memories.

  • @zacandmillie
    @zacandmillie 8 месяцев назад +19

    Thank you for sharing. I'm a former Australian military veteran and in 2013 I was at Fort Huachuca near Sierra Vista for extended training. One Sunday a group of us visited this site. I still have the souvenir t-shirt.

    • @bostonrailfan2427
      @bostonrailfan2427 8 месяцев назад +3

      from the Outback to the middle of nowhere!
      guess you really had been there, done that, got the t-shirt🤣😎

    • @pricelessppp
      @pricelessppp 7 месяцев назад +5

      Thank you for your service!

  • @daveolssonmusic
    @daveolssonmusic 8 месяцев назад +2

    We were just here a couple of weeks ago and it's so great to see the site again on your channel! It's a fascinating place to visit and a reminder of a time that wasn't all that long ago. It's also a reminder that we should be grateful to the people who made sure these weapons were never used. Well done, Steve.

  • @JP-su8bp
    @JP-su8bp 8 месяцев назад +128

    3:22 "... please remember I'm not a rocket surgeon."

    • @Chris-ut6eq
      @Chris-ut6eq 8 месяцев назад

      agreed.

    • @mikeclarke952
      @mikeclarke952 8 месяцев назад

      Confirmed.

    • @DadbrosGarage
      @DadbrosGarage 8 месяцев назад +6

      I was saying out loud "rocket scientist" but I was enjoying the tour so I let it slide

    • @JP-su8bp
      @JP-su8bp 8 месяцев назад +4

      @@DadbrosGarage Not sure what you meant with 'let it slide'? I thought, and still do, that Steve made an intentional jest.

    • @damienwilloughby
      @damienwilloughby 7 месяцев назад

      @@DadbrosGarage 🤣🤣

  • @TrzCharlie
    @TrzCharlie 8 месяцев назад +10

    We live in Tucson and have visited the museum twice. It is very impressive. Thanks for the tour, love your content.

  • @robertrice1689
    @robertrice1689 7 месяцев назад +9

    Another 570th Titan II MCCC here, from 74 to 78. Nice video. I tell folks they have kept the complex looking like the crew walked out the day before. Once a year during the 7am pre-departure briefing they would briefly show a map of the targets for our missiles although we didn’t know where each missile was going. These warheads were generally used to dig out hardened areas like submarine pens and for air bursts that would disrupt communications.

    • @markefulton
      @markefulton 2 месяца назад +1

      Same here. 570th, from 75-78. MFT, perhaps we pulled some alerts together?

    • @ArthurBachmann-e7v
      @ArthurBachmann-e7v Месяц назад

      Outstanding. Sans NDA here. One time keyboard commando RAPCON 390th launch command TAC SAC DMAFB USAF Vietnam War era by SAR RTO Geronimo551 111th Squadron Arizona Wing of GA Freeway Airport Tucson CAP USAF AUX.
      My buddy Manny is gone now. He was full blooded Taihno, adopted by NYC Rothschild. Black Shoe Captain Manny Gutierrez, US MERCHANT MARINE US NAVY CIA FBI Antarctica Earth perimeter logistic resupply by Ice Breaker Attack Oiler known by semi retired Sergeant Major Mike Blackhawk Down Mogadishu Wisely, Ranger US ARMY once under General Tony SOF US ARMY knew Manny. Elements have been attempting to recover Manny's Flat Earth records in order to present them in court. Wisely may be operating in Fort Huachca and Sierra Vista areas. Wisely may be reached through Federal VA hospital Tucson. It is possible Wisely may choose to help. Have him show you his center of mass torso bullet hole below his sternum. Mike is a walking miracle of the creator God by Christ Nazareth. He has been shot five times.

