(1968) Dyess Air Force Base, Atlas F Missle Site S-8, Approximately 3 miles east of Winters, 500 feet southwest of Highway 177, Winters, Runnels County, TX. and a one room building for office or storage. The sight of it with nothing nearby to climb on is chilling. The Denton Nike Missile Site is located a few miles north of Denton on the west side of Locust (FM 2164). Competing views of post-war Europe and other regions around the world quickly set the former allies down a decades-long period of mutual distrust. Now, the Kansas property is for sale for $3.2 . Those have since been dismantled and demolished due to various nuclear arms reduction treaties. According to its historical marker, the DYESS S-6 Launch Site was "one of the first subterranean ICBM silos in the United States," and was operational from 1962 to 1965. The silo walls are nine feet thick and built with concrete and rebar; the doors weigh 65 tons. 7/1961 Construction on the Minuteman II structures began in 1946. The Keys were a fantastic diving spot, but the Texas missile silo was pretty cool, too. The University of North Texas kept the site in fairly good shape over the years. All rights reserved. This is Charlie-03, one of more than 150 retired Minuteman II sites in Missouri. Zillow. Blueprint. This article appeared in the December 2007 issue, Texas Co-op Power Magazine and TexasCoopPower.com are produced by Texas Electric Cooperatives, Terms of Use. Like the rest of the nation, Texans worried about family members serving overseas during the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and Operation Desert Storm. The Atlas F missile represents the culmination of this pioneering effort and the Atlas F Missile Site S-8 at Winters, Texas is a representative example of one of the first operational ICBM launch complexes in the United States. The Atlas rocket was also used by NASA during the early days of manned space travel and was the booster used to put John Glenn into Earth orbit. Finally, THC instructors encouraged participants on how to submit their future oral history recordings to the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project, as well as statewide Cold War-themed oral history programs such as Texas Tech Universitys Vietnam Center and Archive, the National Vietnam War Museum in Mineral Wells, and The University of Texas at Austins Voces oral history project. I dont know and dont know if he ever made it down safely, Sanders says, pointing back toward the water. 12 It's a home where y. Titan II Missile Museum Arizona. Library of Congress Duplication Services. Although the Atlas was first designed as a weapon, the same vehicle was used for other purposes. In 1965, less than three years after they were installed . In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. The Cold War-era facility costs just a little more than the average American home. AFB 4/1961 A missile silo in Abilene, Kansas, used to store and launch ballistic missiles in the 1960s, is on sale for $380,000. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Ethan Sherwood), Owner of the Lawn Atlas Missile Base, Larry Sanders, discusses the Atlas missile silo with U.S. Air Force Col. Tony England, 17th Mission Support Group commander, at LAMB in Lawn, Texas, Oct. 26, 2020. In the darkness of a cold winter night, we follow our guide and the beam of his flashlight through a short stretch of rocky, weedy, West Texas prairie to the spot where his treasure lies buried. Sanders silo in Lawn was one of 13 Atlas ICBM F-series silos built in Texas12 of them near Dyess Air Force Base (in Abilene, Albany, Anson, Bradshaw, Clyde, Corinth, Denton Valley, Lawn, Nolan, Oplin, Shep and Winters) and one north of Vernon along the Texas-Oklahoma border. Before the missile was lifted to the launch position, it was filled with the Liquid Oxygen fuel. There were 12 sites built in a ring around Abilene. In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is The Lawn site is one of 12 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) launch silos operated by the Strategic Air Command at Dyess Air Force Base from 1962 untill April 1965. In the region: Big Metal Old Rip, Eastland, TX - 40 mi. It was the first operational ICBM in the U. S. arsenal. LC copy 3 Texas. And he plans to continue collecting revenue from visitors who already rent the facility for business meetings and catered dinners. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Ethan Sherwood), A member of Goodfellow enters the access tunnel to the Atlas missile silo at the Lawn Atlas Missile Base in Lawn, Texas, Oct. 26, 2020. Sanders scuba dives into the silo with an experienced team to explore the silo and restore it. This is perfect for somebody looking for lots of space AND a unique . Years later, they could be thankful and relieved that deterrence won the conflict. Built on 11 acres of land, the silo was specifically home to the. Without their dedication and sacrifice for the national defense of the United States of America, the freedoms we enjoy today would not be possible. It is actually part of a complex of 12 silos located around Texas and formerly run by Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene. The squadron was first organized during World War II as the 578th . Duplication Services Web site. In October 1962, the 4080th SRW and elements of the C.I.A. An experience you won t get anywhere else, Family Scuba Center in Midland, Texas, offers a remarkable scuba diving location. such as microfilm or copy prints? The Cold War is raw enough in our collective memory that few Americans see its trappings as historic sites worthy of tourist visits. