One of the retired Minuteman IB is on display. Today, Whiteman AFB is the home of the 509th Bomb Wing and the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber. The first silo was imploded on 8 December 1993 and the last on 15 December 1997. Under the START I treaty, the missiles were removed and the sites destroyed. The wing and its three squadrons of ICBMs were inactivated on 28 July 1995. Subsequently, the Air Force removed the wing's 150 Minuteman II missiles from service. The 28 September 1991 order from President Bush to take Minuteman II missiles off alert status ended the 351st's role as an active ICBM wing. The completed transition in October 1967 gave the 351st SMW the distinction of being the first wing to complete the Force Modernization Program. By 29 June 1964, the last flight of missiles went on alert status, making the 351st a fully operational strategic missile wing.īeginning on, and throughout the rest of 1966 and into 1967, the Air Force replaced the Minuteman IBs with LGM-30F Minuteman IIs. Soon the silos assigned to the three operational squadrons of wing were made operational. Consequently, when the final approval came on 17 January 1962, the launchers were placed in the vicinity of Whiteman AFB, making this the smallest Minuteman base with regard to area.Īctivated on 1 February 1963, the 351st Strategic Missile Wing received its first Minuteman IB missile from the Boeing plant at Hill AFB, Utah, on 14 January 1964. Due to the terrain inaccessibility and the high water table, these plans were scrapped. After the announcement on 14 June 1961, there were second thoughts about the choice as original plans called for launchers to be spread into the Lake of the Ozarks region. The 351st Strategic Missile Wing was the third United States Air Force LGM-30 Minuteman ICBM wing, the second with the LGM-30B Minuteman I. This is a list of the LGM-30 Minuteman missile Missile Alert Facilities and Launch Facilities of the 351st Strategic Missile Wing, 20th Air Force, assigned to Whiteman AFB, Missouri. For those visitors unable to safely experience the underground control center, the Visitors Center at exit 131 offers a Virtual Tour experience that can be enjoyed by all.Emblem of the 351st Strategic Missile Wing Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMapģ8☄3′49″N 093☃2′53″W / 38.73028°N 93.54806°W / 38.73028 -93.54806 ( Whiteman AFB) The Launch Control Facility Delta-01 (reservations required) is four miles west and the Delta-09 missile silo self guided tour is 15 miles west of the Visitor Center.īuilt to execute a nuclear war, the historic Delta-01 compound cannot be made fully accessible. The Visitor Center is located immediately north of I-90, exit 131. Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is located at three sites along a fifteen mile stretch of Interstate 90 in western South Dakota. At the Delta-09 silo, view a nuclear missile which once carried a 1.2 megaton warhead.Plan to visit all three sites Discover the Cold War events that shaped our lives and still remain through a tour of the underground control center at Delta-01. Visit the once secret facilities where Air Force personnel controlled and maintained ten nuclear missiles, part of a force of 150 missiles located in South Dakota. It holds the power to destroy civilization, but is meant as a nuclear deterrent to maintain peace and prevent war. The Minuteman Missile remains an iconic weapon in the American nuclear arsenal. Hidden in plain sight, for thirty years 1,000 missiles were kept on constant alert hundreds remain today. Please read Tour Safety Restrictions below:ĭuring the Cold War, a vast arsenal of nuclear missiles were placed in the Great Plains. Again, if there are no tours available you will get this message: NO RESULTS FOUND. Change your dates to check other availability. If there are no matches for the date you search you will get this message: NO RESULTS FOUND. The TOTAL number of slots available per tour are indicated by clicking on the Adult Ages 17+ drop down box. Tours will be run Wednesday through Sunday at 9:00 am, 10:00 am, 1:00 pm, and 2:00 pm. It does not take visitors through the above ground portions of the building as this area is still undergoing renovations. This modified tour will cover some of the exterior grounds, the elevator room, and then the underground launch control center. Children must be 40” tall and at least six years old.ĭue to the continuing renovation work at Delta-01, and out of a desire to enhance the visitors’ experience, Minuteman Missile NHS will be resuming the Delta-01 Tours in a MODIFIED format. At least one adult must accompany a child on the Delta -01 tour. Tour reservations inside 24 hours are not available. Reservations are required for the Delta 0-1 tour and can be made between 24 hours and 90 days prior to arrival.
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