  • @jefftoft5568
    @jefftoft5568 6 месяцев назад +2

    I spent 2 1/2 years as Security Police for all eighteen of the sites, saw every one of them. I stayed at this particular site many times, all the combat crews were great to work with and I enjoyed my time at DM. I took the tour in 2018 with some of my family, the smell of the site was still the same after all these years. They have changed some of the top side vehicles since I was there, no helicopter back then when I went. Brings back a lot of memories, nice video.

  • @pbacina
    @pbacina 8 месяцев назад +14

    I took this tour several years ago. The guide was a retired officer that actually manned one of the silos. I am glad that this knowledge is being passed on to the new guides.

    • @jakefox3677
      @jakefox3677 6 месяцев назад

      I learned that door is half open so that the Russian sats can see the door is non functional

  • @Junk65
    @Junk65 8 месяцев назад +12

    I visited there 30 years ago. Stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Looks like they have improved the museum and tour. Great video

    • @JohnCouch-m4f
      @JohnCouch-m4f 8 месяцев назад +5

      Thank you for your service!

    • @Junk65
      @Junk65 2 месяца назад

      @@JohnCouch-m4f thank you !

  • @KB6YAF
    @KB6YAF 8 месяцев назад +5

    Thanks for the tour Steve. My wife and I have been there and even she said it was the most fascinating place in all of Tucson. I am a ham radio operator and that huge disk-cone antenna is awesome. ......Russell D. Oh, and while you are in the Tucson area, don't forget to visit the Desert Museum near Old Tucson. Also, go take the Sabino Canyon tour and hike.

  • @void12122
    @void12122 6 месяцев назад +3

    My grandfather was one of two people who could initiate a launch at one of these sites. It still gives me awe to hear about his stories about working there.

  • @katherineozbirn6426
    @katherineozbirn6426 8 месяцев назад +17

    Your dry humor is great. Thanks for showing us this site. Very good tour.

  • @ernestjenkins1855
    @ernestjenkins1855 8 месяцев назад +8

    I was McConnell and was on afew of the sites. We were maintenance people who maintained the oxidizer and fuel trailers.

  • @Daness74
    @Daness74 7 месяцев назад +1

    Thx for taken me with you / share !! Exciting installation!! 👏👍🤞🍀☮️♾️

  • @JohnCouch-m4f
    @JohnCouch-m4f 8 месяцев назад +2

    Thanks Steve for another great tour! I've always wanted to check this place out and now even more. Great history and education as always included with todays production, thank you so much for making Wednesday mornings worth waiting for! Keep up the good work and see you next week!!!

  • @Proto1227
    @Proto1227 8 месяцев назад +1

    Been here 30 years ago and 5 years ago with my daughters. Abosolutely amazing. Great look into our history. Thanks Steve.

  • @steffenrumpel2784
    @steffenrumpel2784 8 месяцев назад +1

    The missile head/cone compared to the model (2:21) did give a decent impression of how huge the whole thing is.
    Thanks for taking the time to share.

  • @JonathanLight1
    @JonathanLight1 8 месяцев назад +2

    I like the videos where the guests get to be the firing officers and actually turn the key to launch!

  • @yzenynot
    @yzenynot 8 месяцев назад +13

    Recently watched a Falcon 9 launch out of Vandenberg from the shoreline here in San Diego, a first for me. As someone who was a kid in the 60's it was as thrilling as it was terrifying to see that small flame move across the night sky. I grew up in Baltimore, 40 miles east of DC, and "duck and cover" exercises were, sadly, as common as active shooter drills are today in school. One day, in 5th grade, I refused to get under my desk and cower. When the teacher ask why I wasn't following directions I reminded her that she had told us the blast radius in which everyone would be vaporized was 40 miles. "Washington DC is 40 miles that way," pointing out the window, "I want to see the flash." She was not amused, and I got in loads of trouble, but I wasn't wrong either. Great stuff as always Steve.

    • @conniewojahn6445
      @conniewojahn6445 8 месяцев назад +4

      Aren't you glad none of the "duck and cover" exercises were for real?

