![]() ![]() A Minuteman Missile Launch Site could easily be mistaken for reservour or utility site. An arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles stood at constant alert in underground silos located throughout the Great Plains. However, this same area was the front-line of the Cold War for over thirty years. The Great Plains have long been known as America’s heartland, a place of quiet farms and simple living. Front Line of the Cold War The peaceful plains of South Dakota housed 150 Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. Here’s a quick take on this remarkable “missile silo national park” and the geopolitical events that built it. ![]() Want a glimpse at a Nuke? You can do that at this missile silo national park. The park’s three units include an outstanding visitor center, a high-tech missile launch facility, and a complete underground missile silo. More than that, the park actually features a complete Nuclear alert facility. Minuteman Missile NHS is the first national park dedicated to telling the story of the Cold War Era. What to Know about Visiting the Missile Silo National Park.Minuteman Missile NHS Interpretive Center.Delta Wing: The Context for Minuteman Missile NHS.Air Force crews began lowering the weapons into the silos at the end of July, and Malmstrom AFB's first ten-missile flight was hurriedly activated on October 27, 1962, at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. In the spring of 1962, the Associated Press reported that the Montana silos were being "rushed to completion," and that the first missiles, each loaded with "one megaton of death and destruction," would be ready by late summer. The Air Force began constructing the Nation's first Minuteman missile field on March 16, 1961. In addition, the region offered an established network of roads and, like much of the West, a large amount of easy-to-acquire public land. In the event of a nuclear accident or attack, the low population density near Malmstrom AFB would minimize civilian casualties. In 1960, the Air Force decided to locate the first Minuteman installation on the high plains around Great Falls, Montana, at Malmstrom AFB. ![]() But when early models of Minuteman missiles fell short of their intended 5,500-mile range, the Air Force selected sites in the northern part of the United States, which was closer to the Soviet Union. The Air Force initially considered putting Minuteman missiles as far south as Georgia, Texas, and Oklahoma. The silos were separated from the launch control facility and from each other by a distance of several miles. Each squadron was further subdivided into five smaller units, called "flights." A flight consisted of a single, manned, launch control facility, linked to ten, unmanned, underground, missile silos. However, the Air Force soon determined that "for reasons of economy 150 launchers should be concentrated in a single area, whenever possible, and that no area should contain fewer than 50 missiles." Consequently, the Air Force organized the Minuteman force into a series of administrative units called "wings," each comprised of three or four 50-missile squadrons. The Air Force wanted to deploy Minuteman as a single, immense, "missile farm," equipped with as many as 1,500 missiles. The six Minuteman missile fields were located in the states of Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Missouri. ![]()
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