Going Underground
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This is the way down.. Though there is an
escape hatch, this is the only way to enter. When this site was active, this
structure, along with the antennas, and the silo door, were the only above
ground constructions within the perimeter fences. |
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The caution sign, and particularly the warning
against rattlesnakes, are almost humorous. It is odd, with the prospects
of nuclear war, to consider something as mundane as getting bitten by a snake,
or stumbling on a stairway. A phone at the bottom, was used to request the
opening of the door, after appropriate code responses were given. |
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Having gotten through the outer stairs,
the visitor faces a phone, and a vintage black and white video camera. Another
locked gate bars entry. |
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Once through the gate, we go down stairs. |
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And down more stairs, this is why an elevator
ride is offered to older, or infirm visitors. |
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One of our guides, awaits us at the bottom.
he stands, just inside the entry to the lock, which is a small section set
between a pair of concrete blast doors. The doors are operated through a
set of electrically controlled bolts, which are opened and closed by the
crew in the control area. The rather wide door frame, gives an indication
of the thickness of the walls down here. |
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A close up of the bolts, which hold the doors
in place. They are designed to defeat both nuclear blast, and forced entry. |
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My group precedes me through the lock, and
heads towards the tunnels which will take us to the control room, and then
to the missile. |
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LEFT: One of the guides acts as a clean up man, keeping watch for stragglers. Behind him, can be seen the main entry, and the gate to the elevator. BELOW: A look through, to the control room. |
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Blast dampers sit between the various components,
to prevent them from being shaken together, and bashing each other to bits,
if a nearby nuclear detonation should occur. |
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A look through the final ramp, to the control
area. The ever present intercom, and shock absorbers are also visible in
this view. They are located everywhere throughout the site. |
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Our guide confides in us that he never really
wanted to be a tour guide. All of his life, he has dreamed of being an
orchestra conductor. |
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LEFT: This is the commander's console. The red books, to the left of the console, are log books. It was part of the job, of the commander, and the deputy commander, to log and time stamp every event which occurred while they were on duty. BELOW: A close up of the control panel, The launch key can be seen at about the middle of the top row of switches. The key at the left of the top row, was used to set the missile to one of three pre programmed targets. |
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ABOVE: The deputy commander's console. As can be seen, this is quite a bit less complex than that of the commander. The deputy commander's launch key is visible, on the side of the cabinet, at the left end of the console, just under the clock. LEFT: A view down the commander's console, towards the communication racks. The red safe, visible to the far left of the, held the launch codes, and was secured by two locks. Each man was able to open only a single lock. |
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Our guide, explaining just what it would
have been like, had a launch order actually been given. |
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The panel to the right, partially blocked
by a column, is an interesting demonstration of how long these missiles were
deployed. Having had a designed service life of ten years, the Titans were
deployed for 25 years. In that amount of time, things wear out. About fifteen
years in to the life of the system, components of the navigation panel, to
the right, needed to be replaced. The company which had produced the components
no longer made them, as they were obsolete. Instead, they offered to produce
a new panel from scratch. It sits, in two bays of the original panel, a testament
to the longevity of the Titan, and to the advances made in electronics. |
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A desk, along with first aid supplies, an
assortment of logbooks, and reference manuals, and a coat rack, sit just
off from the entrance to the control room. One of the gigantic springs, upon
which the room is suspended, can be seen to the right of the photo. |
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These stairs lead up to the living, sleeping,
and cooking areas. Unfortunately, they were not visited during this tour,
though they are shown on the more extensive tuesday tours. |
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A look up the tunnel leading to the entry
vestibule, and down the long tunnel to the missile silo itself. |
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This is the tunnel leading to the silo. The
Air Force does not actually call these tunnels. The are referred to as cableways.
The entire length of the cableway is shock mounted, as is the rest of the
site. |
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LEFT A closer look a the shock absorbing drums, lining the cableway BELOW: A look back, from the silo, towards the control room.. |
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| Back To Topside | Forward To Missile |