    • @milt6208
      @milt6208 8 месяцев назад +4

      I grew up in Las Vegas and remember the above ground nuclear blasts at the Nevada Test Site 90 miles north of town. Freaking awesome.

    • @jshepard152
      @jshepard152 8 месяцев назад +1

      Warheads and missile blast zones are much smaller now. Even 10-12 miles from epicenter, you should survive a nuclear detonation, at least initially.

    • @yzenynot
      @yzenynot 8 месяцев назад

      @@jshepard152 considering i live less that 10 miles away from one of the biggest military installations on the west coast i doubt i'll have anything to worry about.

    • @paulas_lens
      @paulas_lens 7 месяцев назад +2

      If you get the chance, try to see a Falcon 9 launch in Lompoc, it is awesome. I was lucky enough a few years ago. There is a pull off on the road heading towards Ocean Beach and the Amtrak station where everyone gathers to watch. You see it, hear it and feel it. I cried.

  • @flyingfortressrc1794
    @flyingfortressrc1794 7 месяцев назад

    I went there when it first opened up as a museum around 1980.
    I was a ten year old kid in utter amazement.
    Haven't seen it since and I'm even more amazed now seeing your great video.
    Thanks for filming this.
    Takes me back to good times with my Dad.

  • @roywhitman7109
    @roywhitman7109 8 месяцев назад +2

    Really glad you posted this one! I'd been past this very same complex around ten years ago but was unable to stop & check it out! Pretty fascinating! Hoping we never have to use stuff like this! Safe travels, Steve!

  • @jaykb6587
    @jaykb6587 8 месяцев назад +8

    What interested me the most were the white suits. My father was the CEO of Hanford while plutonium was being developed. While he was in one of the development rooms, evidently alone, one of the test tubes filled with an unknown substance exploded. Dad was immediately rushed to a very isolated room at the Richland (I think) hospital. He was kept there for an unknown time frame. Mim wasn't even allowed to visit him. The only people who could come into contact with him wore these "space suits," as Dad described them. These are very pertinent to my life... (Afterwards, Dad had strange seizures for the rest of his life. He passed away at age 86 with still no diagnosis.)

    • @Feintgames
      @Feintgames 8 месяцев назад

      Seizures are often caused by damage to the brain. Whatever created the explosion probably created overpressure in the room which can cause brain damage. Or the explosion could have caused him to impact something in the room which created the injuries he sustained, similar to a car crash.
      Nuclear weapons research is very dangerous. It doesn't take much to get severely injured or killed. A good book to read which might give you some insight into it is The Making of the Atomic Bomb. It's on Audible. I've listened to it two and a half times now. It's stunning.

    • @paulas_lens
      @paulas_lens 7 месяцев назад

      I am sorry.

  • @Steve-ow4jt
    @Steve-ow4jt 8 месяцев назад +3

    Hey Steve
    I loved the informative tour of the Titan 2 missle silo. Was quite different from the one I toured at Ellsworth Air Force base in Rapid City South Dakota. Looking at the technology of that era compared to today seems so ancient. Truly a great video. Will be waiting for next week. Until then stay safe and God bless.
    Steve in Oklahoma

  • @PublicAffairs3-w8n
    @PublicAffairs3-w8n 7 месяцев назад +1

    This is very well done. I've been to this museum twice, and your video does an excellent job of showing the exhibits. Appreciated.

  • @Kw1161
    @Kw1161 7 месяцев назад

    My baby sitter’s husband was stationed at this silo in 1971 24hrs on and 2 days off which he liked. He later went to Vandenberg AFB to witness a live launch which he said the noise was incredible. When was in the US Navy I thought our terrier missiles were load and hot …at least the world was not going to end if they were shot off.
    I drive by this museum quite often when going by Green Valley and it has been 20 years since I last visited, so your video makes me want to go again, thanks!
    Happy Easter and have a great day!

