Titan II Tour

One of the main attractions in Tucson is the Titan II Missile Museum. The Titan II was the largest Intercontinental ballistic missile in the United States Air Force inventory and was on ALERT from 1962-1987. I remember in grade school having bomb shelters and practicing drills during the Cold War.

The Titan II measures 110 feet in length with a 10 foot diameter, utilizing in excess of 200,000 lbs of propellant and produced 530,000 lbs of thrust. It had a target range of 5,500 miles that could be delivered within 30 minutes....scary.

There were 3 sites during that time. One being in Tucson at the Davis-Monthan AFB which is the only one still open as a museum and conducts tours. The other two were in Wichita, Kansas and Little Rock, Arkansas. These 3 sites housed 18 missiles each. To this day the proposed targets for any of these missiles is still classified.

With the end of their life as weapon systems reused Titans became the basis for rockets that have launched dozens of satellites into orbit. The existence of the Titan as a weapon helped to prevent a massively destructive war between the United State and The Soviet Union. And has also served to advance human knowledge and begin the exploration of space. The tour was very interesting and highly recommended if your ever in this area.


One of the missiles on display. Your able to see the entire missile and realize the massive size...but it was hard to get a picture.


T
Command Center. There were 2 retired USAF on our tour who were able to interject some interesting stories. One actually worked on the Titan in Little Rock.


Rocket Engine. One of many exhibits on display. Way over my head...but Ron enjoyed it.


The bowels of the operation. To get here you had to walk 55 steps (down but of course then you had to come back up). Luckily I was able to control my claustrophobia. I'm never sure.



Anyone over 5' 11" had to wear a hard hat...I, of course, had no problem with the low tolerance areas.


Hope all is well!

Joan & Ron