Primed for Defense - The Minuteman

yeah okay in one of the most important airforce missions the only aircraft involved are hidden from sight poised under tons of concrete deep in the earth we hope they will never have to fly but this is the story of how they are kept ready to take flight at any instant at any hour in the defense of America not so long ago the nation's defense against attack was the edge of the sea which formed a barrier to be crossed only by seagoing vessels and ships of war in the air age the atmosphere connects every spot on the face of the earth with every other and the first line of defense is the sky in the early years of the air age the only long-range weapon of defense was the big bomber now we have reached the point where missiles can span seas and continents to retaliate if we are attacked we have Minuteman missiles cocked in the earth in their hardened sites in the open places of the American heartland spacious and free where once pioneer wagon wheels rolled across unchartered land where the earth drummed under the hoops of cavalry troops and hostile war parties and sounds of cannon fire echoed on the plains and where fortress walls resounded with the call to arms in Wyoming its rugged face etched with the Oregon Trail in Montana where Lewis and Clark opened roots to the northwest in the Dakotas scoured by cold winds where there are badlands and good lands corn lands and Wheatlands and in Missouri staging place for the trip west in Cheyenne Lewistown Minot in Warrensburg in Fort Laramie Great Falls Deadwood in Boonville where early settlers labored with the land and where all things grow in harmony with the soil proud resolute and free in the 1950s the days of the airplane as the only aerial strike force began to be numbered the missile age was approaching when it became apparent that foreign powers were arming themselves with missiles descended from the same World War two prototypes as ours and fully capable of reaching the United States we began to roll up our sleeves and go to work in earnest eventually the intercontinental ballistic missile concept was developed the mission of the Minuteman weapon system is to deliver thermonuclear warheads against strategic targets from hardened underground launchers in the United States a three-stage solid propellant ballistic missile with inertial guidance the Minuteman is capable of intercontinental range the latest version is nearly 60 feet tall it weighs over 75,000 pounds it is made up of three solid fuel engines the missile guidance control system and the re-entry system RS containing the warhead within a fenced area of about one acre a launch facility comprises one launcher and support buildings little shows above ground except the fence lighting fixtures and antennas but buried in the hardened site is the launch tube with two levels of equipment each flight of 10 unmanned missiles is remotely controlled by a manned launch control facility on the surface are the support building and antennas deep underground in hardened sites are the launch control equipment room and the launch control center itself manned by a two-man combat crew the basic Minuteman tactical unit the squadron consists of five launch control centers and 50 launch facilities normally a missile wing is made up of three squadrons like this or a total of 15 launch control centers and 150 launch facilities each facility containing an armed missile each wing has a support base for general support and maintenance of the weapons system this support includes missile maintenance teams transporting and handling teams electromechanical teams combat targeting teams facilities maintenance teams and other specialists when the missile is launched it goes into a programmed pitch over and rolls to flight attitude based on the target at this point the first stage burns out then the second stage burns out third stage shutdown now in the latest version of the missile the post boost vehicle takes over for payload delivery January 1960 sites have been selected in the Great Plains area of central United States and construction work on blast-proof facilities goes forward December 1962 the first missiles go on alert in the Strategic Air Command giant steel capsules are being completed and buried throughout the Great Plains April 1967 the level of 1,000 missiles is reached periodically a missile selected at random from one of the squadrons they shipped to Vandenberg Air Force Base California with an operations and maintenance task force this provides a check on overall missile reliability and training conditions for the man but between exercises like this the everyday job goes on 24 hours a day throughout the central United States crews are rotated regularly 26 back to captain Miller plus one location Emily get the million is a good trip stand by Batman - or put your gate there and open it for you here a fresh combat crew commander and deputy commander report for duty at one of the launch control facilities in the Midwest what follows is a true account of a Minuteman in operation one answer for the happy car please Miller North American sir started area for closed-off skiers there honey sorry yes that's these the enlisted personnel of the launch control facility include the facility manager four guards and a cook the living quarters are spacious and comfortable while on duty the combat crew is armed at all times having been authenticated the commander and deputy passed through the door to the elevator that will take them down into the earth 30 feet 40 feet 50 feet 8 tons of concrete and steel designed to resist the nuclear blast and the follow-up vacuum effects first before assuming command the ongoing crew inspects the launch control equipment room they check the automatic support systems informational readouts the emergency power generators and the giant air conditioning systems press completed our section on LTV is declining we found those who discovered this the commander and deputy proceed to the tunnel Junction and face the LCC blast door again 16,000 pounds of concrete and steel okay I guess we're ready for change okay else do you view status l-3 be staff have no discrepancies okay breathe LT FL 57 LTC status I have hired craftsman in town and caretaker status Tom status so HF is good and uhm good already okay okay breathe oh we're playing data or find out its same in the latest planet man system a computer in each launch control center provides status information to the combat crews the new commander goes through normal routine at the console he has been thoroughly briefed by the off-going commander situations normal growth status is displayed by indicators on the racks and consoles more detailed status information is available from the printer the deputy commander checks it out detailed information is also available from versa or voice reporting signal assembly the sequence of performing maintenance originates in the launch control center where indications of a malfunction are displayed wing gel control submarine speaking Roger job this is Captain Rogers Bravo play Bravo three shows fault verse 13 mostly 69 59 Lisa the amount and depth of maintenance information available to any missile combat crew enables the support base to judge more accurately the location of the fault so that a maintenance t9 can be sent out and the fault corrected one of the launch facilities oscar 8 has just lost