  • @georgepacheco8180
    @georgepacheco8180 8 месяцев назад +20

    Right on, Brother. You just made my day. You got most of the information correct, and you gave me some info on some of the missile systems support structure. I was a Propellant Transfer System (PTS) troop from 1977 to 1980 at McConnell AFB, Wichita, KS.

    • @JohnCouch-m4f
      @JohnCouch-m4f 8 месяцев назад +4

      Thank you for your service!

    • @IEchuckie
      @IEchuckie 8 месяцев назад

      Most of the information correct. What information was wrong?

    • @boboneill4828
      @boboneill4828 8 месяцев назад

      A couple things…the servicemen in the bunker were only equipped to survive 18 days? So it’s basically a suicide mission? Also the movie Wargames had a very good technical advisor,it looked just like that!! Great job Steve!!

    • @nadenolam8368
      @nadenolam8368 8 месяцев назад +1

      I remember taking care of the guys in the hospital that suffered from a propellant leak at a Wichita site.

    • @chuckputnam566
      @chuckputnam566 8 месяцев назад

      I was also at 381 MIMS at the same time as you. I was in Guidance (then cross trained into E-LAB when the guidance system was changed in the late 70s).

  • @NioJahro
    @NioJahro 8 месяцев назад +8

    A small side note, this missile silo also made it into the cinemas in 1996. It was used in the movie Star Trek - First Contact as a location for the scenes on the launch pad of the "Phoenix". Com. Data & Cap. Picard are standing right next to the rocket. The command center was also used for the shots later in the movie when the "Phoenix" was launched.

    • @GiovanniEsposito5
      @GiovanniEsposito5 5 месяцев назад +2

      Thanks, I was just wandering if this was the site they used in First contact! Great movie, bytheway...

    • @DrumToTheBassWoop
      @DrumToTheBassWoop 14 дней назад

      I knew i recognised thst rocket.

  • @JimJones-sz4vi
    @JimJones-sz4vi 8 месяцев назад +3

    What a blast from the past. I worked on these in Arkansas in the eighties. Seems like an entirely different world to me now.

  • @missyd0g2
    @missyd0g2 8 месяцев назад +4

    My son and I visited he silo a few years ago. The tour guide worked in the silo while in the military. My son was picked to Turn the Key and launch the missile.
    The silo is handicap assessable. I was in my mobility scooter and was able to ride the equipment elevator down into the deep silo. Also Star Trek NG episode was filled there!

  • @k.b.8412
    @k.b.8412 8 месяцев назад +1

    Awesome job. I toured the silo in the 90's. A lot of improvements that really make it look like a well maintained museum. I'll be hopping down there again soon.

  • @johnwhitley2898
    @johnwhitley2898 8 месяцев назад +1

    Great Tour Steve! Thanks for showing off our Titan Missile Museum! It's very cool and I have been on the tour several times. If you get the chance, visit the Pima Air Museum, as it is as equally interesting 🤔.
    I grew up here during the Cold War and my Dad was a serious career (30+years) Army CWO. I knew a couple of things he did and any other questions were answered with the phrase, "How about THEM Yankees!"... LOL 😆! Interesting time it was...... Knowing that Davis-Monthan AFB ( about 3/4 of a mile away)... was a #1 Target for the Soviet Union and China. We just knew if the CD Air Raid Sirens went off, we, as a family were going to strip down to our underware, splash on some Copper tone, don some sunglasses and go sit in the front Yard and get the tan of a lifetime for about three- thousandth of a second😆😆..... No sense in trying to evacuate to Ajo, Oracle, or Benson.... Everything was targeted here with 10 missiles..... lololol 😆😂😂!!
    All jokes aside, we slept well knowing the deterrent was in force, and we were safe.
    There's two in that area, the museum you visited, and there's one other up by the Madera Canyon Road, just outside Continental about 6 to 8 miles away as the crow flies. That Silo was a Titan I. Some one is trying to convert it to a home...
    It was a lonely outpost and eerie as well with the one red lamp on the pole and the flood lights on the entrance gate. Not a friendly looking place, All business . 😶
    We ALL survived, and you took us with you! Good times!! Thanks!

