The Minuteman IA on display (designation LGM-30A) represents one of 150 deployed at Malmstrom AFB between 19. The crews, missiles and silos received support from technical, administrative, service, security and many other personnel at the wings' parent bases. The launch crews rotated regularly, and they maintained very high proficiency in the awesome responsibility of operating nuclear weapons. By 1966, 1,000 silos were complete, and all their missiles were operational by mid-1967.Įach underground launch control center, with two USAF officers on constant alert, controlled ten missiles typically separated from one another by at least three miles of open land. The Minuteman force grew very quickly as the US Army Corps of Engineers constructed the relatively small, easy to build silos using prefabricated sections. These states had thousands of square miles of open space surrounding the bases, making them ideal for Minuteman operations.Įach Minuteman wing contained three or four 50-missile squadrons divided into 10-missile flights. Later models would be based at Malmstrom and five other bases in western states including South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming and Missouri. ![]() Malmstrom's first flight of 10 missiles went on operational alert on Oct. Minuteman IA missiles like the one on display were based at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., in the 341st Strategic Missile Wing, the first of six Minuteman wings. The USAF planned to deploy up to 1,600 Minutemen - later revised to 1,000 and then 950 - making the system a very strong nuclear deterrent.Īfter a series of successful test launches, the USAF began rapidly deploying Minuteman missiles. ![]() Boeing was the overall contractor, and important parts of the missile came from the firms Autonetics (guidance) Aerojet, Hercules and Thiokol (rocket stages) and Avco (re-entry vehicles). In 1958, guided by the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division, industry began work on the new three-stage missile. In addition, Minuteman was small enough to be housed in very strong unmanned underground silos able to survive nuclear attack. Air Force had been studying solid fuels since the early 1950s, and using solid fuel was important because it meant that the missile could be stored unattended for long periods. ![]() Minuteman's advantages combined speed, low maintenance, high reliability, high "survivability" from attack, and low cost. Moreover, they tended to be vulnerable to attack. They were also complex and costly, requiring close monitoring and constant maintenance, and their propellants could be dangerous. In contrast to Minuteman, older missiles like Atlas and Titan I took up to half an hour to fuel and launch. ![]() They used solid rather than liquid fuel, and so could be launched in less than a minute - hence the "Minuteman" name, referring to colonial American farmers who could be ready to defend their homes at a moment's notice. The first Minuteman missiles became operational in late 1962.Minuteman IA missiles like the one on display were the first generation of a revolutionary new family of ICBMs. intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to use solid fuel, permitting quick-response launches in case of attack. The Minuteman missile concept pushed rocket technology to a new level and it vastly improved U.S.
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