strategic alert an interrogation of bursar results in an audio response with an indication of channel 12 no-go this no-go situation is further verified by computer pronounced commander we have an easy no-go friend from oscar 8 we have lost our strategic alert indicator on oscar 8 i repeat we have no strategic alert status for mustering out - out there as soon as possible this is terra del sur from the information received from the deputy commander the controller using the tech order can identify the problem and suggest to the maintenance team what needs to be done according to the technical order a guidance control coupler drawer must be replaced in its cabinet on the first level of oscar 8 a work order is prepared and the missile maintenance squadron contra now the electromechanical team consisting of two men picks up a new coverage drawers caracals boy - Fran 11:32 part all right set it up morning we have a couple of drawer change oscar 8 with a EMT type start up the weather you can expect in route to your site is same as we have now it's a slight overcast with some chance of clearing up later on in the day you will depart the whims of gate travel alpha bravo road and down delta delta for approximately eight miles to the site in case bonnie will dispatch while you're on site or he won't notification your reconstitution form would be in the alarm the team heads for the soft support building personnel access hatch into range of the surveillance antennae outer security is broken in the capsule miles away a light glows on the commander's console now below in the soft support building the security escort speaks to the flight security controller over the support information network he uses the code which he deciphered to get the combination for the lock that will open the primary door to the launch facility above ground the security escort moves the dial to open the vault the inner security light and buzzer are activated in the launch control center in the meantime the team chief speaks to the commander using the code he has been given he deciphers the combination for the secondary doors the team chief now positions the switch and opens the primary door below the primary door another vault the team chief opens this using the combination he is received in code then activates the switch that retracts the secondary door the secondary door is a massive concrete plug with a retracting ladder now the guard changes the combination to the security pitfall the first move is for the safety of anyone working around the missile the switches in the main D box a pin is inserted the switch turned to s for safe now the missile cannot be launched we're safety control foots has been installed missile is manually proceed with your maintenance the job completed the safety control switches removed after a successful test has been initiated the bird is back on strategic alert outer security is reset and the team heads for home Hotel flight nothing serious has gone wrong in this flight for days but as a routine test is initiated a no-go situation at Hotel - a hundred miles from the base the printout reads channel 13 mosr or missile operational status 59 and 69 a fought within the missile itself interrogation of bursar verifies this readout the deputy commander calls job control and reports the no-go condition and verification I'll get on it right away don't go Fingal here sir the tech order indicates a replacement of the GNC or guidance and control section is necessary job control calls missile maintenance section check those last two items for net and set up and ready to go screw is reported this travel folders briefing their clothes and keys all preparations complete they head for hotel to forecast night clear morning overcast with possible rain after the site is penetrated following the routine we have see the big van is positioned over the launcher closure the team chief signals to the driver guiding the band of the exact placement inside the launch facility the missile is deactivated with the safety control switch then the 90-ton reinforced concrete cap has moved away with the aid of a hydraulic pusher part of their kit of tools when the tube is open the van environmental flaps are lower now observing all safety precautions the missile maintenance team Labor's deftly under the glare of their work lights to install a new GNC section a steel housing descends over the warhead and locks it into place this is the most exacting phase of their mission okay looks fine now easy now watch it try the left coming left look how's that that's good that's good come on down now teddy won't remove great take it up okay coming up watch it now only time every whenever the reentry system is slowly i stood up with the van's cream good anything Oh go find it there okay come on slow well inside the van missile maintenance team personnel spear the reentry system to a special crater now the team removes the fasteners and prepares to lift the faulty guidance and control section great 18-speed section of Awesome okay coming up the GNC section is hoisted up slowly all right top third stage manager hey let's go get over here how about you guys okay I won't say and the new TMC package is lowered into place when the job is well on top a team cheap hauls job controls and requests a combat targeting team be dispatched to realign the missile in the next step the men replaced the reentry system over the new GNC then the fasteners are replaced in the RS collar the chief of the targeting team gives the order for the MMT to secure the next step is to align the missile visually on a distant stone marker fitted with a special target the combat targeting team unloads a precision device at the auto light to do the job inside the task of establishing a precision launch reference point continues the reference mirrors cleaned level of theodolite your level set in the reference mirror mirror azmuth is three four seven two one one eight two zero set in one eight zero over zero zero zero three four seven two one zero correct commander this is the tenth pond I've realigned the missile is now strategic alert there are many possible maintenance and testing jobs other than the two shown what we obscene demonstrates a routine drawer change and a far more time-consuming operation the replacement of a guidance and control session with the advancements in technology and improvements in design the modern Minuteman ICBMs term is not only more reliable but capable of testing itself and isolating faults more accurately the strength of this America's ICBM deterrent force has been brought about by improved hardware reliability and the skill and efforts of people like the trained maiden esteem to keep the Minuteman ready for that time which hopefully will never come when the Strategic Air Command gets the command to strike back at any hour the minute man is ready cry and in the earth beneath its pardon blast fruit cap in the vast open lands of America from the grasses of Wyoming to the North Dakota Plains from the North Dakota Plains to the Missouri fields standing guard amidst the old forts silent sentinels of freedom on strategic emergence in the defense of America

Channel: Jim Steele

Views: 88,873

Rating: 4.8731499 out of 5

Keywords: Minuteman Missile, Whiteman AFB, 351st SMW, LGM-30 Minuteman, 351st Missile Wing

Id: 86gn9Lv8hwo

Length: 28min 54sec (1734 seconds)

Published: Fri May 09 2014