  • @bradfordwetmore
    @bradfordwetmore 8 месяцев назад

    I visited the museum 20+ years ago, but seeing this hit all the highlights I so clearly remember. Thanks for the showing the crew quarters, we didn't get to go there.

  • @BuzZzKiller
    @BuzZzKiller 8 месяцев назад +2

    My Great Uncle was a vice commander at this facility when it was active. He was also a tour guide for the facility for over 30 years. He took me all over this silo, as well as some places the public never sees. Fun fact: The Pheonix launch scenes in Star Trek: First Contact were filmed in this facility.

    • @johnross6314
      @johnross6314 8 месяцев назад

      Did he know Chuck?

    • @BuzZzKiller
      @BuzZzKiller 8 месяцев назад

      @@johnross6314 I don’t recall for sure. Name sounds familiar though. My Uncle’s name is Lathan. Laddie for short if that helps. He recently left Suaharita and is now living in Florida.

  • @RaymondMullen-t9j
    @RaymondMullen-t9j 8 месяцев назад +1

    You do some pretty Cool and Educational Tours ....
    Keep Them COMING .....

  • @brucetifer
    @brucetifer 8 месяцев назад +2

    Oh the green paint and the bunks bring back some memories. I was in Florida Air Force. I did see the last Apollo shot. Great video brought back some memories.

    • @samsignorelli
      @samsignorelli 8 месяцев назад

      "I did see the last Apollo shot" Apollo 17 or the Apollo-Soyuz mission?

  • @davidmillerd7631
    @davidmillerd7631 6 месяцев назад +1

    So very interesting , hats off to the people keeping the display so well presented. Thanks for posting very enjoyable : )

  • @paulslajchert937
    @paulslajchert937 8 месяцев назад +1

    Thank you for all these great videos. I will never be able to visit any of the wonderful locations in person, but because of you it's like I'm along with you. Again thanks

  • @johngray9669
    @johngray9669 8 месяцев назад +1

    My wife and I visited a Minute Man launch center and missle silo in South Dakota.
    Your video looks like a better tour.

  • @amandapage4716
    @amandapage4716 8 месяцев назад +1

    Thank you for bringing us your videos. Always interesting and always classy and respectful. Truly enjoy your channel... thank you! From Vancouver Canada Vancouver Canada

  • @questionmarkproductions766
    @questionmarkproductions766 8 месяцев назад

    My wife and I were there this past New Year’s Eve weekend. Excellent tour and a lot of good information. Per our tour guide, The missile on display was used to train the maintenance crews in Texas. It was salvaged and put back together for this museum. Great video.

  • @cburgess5294
    @cburgess5294 8 месяцев назад

    I have family in Green Valley and this was a must-see for me when we went out to visit them a few years ago. Such an amazing relic of the cold-war era.

  • @jamesr4900
    @jamesr4900 8 месяцев назад +1

    I was raised on a farm near McConnell AFB. We had a Titan II in our backyard. Scary to think about it now! Good reporting!

  • @paulratto8638
    @paulratto8638 8 месяцев назад +1

    Great video,,,(as always) Our son told us about this museum after his visit.. He loved the “old time” technology since he’s an electrical engineer… We also enjoyed it since we’re also “old time” due to age !

  • @SolamenteVees
    @SolamenteVees 8 месяцев назад +4

    An hour from my home! Thank you for video.

  • @noelleckness9942
    @noelleckness9942 8 месяцев назад +1

    Took two of my kids in 2009. As a former BMAT, I ended up being a supplemental tour guide. Remarkable how things came back to me. I was disappointed so much of the electronics had been upgraded. My Missile Alignment and Checkout Group had been replaced with maybe one or two drawers instead of all those drawers and lights. Still, a great tour. I think the kids were actually impressed.