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, . Davis." Goodfellow members visited the Lawn Atlas Missile Base in Lawn, Texas, Oct. 26. Larry Sanders hopes someday his gutted Atlas missile silo will become the first 20th century addition to the Texas Forts Trail. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/tx0737/. When World War II ended in September 1945, the United States and the Soviet Unionformer allies in the defeat of Nazi Germany had already begun to see fractures in their once-mutual support of one another. Throughout the Cold War, Texas was host to dozens of active duty Department of Defense sites, many of which whose origins began in World War II. An official website of the United States government, Army 344th Military Intelligence Battalion, Navy Center for Information Warfare Training Detachment, Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil. He was born in Nigeria, but soon his family . By Staci Semrad For information about reproducing, publishing, and citing material from this collection, as well as access to the original items, see: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscape Survey (HABS/HAER/HALS) Collection - Rights and Restrictions Information, If an image is displaying, you can download it yourself. Although the Cold War officially ended almost 25 years ago, to many, the real sense of fear and anxiety that Texans (their parents and grandparents) felt is hard to comprehend or relate to. The 578th Strategic Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Many of these locations hold warheads awaiting dismantlement. 3/1965, [HOME] [UP] [SCHILLINGAFB] [LINCOLNAFB] [ALTUSAFB] [DYESSAFB] [WALKERAFB] [PLATTSBURGHAFB] [VANDENBERGAFB]. Runnels County Texas Winters, 1968. The silos could house and protect the Atlas F missile from all but a direct nuclear strike. What safer place for the artifacts? he asks with a smile. Developed by General Dynamics, the Atlas weapons system became a national priority during which no expense was spared in the development, testing and implementation of this first generation ICBM system. The military sold the Lawn silo in the late 1960s to the nearby town, which bought it for use as a public shelter. To Follow this Webcard you need an account, please log in. Zachary and Brown & Root, Inc - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Historic American Engineering Record, Photo(s): 19 | Data Page(s): 11 | Photo Caption Page(s): 3, Collett, Neal - Argonne National Laboratory - U.S. Air Force - Raytheon Equipment Division - Gilbane Construction Company - Kramer, Bob - Whorton, Mandy - Historic American Engineering Record - Meyer, Lauren, Photo(s): 30 | Data Page(s): 20 | Photo Caption Page(s): 5, U.S. Army - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Historic American Engineering Record, Photo(s): 5 | Data Page(s): 2 | Photo Caption Page(s): 2, U.S. Air Force - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Historic American Engineering Record. . 6/1965, 577TH SMS Winters & Co. Real Estate, Loan and Insurance Agents. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Ethan Sherwood), Two dormant bay doors remain at the Lawn Atlas Missile Base in Lawn, Texas, Oct. 26, 2020. Relief shown by hachures. LAWN, Texas - There's a place in Abilene's own backyard where you can go underground and back in time to a piece of Cold War-era history. General Land Office - Walsh, W. C. (William C.). The Atlas F used a General Electric Mark IV re-entry vehicle which carried a type W-38 warhead with a nominal nuclear yield of approximately 3.8 megatons of TNT. But its possible to imagine people 50 and 100 years from now being drawn to the site as they are to the states eight historic frontier forts. Also on the property is a 4,000 square foot Quonset building with water, sewer and electricity. This map shows locations for 9-of 12 Atlas-F missile silos positioned within 60 miles of Lincoln Air Force Base. Seventy-two Atlas F complexes were built in 1961 in groups of one dozen each near six military facilities. flew Lockheed U-2 aircraft out of Laughlin Air Force Base on secret surveillance missions to document the Soviet Unions nuclear weapons build-up in Cuba during one of the Cold Wars most intense moments, the Cuban Missile Crisis. These military sites trained young men and women in a post-World War II desegregated military for active duty in the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard. Zachary And Brown & Root, I. There do remain some active missile silos, in Montana, North Dakota, and at Warren Air Force Base, which is in both Colorado and Wyoming. Each of these giant missiles was housed in an underground silo 174 feet deep and 52 feet wide. The following has photos from the Taylor County (Aug. 2013) and Grayson County (Jan. 2014) workshops. The first Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) silos arrived on the Great Plains in 1959 when Atlas sites were constructed in Wyoming. 8249 W Lake Rd, Abilene, TX 79601 is a studio, 20,000 sqft property built in 1959. LAMB is a missile silo established in 1962 under the Air Force Strategic Air Command. The project included workshops for historic preservationists interested in learning how to record and preserve their local Cold War oral histories for preservation in their communities county historical commission archives, public libraries, and county museums. Dyess Air Force Base, Atlas F Missle Site S-8, Launch Control Center (LCC), Approximately 3 miles Dyess Air Force Base, Atlas F Missle Site S-8, Launch Facility, Approximately 3 miles east of Cape Cod Air Station, Massachusetts Military Reservation, Sandwich, Barnstable County, MA. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Over the course of nearly five decades, Texas and Texans responded to their nations call to duty on both the military and home front, and served admirably. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Ethan Sherwood), Owner of the Lawn Atlas Missile Base, Larry Sanders boat sits in the flooded missile silo at the LAMB in Lawn, Texas, Oct. 26, 2020. Documentation Compiled After. Ballinger, Texas. B. mchr. Zachary And Brown & Root. When I needed a break from writing the series, I found myself scrolling around Nebraska and Colorado, looking for silos and . Even his 10-year-old son assisted in the project, clearing out four tons of sand from the emergency escape hatch with a potato chip can and a bucket. 12 The access tunnel sits decommissioned at Lawn Atlas Missile Base in Lawn, Texas, Oct. 26, 2020. (Some images display only as thumbnails outside Larry gives tours to schools and other interested parties in the local area of central Texas. Learn the interesting history of this missile program and explore the. Sanders described the immense amount of groundwater and rainwater that had flooded the silo over the years. Brandon's out to prove the US is a dive destination. These sites were manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year during the time the Squadron was active. In addition, the THC was able to record, transcribe, and preserve a small number of oral history interviews directly, from narrators whose experiences range from the late 1940s to the end of the Vietnam War. Photograph of a test launch of a Titan Missile from the silo. Your email address will not be published. Filled with RP-1 while it sat on alert, LOX added at the start of the countdown, then raised to ground level by the massive silo elevator. A chance for a buyer to purchase one of the most unique properties in the world for a fraction of the $150 million dollars it would cost the government to build today. Copyrighted View this record in full map (opens in new tab/window), At the height of Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, development of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) with nuclear warheads embodied military might. Runnels County Texas Winters, 1968. At the center of the cap are two flat concrete-and-steel doors, each 45 tons and more than 2 feet thick. On the home front, in small and large Texas towns alike, many feared nuclear annihilation and grappled with the need to build a bomb shelter in the back yard during the Arms Race. The three-stage Atlas missile was quickly replaced with the far-advanced two-stage Titan missile. We step onto a railed stairwell platform and into the darkness, where our voices and the sound of dripping water echo. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Ethan Sherwood). "It would have reached Russia in about 30 minutes," Sanders says. The Atlas Missile Program was an important but short-lived element of the United States' defense system. Site facilities consisted of an underground, reinforced-concrete launch silo, connecting underground launch control center, a water treatment plant, two water wells, a . According to its listing on Relator.com, the bunker was purchased by a Manhattan-based owner on January 25, 2022, and relisted the next day for the price of $380,000. Texas Preppers Dream Home, $985,000 Above ground level, this 4,500 square-foot luxury . DYESS AFB Though the facility has not yet been rigged with permanent fixtures for electricity, the power source is a vast improvement since Sanders initial days there working with flashlights, camp lanterns and a portable gasoline-powered generator. SCHILLING A few are still open today. site.). Kahuku Nike Missile Battery OA-17, Control Area, North Shore area, foothills southwest of Kahuku , Kahuku, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Launch Complex 21/22, Facility No. (KSNT Photo/courtesy John W. Dautel) The property is a decommissioned Atlas F missile silo complex on 11 acres near Abilene. I had driven for hours to the middle of a rolling prairie about 20 miles south of Abilene for a chance to dive the Valhalla Missile Silo, one of 12 Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile sites that the U.S. military built in Texas in . VANDENBERG AFB 3/1965, 556TH SMS Atlas F Missile Silo. Yes, a missile silo. The first missile silo was listed in November 2019 for $395,000, and sold for $420,000. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, all operational 578th sites were at a high level of alert and were ready to launch the Atlas missile should it have become necessary. SM-65 Atlas F ICBM 551st Strategic Missile Squadron Lincoln Air Force Base, Lincoln, Nebraska 4/1961 After the missile was "up and locked", if there was a launch hold of any sort, which could not be very long, the launch crew had the ability to top off the Liquid Oxygen before the "Missile Away" command was given. This was a massive construction project that bolstered military defense during the most intense period of the Cold War. A 6,900-square-foot missile silo in Abilene, Kansas . The silo was only in use from 1962 to 1965, when newer technology prompted the U.S. Air Force to terminate the Atlas ICBM mission. This is one reason that the response time of the Atlas F system was quicker than that of the Atlas D and E systems. Lompoc, California, UNIT guided missile bases, - The United States and the Soviet Union were actively engaged in an escalating and intense political, military, and economic confrontation between 1946 and 1991. The 578th Strategic Missile Squadron based at Dyess operated the site from 1962 until the Atlas program ended in 1965. You do not want to buy land or live anywhere near these silo's, and preferrably not anywhere within 200 miles of these missile fields. Convair's Atlas missile program, selected by the U.S. Air Force's Strategic Air Command in 1954, was deployed operationally from 1959 to 