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Happy birthday to the Royal Observer Corps! Founded as the Observer Corps in 1925, gaining the Royal title in 1941 and finally being stood down in 1995. An auspicious day indeed. Here's ChatGPT's best effort at an ROC birthday cake!
So where were the American missiles of October 1962?![]()
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By October 25th, deployment of Atlas-D, Atlas-E and Titan-Is had been completed while Atlas-F was in the process of entering service. Notably, the first Minuteman missiles would be placed on an Emergency Combat Capability (ECC) at Malmstrom AFB, Montana and at Vandenberg AFB, California during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Titan-II sites meanwhile were under construction at that time, as were other Minuteman bases.![]()
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Atlas-Ds could be found at Vandenberg AFB, California, F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming, and Offutt AFB, Nebraska in aboveground coffin launchers (in which the missile is stored in a horizontal position, tilted to vertical for launching) or in the case at Vandenberg, on gentry launchers. The Atlas-E force meanwhile, protected slightly better from attack in buried coffin launchers, was found near Fairchild AFB, Washington, F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming, and near Forbes AFB in Kansas.![]()
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Deployment of Atlas-F meanwhile was not yet complete. Based in complex underground silos, they could be found on alert near Schilling AFB, Kansas, Lincoln AFB, Nebraska and Altus AFB, Oklahoma. Deployment of Atlas-F around Dyess AFB, Texas, Walker AFB, New Mexico, and Plattsburgh AFB, New York was still not quite complete. Some of the launch complexes at those bases were still under Air Force Systems Command control undergoing check-out, but were handed over to Strategic Air Command in the same ECC capability as the first Minuteman missiles at Malmstrom and Vandenberg as DEFCON 2 was announced.![]()
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A further note on Atlas is that even as launch complexes were coming online, modification programs were ongoing at a number of them. For instance, Project "Draw Tite" was underway at a number of Atlas-E sites and Project "Clean Sweep" sought to update Atlas-F silos. Contractors were directed finish essential work and had the sites back over to SAC as quickly as possible.![]()
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Titan-I installations meanwhile could be found near Beale AFB, California, Larson AFB, Washington, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, and two squadrons at Lowry AFB in Colorado. Entering alert capability months earlier, the majority of these missiles stood ready during the crisis (alert capability varied hour-to-hour particularly with cryogenic missiles). Like Atlas-D, Titan-I utilized a command guidance system, but was much better protected from attack in hardened silos. Titan-I operations paved the way for the Titan-II which featured all-inertial guidance, storable liquid propellants, and a very large thermonuclear warhead. Titan-IIs however would not enter service until 1963.![]()
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Vandenberg AFB, California meanwhile worked to place a number of missiles on Emergency War Order alert. With the exception of a few Atlas-Ds based there on regular alert duty, Vandenberg was primarily a missile testing base. Nonetheless, training missiles were loaded with nuclear warheads and rushed into alert status. This included 1 Atlas-E, 1 Atlas-F, 1 Titan-I, and eventually six Minuteman I missiles. ![]()
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Finally, Minuteman missiles in Montana - a modest force that would be later called Kennedy's "Ace in the Hole" - were placed into an Emergency Combat Capability only with some difficulty. Only one Launch Control Center was available for alert, meaning the "two launch vote" configuration of two LCCs was not available and a workaround had to be made. Further, temporary SAC safety regulations meant that Launch Facility enclosure door opening ordinance that would ordinarily blow a door down rails clear of the launch tube during launch were disconnected. In the event of a launch execution order, the safety control switch at the LF would have to be manually unlocked from the safety position to allow for launch. Only in December 1962 would a second flight of Minuteman Ia missiles activate to allow for continuous nuclear alert.![]()
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The American arsenal of ICBMs on alert status peaked on November 1st, 1962 as 119 Atlas, 56 Titan-Is, and 8 Minuteman Is (183 in all) were made available for Emergency War Order (EWO) missions against Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP) targets. It had been an immense undertaking that taxed launch crews and maintenance crews alike in the difficult effort to maintain the cryogenically-fueled missiles in an alert status.![]()
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Aside from the few Minuteman missiles at Malmstrom and Vandenberg, areas marked in red on the map below were still under construction or - in the case of Grand Forks - not yet in construction. Peacekeeper meanwhile would only enter service years later at F.E. Warren in 1986. These are left to give an idea of the later Minuteman and Peacekeeper force for the later Cold War period.![]()
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The entirety of the American first generation intercontinental ballistic missile force consisting of the cryogenic Atlas-D, Atlas-E, Atlas-F, and Titan-I would be completely phased out by the end of April 1965. The Titan-II force meanwhile would serve until 1987 while Minuteman IIs would be removed from nuclear alert in September 1991. Peacekeeper was retired during 2005. ![]()
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As of October 2025, much of the Minuteman III force remains on ready alert status at sites near Malmstrom AFB, Montana, Minot AFB, North Dakota, and F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming.![]()
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#CubanMissileCrisis #ColdWarHistory #icbmhistory #NuclearMissiles