  • @feverspell
    @feverspell 8 месяцев назад +1

    I love Wednesdays because it means another video from Sidetrack Adventures! There is seemingly no end to the interesting places you find yourself, Steve. Thanks for taking all of us along for the ride! 🙂

  • @skydiverclassc2031
    @skydiverclassc2031 8 месяцев назад +2

    Cool tour, thanks. I remember watching a video on the Little Rock missile detonation (accidental). What surprised me, well, among other things, was that the missile body is so thin that it was punctured by someone dropping a large socket wrench, which bounced around in the silo and hit the missile. Fuel leaked out, and....boom. Big boom.

    • @jshepard152
      @jshepard152 8 месяцев назад

      That was one of many problems inherent with keeping a liquid fueled missile ready to launch. That's why the entire US missile force today is solid-fueled. They can sit in a silo safely for decades.

  • @tompfeiffer2755
    @tompfeiffer2755 8 месяцев назад

    Great video to watch as my uncles built these silos in the 60's. A definite bucket list item now when we visit Tucson. Thanks for sharing.

  • @valerierayburn813
    @valerierayburn813 8 месяцев назад +4

    Young tour guide! Lol!!! I pulled my first 24 hour tour in a Titan ll silo as a Combat Crew Member (BMAT) before I turned 19 years old.

    • @chuckputnam566
      @chuckputnam566 8 месяцев назад +1

      Brooms, Mops, and Trash?? 😅 I was in Titan II maintenance working in Guidance. The MGACG was the BMAT and Guidance go between.

  • @bwhog
    @bwhog 8 месяцев назад +2

    The tour is worth every cent! One of my favorite things out there is the giant long wave antenna! (I grew up around broadcasting.) Great bonus, here. I never saw the living quarters. Just the control room which (btw) has late 1970s electronics in it, which is why there are all those blank panels. Shrinkage! Now the whole thing could be run from a tablet. The missiles were phased out because of the introduction of the MIRV systems. This one carried a single warhead. The missiles in Montana CAN carry up to three but by treaty are currently limited to just one.

    • @curmudgeonextraordinaire1884
      @curmudgeonextraordinaire1884 8 месяцев назад

      Actually the Titan was phased out because the solid fueled Minutemans were safer and more reliable than the liquid fueled Titans.

  • @Zupdood2
    @Zupdood2 8 месяцев назад +1

    Nice! I just took this tour last month, since I was visiting Tucson. Very interesting. I’m glad these were never used!

  • @richardmoramarco6754
    @richardmoramarco6754 8 месяцев назад

    Went there over 20 years ago, glad to see it's still open and improved since I saw.

  • @rezamostafid8810
    @rezamostafid8810 3 месяца назад

    Thanks for taking us along! Great video and great narration...

  • @samsignorelli
    @samsignorelli 8 месяцев назад +49

    "If you were ever in the military, you were probably more than familiar with the buffer."
    Every veteran in the nation just started nodding his head...I know I did!

    • @bostonrailfan2427
      @bostonrailfan2427 8 месяцев назад +2

      son of a veteran who grew up around other veterans…first thought was my dad’s and his DAV buddies’ tales of using that🤣

    • @bacondad6960
      @bacondad6960 8 месяцев назад +4

      "every Marine is a basic janitor!" Semper Field Day Us!!

    • @aaaht3810
      @aaaht3810 7 месяцев назад +1

      Yes, sir!!

    • @eddyd8745
      @eddyd8745 7 месяцев назад +1

      Our basic training bumpers were the hand operated ones. Basically a big heavy weight on the end of a long handle.

    • @paulas_lens
      @paulas_lens 7 месяцев назад +1

      Brooms, rakes...

