What was the root cause of the Damascus accident?
The 8 lb (3.6 kg) socket fell off the ratchet and dropped approximately 80 feet (24 m) before bouncing off a thrust mount and piercing the missile’s skin over the first-stage fuel tank, causing it to leak a cloud of its aerozine 50 fuel.
What kind of missile was it that blew up in the Damascus incident?
the Titan II Missile
On September 19th, 1980, the Titan II Missile exploded in Damascus and blew its nuclear warhead out of the silo. It was a day we nearly lost Arkansas and a day Devlin almost lost his life.
How many Titan II missile silos were in Arkansas?
18 Titan II ICBMs
Arkansas was home to 18 Titan II ICBMs in a missile field located north of Conway. The Damascus missile complex was at the Southside location, indicated by the red star on the map above. The Air Force also chose two other states to site Titan II missiles: Arizona and Kansas.
Are there missile silos in Arkansas?
The Titan II ICBM Missile Silo 374-7 Site, located west of U.S. 65, 1.7 miles north of intersection with Arkansas Highway 124 near Southside in Van Buren County, is nationally significant by virtue of its unique and exceptionally important history within the Titan II program: it was the site of a September 1980 …
What is the largest US nuclear weapon?
B83
The last B53 was disassembled on 25 October 2011, a year ahead of schedule. With its retirement, the largest bomb currently in service in the U.S. nuclear arsenal is the B83, with a maximum yield of 1.2 megatons. The B53 was replaced in the bunker-busting role by the B61 Mod 11.
How many Titan 2 silos were there?
54 Titan II missile sites
This preserved Titan II missile site, officially known as complex 571-7, is all that remains of the 54 Titan II missile sites that were on alert across the United States from 1963 to 1987.
What would happen if Arkansas Nuclear One exploded?
Up to 25 miles outside the city you are likely to get very sick and possibly die, but you won’t get an immediate death. In the 25 to 50-mile zone, you will be exposed to radiation and are likely to experience mild symptoms of the exposure. These symptoms include vomiting, various skin symptoms, headaches and fatigue.
Are Titan 2 missiles still in use?
After the two accidents in 1978 and 1980, respectively, deactivation of the Titan II ICBM system finally began in July 1982. The last Titan II missile, located at Silo 373-8 near Judsonia, Arkansas, was deactivated on 5 May 1987.
Does the U.S. still have Titan missiles?
The Titan IVB was the last Titan rocket to remain in service, making its penultimate launch from Cape Canaveral on 30 April 2005, followed by its final launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base on 19 October 2005, carrying the USA-186 optical imaging satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office.
What replaced Titan missiles?
Missile retirement The 54 Titan IIs in Arizona, Arkansas, and Kansas were replaced by 50 MX “Peacekeeper” solid-fuel rocket missiles in the mid-1980s; the last Titan II silo was deactivated in May 1987.
Who owns Arkansas Nuclear One?
Entergy Nuclear
Arkansas Nuclear One (ANO) is a two-unit pressurised water reactor (PWR) power plant located in the west of Russellville in Pope County, Arkansas. It is owned by Entergy Nuclear and operated by Entergy Arkansas.
What was the Damascus Titan missile explosion?
The Damascus Titan missile explosion (also called the Damascus accident) was a 1980 U.S. Broken Arrow incident involving a Titan II Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM).
What is Eric Schlosser’s book about the Damascus explosion?
In September 2013, Eric Schlosser published a book titled Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety. It focused on the explosion, as well as other Broken Arrow incidents during the Cold War.
What happened at Missile Complex 374-7?
The incident occurred on September 18–19, 1980, at Missile Complex 374-7 in rural Arkansas when a U.S. Air Force LGM-25C Titan II ICBM loaded with a 9 megaton W-53 Nuclear Warhead had a liquid fuel explosion inside its silo.
What was the 1980 Titan II missile explosion in Arkansas?
On the night of September 18, 1980, a Titan II missile carrying a thermonuclear warhead exploded in rural Arkansas. Here’s what the terrifying incident was like, from those who were there.