Cold War Fun

The Armageddon Tour

Back in the day, our nation had the wisdom to teach our school kids to hid under their desks to protect themselves from nuclear detonation. In those times, our nation had nuclear missile bases sprinkled about the country, usually out in the middle of nowhere. Well, between nuclear arms reduction treaties and obsolescence, most of these bases are no more. However, these dark pieces of history are still preserved in a few select places across the country. Somewhere in the south Arizona desert, halfway between Tucson and the Mexican border, you can visit the Titan Missile Museum. At the Titan Missile Museum, Cold War fun is still alive and well.

The previous pictures are the above ground and below ground looks at the base/museum. On the left, other than the actual silo in the middle, most of the other structures are the museum and related tourist attractions. In the day, it would have been more barren looking, as you can see on the diagram to the right. So, for a small fee, you can visit the museum, then take a below ground Armageddon tour.

The Basics of Nuclear Preparedness

About 30 miles from the missile base, there is the Davis-Monthan Air Force base. During the Cold War, this base supplied 4 men each day for 24 hour shifts in the missile base. The men would go through a series of high security check points as they descend the stairs to the control room. On the tour, you get to go through the check process as you descend to the control room.

If you successfully clear security checks, you end up in the control room.

Once you are in the control room, the guide takes the group through an entire simulated launch sequence. It’s quite the process…which I guess is good for nuclear destruction. The launch sequence was the main source of entertainment for the 4 men on duty. The crew drilled on the sequence repeatedly. The practice not only ensured a quick launch time. Additionally, the hope was that simulation repetition made the crew numb to their actions. The military did not want this crew to second guess the order to launch a nuke. Typically, after receiving proper authorization, the crew could launch the missile in about 3 minutes. However, the proper authorization would take the President/military about 25 minutes. Therefore, start to finish, we could launch a nuke in about 30 minutes.

Mutually Assured Destruction

“Mutually assured destruction” was an emphasized theme of the tour. The military did not build these sites to directly defend our nation. Rather, the intention was to obliterate the Soviet Union AFTER they obliterated us. This missile base was built to survive a “near” nuclear hit and still return fire. So, if you were going to obliterate the USSR, you needed an Inter-continental ballistic missile…

After going through an entire launch sequence, the tour group was anxious to see the Big One. And, the Titan missile did not disappoint. Seeing the Titan in the silo was a bit tricky. The best view was going up top and looking directly down the silo (pictured above right). As part of the disarmament treaty, the military thoroughly disassembled most of these bases. In order to maintain this base as a museum, the USSR required us to make certain reassurances that things were harmless. The square hole in the top of the missile is intended as obvious evidence that no nuke is present. Also, the military had to install large physical blocks to prevent the silo doors from fully opening. Russia can use their spy satellites to ensure these blocks remain in place.

Shout Out to My Nerd Friends

If you wish to avoid Star Trek nerd talk, skip this section. Anyway…as you all remember, in the movie Star Trek – First Contact, Captain Picard and crew went back in time to the creation of the first warp engine on Earth. As tends to happen, the timeline of this historic event was corrupted. The crew of the Enterprise needed to find the inventor, Zefram Cochran, and get the first warp engine launch back on track. Well, there was a scene where the crew found the warp engine. That whole scene occurred at this base. The dressed up Titan missile served as the first warp engine.

For reasons not clear to me, Picard and Data were allowed to enter the silo and touch the missile. However, PugsleyTonks had to remain behind the viewing window.

Wrap It Up

So, that was my afternoon at the Titan Missile Museum. Furthermore, I should mention that there is a museum before descending to the missile silo. In the museum, there is all sorts of educational material on mutually assured destruction, nuclear overkill theory, and the destructive power of thermonuclear warheads. It’s all Cold War fun. So, if you happen to be in Tucson and need to kill a half day, this is worth doing. Have a wonderful day. PT

I hope have enjoyed reading “Cold War Fun” on Traveling with PugsleyTonks.

Here’s a random, past post with entirely no relevance https://travelingwithpt.com/chicken-sht-bingo/

If you wish to visit the Titan Missile Museum https://titanmissilemuseum.org/