  • @brentnearhood8874
    @brentnearhood8874 8 месяцев назад +8

    Thanks! Steve 🚀

  • @babuzzard6470
    @babuzzard6470 5 месяцев назад

    Greetings❤ from Australia, this is one of the best narrated docos, thank you I’ve seen the silos, on line of course, before but the narration is very good. Thanks Mate!👍🇦🇺

  • @blanton1624
    @blanton1624 8 месяцев назад +1

    Thanks for another interesting and informative video, Steve! Appreciate the work you put into these videos!

  • @gbryant261
    @gbryant261 8 месяцев назад

    As I now live in Green Valley, I frequently bring visitors to this site. The first time I visited, I was selected to do the simulated launch (I turned the key). This is a very unique and important part of our history and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting near Tucson. I enjoyed the video tour and will send links to my friends who took the tour while visiting here, thanks.

  • @RetroRobbin59
    @RetroRobbin59 8 месяцев назад +2

    Great video Steve. I visited something similar to this place in South Dakota. Those missiles are huge!

    • @JohnFeiler-ow3sp
      @JohnFeiler-ow3sp 5 месяцев назад

      The Minuteman II missiles were bottle rockets in comparison to the Titan IIs. 53 feet tall vs 103 feet.

  • @markperry4536
    @markperry4536 19 дней назад

    I visited this site with my parents in the 90s. It’s really a fascinating visit!

  • @1a1u0g9t4s2u
    @1a1u0g9t4s2u 8 месяцев назад

    Have not been on the tour, but have visited several decommissioned Titan missile sites working my way to the museum. There are also some repurposed airstrips from the 40's used for military training that I have been to. Love your videos which adds to the list of places I will visit. Thanks for sharing.

  • @Thatdavemarsh
    @Thatdavemarsh 7 месяцев назад

    Another great video. I enjoy your pacing. It’s relaxing but informative. You do a nice job of balancing the cuts/times and showing different views.

  • @michaelhaney3388
    @michaelhaney3388 8 месяцев назад

    Thanks Steve, That was a great tour. Reminds me of the movie War Games, 1984 movie.

  • @danielcarroll5667
    @danielcarroll5667 8 месяцев назад +1

    I was about to enter kindergarten when this silo went live and lived about 15 miles from downtown D.C. , we used to joke about how effective getting under our desks would be , we were also about the same distance from a Nike missile site , ground zero for sure , seems really creepy now , thanks for the tour...

  • @murfrirhke4557
    @murfrirhke4557 8 месяцев назад +3

    During my MFT time, the crew consisted of a commander, deputy commander, missile facility technician (MFT), & ballistic missile avionics tech (BMAT).

  • @Pzelez71
    @Pzelez71 8 месяцев назад +1

    I was a part of a 4X4HAM group that would go there in October and host a special event station with our club call (W7AZO) and we used that Discone antenna. Very neat place with a lot of history.

  • @cmahar3
    @cmahar3 7 месяцев назад

    Took my family there and took the tour years ago. It truly is a worthwhile place to visit.

    • @jakefox3677
      @jakefox3677 6 месяцев назад

      It’s a nice quick stop only takes like 30-45 mins

  • @johnathonme
    @johnathonme 7 месяцев назад

    What an awesome video, especially in 4K, love it, thanks for sharing!!!

  • @lindagrimmett6564
    @lindagrimmett6564 8 месяцев назад

    What an awesome thing to see! I had no idea this was out there. Thanks Steve!

  • @JamesSmith-cz1pj
    @JamesSmith-cz1pj 8 месяцев назад +4

    I was in the 390th ELAB shop based out of Davis Monthan AFB in the late 70's. I remember having to travel out to the various sites in the 100+ degree Tuscon heat in those dark blue 6-pack trucks with no air conditioning, then having to unload racks of 110 lb. battery banks and haul them down to the lower level of the control center where the 24v battery backup stations were... good times. 😅 Seriously though, scariest place I've ever been, especially when the comm alert went off and the DCC yelled "Clear the control center!" and we all had to scramble upstairs. That happened a lot, and I got used to it, but in the back of my mind I sometimes wondered if something bad was about to happen.

