I was at first hesitant to use this picture, given its reminder of the Cold War and the threat from the former Soviet Union, but it is such a dramatic shot I decided to go with it. Besides, the museum was so interesting and the staff so friendly and welcoming that I remember the visit very fondly.
The Titan Missile Museum is the only remaining Titan II site open to the public. It is located at Green Valley, Arizona, about 25 miles south of Tucson. I visited the site while staying at Tubac, the subject of an earlier blog here.
The Titan II ICBM was in service between 1963 and 1987 and was capable of launching from its underground silo in 58 seconds. It could deliver a nine-megaton thermonuclear warhead to its target more than 6,000 miles away in less than thirty minutes. For more than two decades, 54 Titan II missile complexes across the United States stood on alert 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
One of the control rooms.
The launch complex here came off alert on November 11, 1982 and work to turn the missile site into a museum began in February of 1983. The Titan Missile Museum opened its doors to the public on May 21, 1986.
The Count Ferdinand von Galen Titan Missile Museum Education and Research Center is situated directly adjacent to the launch complex and houses an exhibit gallery, museum store, classroom and an archival storage area.
The sign on the wall pictured above indicates that something more short-range is needed to deal with today’s enemy.
Brings back anxious memories. I served on active duty with the US Army in Germany 1972-73 during the Cold War, and when I was in High School we did drills if Russian ICBM’s were sent to target my hometown steel mills in Pittsburgh. Drills encompassed curling up under our shoddy wooden desks. That was real protection !!
Yes, glad those days are over, but still so much conflict around the world. Sad.