Buy your own Cold War missile silo

The buried Cold War treasure has all the comforts of home. Running water. Electricity. Plenty of space to park a car — or a thermonuclear warhead.

And for $550,000, the subterranean missile silo 5 miles west of York can be yours to own.

The 174-foot inverted tower of reinforced concrete with a two-story launch control center — a Cold War-era missile complex that once housed the earliest intercontinental ballistic missile, the Atlas-F — recently hit the market…

The structures, built to withstand an indirect nuclear strike, were short-lived as the advent of cheaper and more fuel-stable rockets like the Minuteman made them obsolete…A half-mile north of U.S. 34, the York site was the last of…12 to be decommissioned in April 1965, and soon they were sold to the public.

Guess the new owner couldn’t figure out anything fun or useful to do with this one. Frankly, I don’t know what I’d do with one either. But, RTFA. You may be the fortunate buyer..

One thought on “Buy your own Cold War missile silo

  1. Oscar G. says:

    ● “At the Titan Missile Museum, near Tucson, Arizona, visitors journey through time to stand on the front line of the Cold War. 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.
    …Tour Safety Notice: Everyone in your party must be able to safely descend and ascend 55 stairs (there is no elevator access to the underground silo).” https://titanmissilemuseum.org/
    (Includes interactive map and photo gallery)
    ● “Underground missile silo in NM was used during Cold War. Now you can vacation there”
    …According to KRQE, each silo cost $22 million to build and there are 72 around the country, 12 of which are around the Roswell area. https://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article256875232.html
    ● The Air Force’s Operational US Atlas F (SMS 579) ICBM base in the Roswell area developed a notorious reputation due to three missile explosions. On June 1, 1963, launch complex 579-1 was destroyed during a propellant loading exercise. On February 13, 1964, an explosion occurred during another propellant loading exercise, destroying launch complex 579-5. Again, a month later, on March 9, 1964, silo 579-2 fell victim to another explosion that occurred during a propellant loading exercise. Fortunately, these missiles were not mated with their warheads at the time of the incidents. The only injury reported was that of a crewman running into barbed wire as he fled a site.
    The accidents at Walker and at other Atlas and Titan I sites accelerated the decision to deactivate these systems. After the Air Force removed the missiles in 1965, the dozen sites reverted back to private ownership. Within a year of the deactivation of the 597th SMS, the Air Force announced that the base would be closed. This occurred on June 30, 1967. http://www.astronautix.com/w/walkerafb.html
    ● See also “1980 Damascus Titan missile explosion” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_Damascus_Titan_missile_explosion#See_also

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