Retired Air Force Lt. Colonel Bob Stevenson of Jim Thorpe activates key switch once used to initiate the launch sequence of a nuclear-tipped Titan II ICBM. Two key switches had to be activated within two seconds—one by a Crew Commander as was Stevenson, and the second by the Deputy Crew Commander.

Deputy Crew Commander Second Lieutenant Bob Stevenson (far left) and Crew Commander Bob Hudick (sitting at console) with two enlisted men composed the crew at level 2 of the Launch Control Center.

President Kennedy initiated construction of 54 underground ICBM complexes. Each complex consisted of three underground structures: a 146-foot high missile silo housing the 103-foot long fully armed Titan II missile, an access portal building, and a Control Center.

View of the reentry vehicle that housed the nuclear warhead on the Titan II missile. This missile, now part of a museum, has a square cutout to show that the missile is unarmed.

The Titan II rocket had the capability of delivering a nuclear warhead up to 8,100 nautical miles over the North Pole into the Soviet Union. After the SALT Treaty ended the Titan program, the missiles were used to launch space capsules.

During the Cold War, a Jim Thorpe man
held a key to one of 54 nuclear-tipped
Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles.

Jim Thorpe

Talk about stressful jobs! Twenty-five years ago, Bob Stevenson of Jim Thorpe completed his tour as a Crew Commander of an underground nuclear-tipped Intercontinental Ballistic Missile complex. He held one of the keys to launch a nuclear-tipped Titan II ICBM and was in the position to respond to or to start a nuclear war.

As part of the SALT agreement, the Titan II underground missiles were deactivated by 1984. This is the twentieth anniversary of the deactivation. Stevenson is traveling to Tucson to be reunited with his former squadron and visit the one remaining complex that has become a museum. Stevenson retired from the Air Force as a Lt. Colonel in 1992.

The Titan II ICBM Program

By 1962, the Cold War had led to a nuclear arms race between the US and the former Soviet Union. President Kennedy and Soviet Premier Khrushchev were amassing weapons systems that held the capability of destroying the world several times over.

To build upon the policy of “peace through deterrence,” Kennedy initiated construction of 54 underground ICBM complexes that housed the Titan II rocket armed with a Mark VI nuclear warhead. The complexes were clustered about three areas—Tucson, Wichita and Little Rock, with 18 complexes in each cluster. 

Each complex consisted of three underground structures. The 146-foot high missile silo housed the 103-foot long fully armed Titan II missile in a shock and blast resistant enclosure. The silo was sealed by a 758-ton concrete and steel door that was designed to roll to a fully open position in 19 seconds. 

Entrance to the complex was through an access portal building. Those who entered were monitored by closed circuit television as they entered through a series of blast resistant doors. 

The third building was the Control Center. Control operations took place on Level Two of its three floors. This level contained two launch consoles – one each for the Commander and Deputy—and associated equipment for initiating the launch sequence, checkout, monitoring and communications. 

Making of a Nuclear Warrior

As a youngster, born in Philadelphia and growing up in Collingswood, New Jersey, Bob Stevenson never dreamed of serving in the military. While studying psychology at Rutgers University from 1965 to 1969, Stevenson anticipated being drafted for the Vietnam War upon graduation. He joined the ROTC and graduated as a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force. 

While at Rutgers, Stevenson met Laura Thomas of Jim Thorpe. They would later marry and move to Jim Thorpe after completion of Stevenson’s service. 

In 1969, after training, Stevenson was assigned to join the 390^th Strategic Missile Wing in Tucson. In October 1970, Stevenson married Laura Thomas and she joined him in Tucson. They lived there until 1979. Stevenson was promoted to Captain and reassigned to SAC Headquarters in Omaha. 

Stevenson commanded a team of four men that operated the missile complex for a 24-hour period. Four crews rotated control of each complex. There were 18 complexes in the Tucson area, and another 18 each in Little Rock and Wichita. 

The Titan II had a range of up to 8,100 nautical miles with an accuracy of better than one nautical mile. The rockets were aimed at Soviet targets by flying over the North Pole. The Titan II, which was later used for space missions, had a two-stage liquid powered rocket engine and a Mark VI reentry vehicle that housed the warhead. 

Close of the Titan II Program

Several factors led to the closing of the Titan II program in 1983. The program was designed for a ten-year life and had been used for 25 years. The US and the Soviets were trying to deescalate the arms race. Finally, accidents occurred that questioned the safety of the Titan II system. 

On Sept. 19, 1980, an Air Force repairman dropped a heavy wrench socket down the rocket silo. It struck the missile and punctured a fuel tank containing toxic and explosive Aerozine-50 fuel.  Fuel vapors built up and 8-1/2 hours later, the silo exploded, killing one man, injuring 21 others, and blowing off the 758-ton silo door and sending the (reported at an estimated nine megaton) warhead 600 feet into the air. The warhead did not explode. 

Hundreds of accidents occurred during the Titan program. A 1965 fire in Little Rock killed 53. In 1978, two men were killed and thirty others were injured by breathing deadly nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer gas. By 1982, the number of accidents had climbed into the hundreds and the seals on the rockets had become old and unreliable. 

The SALT Treaty called for scrapping of the Titan complexes. The missiles were moved to Vandenberg AFB in California and repurposed for launching satellites. The sites were scavenged for parts and then were outfitted with explosives and blown up so that the Soviets could verify by taking satellite photographs. 

One complex, #571-7, was allowed to remain as a museum. The warhead was removed and a square cutout was made in the reentry stage to show that the warhead was removed. 

 “I felt I was an important part of the deterrence during the Cold War that prevented a nuclear war,” said Stevenson. “Had we not met strength with strength, it could be a very different world now.” 

“My small contribution made a difference to the world… and there were lots of others making similar contributions,” he continued. “The cumulative contribution made a difference to wearing the Soviets down and winning the Cold War.” 

“We were prepared to use them. We hoped like hell we didn’t have to use them. But everybody that was there made their commitment,” Stevenson concluded.