    • @jshepard152
      @jshepard152 8 месяцев назад

      Thank you for your service.

  • @EOWweekendRVer
    @EOWweekendRVer 8 месяцев назад +1

    As an Air Force Security Policeman during the Cold War, this brought back a lot of memories, even though I never actually worked the missile silos. I was, however, assigned to the Strategic Air Command and yes, I did operate a buffer.

  • @stefanschneider3681
    @stefanschneider3681 8 месяцев назад +1

    That was fascinating! Just think of all the money that went into building these! Thx as always for sharing your adventures with us.

  • @guitarstringman7403
    @guitarstringman7403 8 месяцев назад +1

    Whoa, this video is a bit off your beaten trail, except that it IS in our beautiful desert southwest! Much enjoyed, thanks for the info.

  • @dustytabor
    @dustytabor 8 месяцев назад

    Great video... Love that you got to see and share the crew quarters. I'm currently staying about a half mile from here for a couple weeks. Been a while since I've been there. Thanks for sharing.

  • @marcelopabloabalpereira8418
    @marcelopabloabalpereira8418 7 месяцев назад +1

    Muchas gracias desde la República Oriental del Uruguay.

  • @sandyzalecki1145
    @sandyzalecki1145 8 месяцев назад +2

    I worked in the Launch Control Facilities in Grand Forks, ND for Minuteman missiles when I was in the Air Force. They were different. The missiles weren't at the same place as the Launch Control Facilities. I worked on the electronic equipment. They do have one of the old printers we used to have to work on at the museum. Most of the equipment was reliable, but the printers weren't. They had a big razor blade that would come down and cut the paper. Do you know how long a razor blade lasts when cutting paper. We were constantly having to go out and replace those razor blades. Thankfully they were replaced. I would often look at the place where the key went to launch the missiles and think about how destructive that one little switch was. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

  • @davidjohnstone6476
    @davidjohnstone6476 8 месяцев назад

    Thank you so much for your time and explanation to make this. Good job! Well appreciated!

  • @robertnelson3179
    @robertnelson3179 7 месяцев назад

    Thanks for the flashback been a number years for me. My mom and dad and older brother and sister lived in Tucson while my dad was a program manager there while that was being built my mom still wishes she lived there.

  • @jonathanstanford843
    @jonathanstanford843 7 месяцев назад

    Very cool video! Thanks for sharing. Kind of chilling but I love this kind of history. Would love to visit this some day.

  • @Retr0racin
    @Retr0racin 8 месяцев назад +2

    Cool, In 1962 I was born on Davis Monthan AFB. My old man was in the Air Force.

  • @HughesEnterprises
    @HughesEnterprises 8 месяцев назад +3

    I was just there a few months ago! Less than a mile off the freeway and a quarter mile from a shopping center lol

  • @buzzabuzza3494
    @buzzabuzza3494 8 месяцев назад

    Superb!! Thank you for sharing a unique experience it’s great that the last silo was preserved.🇬🇧🇺🇸🙏🙏

  • @JonFisher-fj6qe
    @JonFisher-fj6qe 7 месяцев назад +1

    nice video, great job narrating!

  • @problu9586
    @problu9586 8 месяцев назад +1

    In early 1970s, as a public relations (information specialist) airman, escorted visiting VIPs to see Titan IIs up close and personal, occasionally flew out in a Huey. I was always awed seeing those missiles up close and somewhat fearful knowing what one could do if launched.

  • @michaelsimmons261
    @michaelsimmons261 8 месяцев назад +1

    For such a Destructive place l felt very calm watching this... now I know what color to paint my living room 😊

  • @Richard-pe4cx
    @Richard-pe4cx 7 месяцев назад +1

    glad too see at least one silo has been preserved

  • @TheSaturnV
    @TheSaturnV 8 месяцев назад

    Nicely done. They should make the living quarters and command center available on all tours, the whole thing is so fascinating.