LGM25C

The weight of the TITAN II was 341000 lbs.

Each TITAN II missile originally cost $3,045,872

TITAN II ACTIVATION (ON ALERT) 1962

PROJECTED YEARS OF SERVICE 10 YEARS

TITAN II DEACTIVATION (OFF ALERT) 1987

ACTUAL TIME OF SERVICE 25 YEARS, 4 MONTHS, 18 DAYS

The total length of the TITAN II was 110 FT

The Mark 6 reentry vehicle (RV) carried the 9 megaton W-53 thermo-nuclear warhead, which weighed 8380 LBS and had a range of 5500 miles and traveled at 15000 mph.

The reentry vehicle and adapter was almost 14 FT long.

The Mark 6 reentry vehicle was developed by General Electric

The diameter of the TITAN II was 10 FT

The TITAN 1 ICBM and the TITAN II ICBM were developed by The Martin Company (later, Martin-Marietta) during the 1950's. Engines were developed by Aerojet-General.

TITAN DEPLOYMENT SCHEDULE

1962-1965

BASE WING SQUADRON ACTIVATION DEACTIVATION

LOWRY AFB 451 SMW 724 SMS FEB 1962 JUNE 1965

COLORADO 725 SMS

BEALE AFB 456 SMW 851 SMS FEB 1961 MARCH 1965

CALIFORNIA

LARSON AFB 462 SAW 568 SMS APRIL 1961 MARCH 1965

WASHINGTON

MOUNTAIN HOME 9TH SRW 569 SMS JUNE 1961 JUNE 1965

IDAHO

ELLSWORTH AFB 44TH SMW 850 SMS DEC 1960 MARCH 1965

SOUTH DAKOTA

The stage II engine produced 100,000 lbs of thrust

STAGE II

19.26 FT. in length

37,206 lbs oxidizer

20,696 lbs. fuel (hydrazine)

The TITAN II was a two stage, liquid-fueled Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) At 110 feet in length and 10 feet in diameter, it was the largest ICBM in U.S. Air Force inventory.

Stage 1 engine

in maintenance bay (MIMS)

The TITAN I preceeded the TITAN II

it was somewhat smaller and shorter and utilized liquid oxygen as its oxidizer component. Launch complexes were in 3x3 configuration (3 missiles per complex, 3 complexes per squadron) as opposed to 1 missile per complex and 9 complexes per squadron for the TITAN II system.

STAGE I

70.00 FT. in length

160,637 lbs oxidizer

83,232 lbs fuel (hydrazine)

The stage I engines produced

341,000 lbs of thrust

The Titan II ICBM missile combat crew consisted of four USAF personnel. Two commissioned officers and two enlisted personnel. The senior officer was designated the Missile Combat Crew Commander (MCCC). The second officer was the Deputy Missile Combat Crew Commander (DMCCC), they managed all operations with the Titan II , also received and decoded all orders for launch of the Titan II ICBM.

The Ballistic Missile Analyst Technician (BMAT) was responsible for missile status, guidance and support equipment. The Missile Facilities Technician (MFT) kept an eye on power, water and other support equipment.

Each combat crew spent twenty-four hours on alert. Crew change-over would take place at 0700

TITAN II's were flown in NASA's GEMINI manned space program in the mid 1960's

Deactivated missiles are in storage at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona

140 TITAN II ICBM's were built , once the mainstay of the United States strategic missile force.

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif.-

The final Titan II rocket streaked skyward Oct. 18, leaving in its wake a 40-year history that included a transformation from intercontinental ballistic missile to space booster. (Courtesy photo)

TITAN II BLASTS ITS WAY INTO HISTORY

by Maj. Dan Wetmore

30th Space Wing Public Affairs

10/24/2003 - VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) - As the final Titan II rocket streaked skyward from here Oct. 18, it left in its wake a 40-year hstory that included a transformation from intercontinental ballistic missile to space booster.

The two-stage, liquid-propelled, silo-based Titan II was developed for the United States' budding ICBM program. The missiles served on the front lines of the Cold War.

Among the quartet of subterranean sentinels that held that duty, including Atlas, Titan, Minuteman and Peacekeeper, the Titan cast the longest shadow. It was tipped with the largest warhead ever fielded by the United States, the 9-megaton Mark 6, with an explosive equivalence 600 times of that released at Hiroshima. The Titan stood watch from 1963-1987.

The first Titan II ICBM test-launched from here Feb. 16, 1963. The missile exploded less than a minute after launch.

Maybe it was the name.

"In the early days, they used to give missiles nicknames," said Jeffrey Geiger, 30th Space Wing historian. "This one was called 'Awfully Tired'

"Maybe it was so tired it just blew up," he said

Despite the first disaster, the Titan II program forged ahead. The next missile test launch was April 27, 1963. In the next 24 years, 56 more Titan II ICBMs launched from here.

Then came the more efficient Minuteman ICBMs, and the Titan II missile became obsolete, Geiger said.

The Titan II weapon system was deactivated May 5, 1987.

"Once the missile lost its operational viability, it became a space booster." Geiger said.

In 1988, following decommissioning of the Titan II as a weapon system, 14 of the 54 remaining vehicles were reacquired by Lockheed Martin Corp. The missiles were then retrofitted for spacelift duty.

Since 1989, 12 of those have flown from Vandenberg's shore, successfully placing a wide array of pay;oads into polar, low-Earth orbit.

One of the more unique aspects of the Titan's history is its involvement with the manned-space program.

In the 10 flights of the Gemini program from 1965 to 1966, modified Titan IIs carried two-person spacecrafts aloft. These flights focused on the logistics of "twinning"spacecraft in orbit, rendezvous and docking procedures to which thw Saturn-based Apollo missions were heir, and which brought the first moon landing in 1969.

Those early Gemini flights were not the Titan II's only contribution to lunar exploration.

"The Titan II's most interesting payload was the Clementine mission provided evidence of water on the moon. This was also the first lunar launch from Vandenberg.

Of all the Titan II's built by the Martin Company between 1962 to 1967, 95 have passed fully into history. Two were destroyed in accidents, while 93 have performed their intended function.

Of those, the second-to-last forged was the last to fly, providing the 430,000 pounds of thrust that took the 16th in a series of weather satillites for its six-minute ride 100 nautical miles into space. (Courtesy of Air Force Space Command News Service. First Lt. Michelle Mayo contributed to this story.)

The TITAN II took 6 minutes to go from launch to 100 nautical miles into space.