1965. Located in Green Valley, Arizona, south of Tucson, on I-19, Launch Complex 571-7 was part of the 390th Strategic Missile Wing at Davis Monthan AFB from 1963 to 1987, one of the 54 Titan II sites in that wing. At the time, most Texans were unaware of their state's role in a global military confrontation. According to Sanders, this was partially due to the 72 total sites being the same; they even faced the same way. The possibility of human remains lurking in the pool below is one reason Sanders wont scuba dive there just yet, even though he has done so in other missile silos. The 6,900 square foot complex has two upper levels once used for. Nationwide, Dyess Air Force Base was one of six U.S. Air Force bases selected to host the Atlas F ICBM system. Mar 18, 2020, 6:56 AM PDT. 1996-2007 The Housing Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in The squadron was armed with the SM-65F weapon system, more commonly know as the Atlas F. The 578th was an Atlas F unit which meant the missile was housed in a "silo launcher" style complex. The silo was a storage and launching facility for the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile F series. Sanders started work on the site in 1999 after buying it from Lawn, Texas, who used it as a shelter. The Library of Congress does notown rights to material in its collections. The underground silo that housed the 82-foot-long missile here was 174 feet deep with a diameter of 52 feet. Several sites, events, and individuals associated with Texas role in the Cold War are already commemorated with Official Texas Historical Markers. With more than 40 years of diving experience, our trainers have the know-how to . Below are abstracts of two interviews. While the unusual property is far from in a turnkey condition, it is brimming with potential. missiles, - The Forbes S-5 Site was one of nine (9) former Series "E" Atlas Missile Sites located . An experience you won't get anywhere else, Family Scuba Center in Midland, Texas, offers a remarkable scuba diving location. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Sanders, a graduate of Abilene Christian University, was among those who used to explore the nearby Oplin silo, so he understands how kids managed to get in. Dyess S-6s construction started in November of 1960 alongside 11 other sites roughly built like points on a clock. 12 A 20th Century Fort, the LAMB in Taylor County lies in the Forts Trail Region which showcases the heritage, natural beauty, and rich culture of a 29-county region of Central West Texas for the benefit and enjoyment of Texans and travelers. 2010, Texas Electric Cooperatives. Significance: The threat posed by intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) lay at the heart of nearly all foreign policy decisions during the Cold War Era. This area, now called the Lawn Atlas Missile Base (LAMB) was once a first-generation Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM)site near the small town of Lawn, Texas, less than 20 miles from Abilene, home to Dyess Air Force Base (AFB). These are MAJOR nuclear war targets, each one of these silo's will be hit with minimum one warhead with a fairly large yield as part of a Russian counterforce attack. Many historians agree that American and Soviet fears of mutually assured destruction from nuclear weapons, including the Atlas, kept the superpowers from direct warfare for more than 40 years. Price lists, contact information, and order forms are available on the 3/1965, 579TH SMS air bases, - And perhaps the most notable discovery around the Atlas was WD-40, designed initially to wipe down Atlas ICBMs. Welcome to the home web site for the 578th Strategic Missile Squadron. Texas. This crew cared for a nuclear warhead approximately 200 times more powerful than the atomic bombs used to end World War II. Ultimately, it is the researcher's obligation to assess copyright or other use restrictions and obtain permission from third parties when necessary before publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the Library's collections. Thousands of years from now, scientists will look at this and say, What was that about? . LC Land ownership maps, 1111 Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image. & H.B. Dyess Air Force Base, Atlas F Missle Site S-8, Approximately 3 miles east of Winters, 500 feet southwest of Highway 177, Winters, Runnels County, TX, Historic American Engineering Record, creator, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer and Builder, H.B. In order to launch, two 75-ton overhead doors were opened and the "bird" was lifted out of the silo. It was decommissioned after only four years and has sat dormant and neglected for decades . He and his family have been restoring the site for the past 21 years. By the time Sanders took possession of the silo in 1999, it was in such disrepair that murky water with dead critters had risen to the fourth stair, making the place reek like a fish market. He believes the center will become the first of its kind in the country and the first 20th century addition to the 19th century Texas Forts Trail. The F-series was America's first missile to assure survival of a first-strike nuclear attack through retaliating second-strike capacity. He points his flashlight up toward the ceiling to the barren wall, where 75 feet above the water, BUD is painted in red letters. Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as MAF = Missile Alert Facility, this is where the missileers control the launch of ten Minuteman III ICBM's, each MAF has 10 silo's under their supervision. - Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2008. 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3. No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted.