Equipped with a W38 thermonuclear warhead and with a range of 5,500
nautical miles, the Titan I was the Air Force's first multi-stage
intercontinental ballistic missile, and a vital part of America's
nuclear arsenal in the years 1961-1965. Designed and built by the
Glen L. Martin Company (later Martin Marietta), the HGM-25A/SM-68A
missile was the first in a series of Titan rockets. Unlike its
later siblings, Titan I utilized non-storable and highly volatile
LOX and RP-1 as its propellants. As a result the missile had to be
fueled prior to launch - a process that took roughly fifteen
minutes. It would then be lifted to the surface by an elevator for
launch, a process that made it vulnerable to an enemy first strike.
The first successful Titan I launch took place in February, 1959.
Within a year the first of 54 missiles were delivered to one of
what would eventually be six USAF squadrons. The underground silos
that made up the Titan I's launch complexes represented a great
leap forward from the "coffin type" semi-hardened containers used
to protect the Atlas ICBM. Equipped with an underground control
center, powerhouse, antenna silos for guidance radars, and a
missile silo fitted with an enormous elevator, the Titan I's design
offered unparalleled protection to the launch crew. Yet the fueling
protocol and surface-launch design limited its appeal to the Air
Force. After only three years of full operation, it was replaced by
the Titan II system, which could be launched from subterranean
silos and utilized storable propellants.Originally created in 1963,
this Titan I technical manual was intended to be used by missile
combat crews. It is divided into seven sections describing the
overall weapon system including launch complex, structures and
subsystems, launch operation plan, normal operating procedures,
emergency operating procedures, malfunctions, operating
limitations, and crew responsibilities. Originally considered
highly classified, this document has never before been available to
the general public. Until now.
General
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