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Ballistic Missiles

By the end of 1957, the USAF had a Ballistic Missile Division established to run its several programs. The build-up of SAC missile strength began officially when a "blue-suit" crew from the 576th Strategic Missile Squadron launched an Atlas-D, test round September 9, 1959. It was successful; but subsequent USAF firings produced such poor results that a special program called Golden Ram was initiated to simplify the launch procedures and improve the performance of SAC crews. A much better firing record resulted, and produced an operational ICBM force within SAC.

With that force came the concept of the strategic triad to keep peace by maintaining a deterrence. The triad is, of course, the intercontinental ballistic missiles and long-range bombers operated by USAF's Strategic Air Command, and the submarine-launched ballistic missiles operated by the U. S. Navy. The theory of the triad is not only deterrence, but assured deterrence by the survival of at least one of the three striking forces. No potential enemy, it is believed, could destroy utterly all three components of the triad. And the surviving force would be strong enough to lay waste the enemy's territories with such devastation that recovery would be impossible.

The Army, Navy, and Air Force all had missile programs underway in the late 1950s and early 1960s. As an interim, a variety of surface-launched cruise missiles entered service, such as Matador, Snark, and Regulus, but they lacked performance and range. Each service wanted a slice of the glamorous new pie, for both strategic weapons and space exploration. It took several years for things to shake out: The Air Force got land-based nuclear missiles, the Navy got submarine-launched missiles, and the Army got out of the long-range missile business. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was established to take over the space program.

The major weapon in the new arsenal was the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). With range to reach the interior of the Soviet Union from the United States, and powerful warheads to destroy hardened targets, the family of intermediate- and long-range missiles recast the nature of the Cold War.

If one man drove the ICBM program, it was Bernard Schriever. An Air Corps pilot of 1933 vintage, he survived the airmail debacle the next year and later flew for Northwest Airlines. Recalled in 1938, he served as a test pilot and earned a Master's degree in engineering. During the war he flew B-17s in the Southwest Pacific theater but his talents led elsewhere. After the war, he became a scientific liaison officer, placing him in the right place at the right time.

When the Soviets exploded their first thermonuclear weapon in 1953, the United States began considering missiles as an adjunct to manned bombers. Bernie Schriever established the Air Force ICBM program headquarters at Inglewood, California, theorizing that long-range missiles were a relatively cheap means of maintaining nuclear deterrence. Fewer men, equipment, and bases all argued convincingly for operational and budgetary reasons. The results of Schriever's work led to the Thor, Atlas, Titan, and Minuteman programs. Subsequently he became director of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory and retired in 1966. The Atlas constituted his legacy: It launched America into serious space exploration.

Ballistic missiles entered SAC's arsenal in 1958 as the intermediate-range Thor and intercontinental Atlas went operational in 1959. Over the next four decades, they were replaced by even more capable Titan and Minuteman ICBMs. Possessing bombers and ICBMs, SAC represented two thirds of America's nuclear triad, while ballistic missile submarines provided the third leg.

As depicted in novels and films, the eerie world of ICBM launch silos was a combination of mind-numbing boredom and apocalyptic decisionmaking. In their underground cubicles, two-man launch crews practiced for doomsday while seated at consoles too far apart for one officer to initiate the launch sequence. However, each was armed with a revolver, obliged to shoot his partner if the other refused to turn the key when The Word came down.

Psychological screening was deemed essential for missile crews, which required stable, mature personalities. The missileers handled the stress of their work in different ways; some were professionally curious about the targets for their "birds," while others did not want to know. At any rate, they stood watch in their hardened silos for more than 30 years and accomplished their goal of deterrence.

IRBMS and ICBMS

The Air Force's first ballistic missile was the intermediate-range Thor, a 65-foot, single-stage weapon weighing 105,000 pounds at launch. Because of its 2,000-mile range, Thor had to be deployed in Britain to provide any deterrence against Russia. British forces also adopted the type, which was retired from U.S. service in 1963.

The more powerful Atlas had been tested in 1957 and was deployed from 1959 to 1965. At 82 feet long and 267,000 pounds launch weight, Atlas ultimately was rated at 9,000 miles range with an accuracy of 2 mites. However, it was most noted as the vehicle for NASA's Mercury orbital program.

A fully developed ICBM was Titan, first launched in 1959 and going operational three years later. It was a two-stage rocket and the first used in hardened underground silos. Titan II appeared in 1965 with more range and payload, contributing to the Gemini manned space program. Nearly 100 feet long, with an all-up weight of 221,500 pounds, its 2 liquid-fueled engines propelled it some 6,300 miles with a mean miss distance of less than 1 mile.

The Minuteman series was a solid-fuel design, smaller and easier to maintain than Atlas or Titan. At 56 feet long and 65,000 pounds weight it was tested in 1961 and deployed in 1962. The Minuteman II entered service 4 years later with more range, load, and 200-yard accuracy. Minuteman 111, deployed in 1970, reportedly is capable of hitting within 150 yards of a target 8,000 miles from launch. It is a multi-warhead missile, able to deliver 10 or more multiple independently targeted re-entry vehicles (MIRV) weapons, although international treaties are reducing the number carried.

Eventually, SAC achieved full integration of bombers and missiles by consolidating both weapons in strategic aerospace wings. SAC's peak ICBM inventory probably occurred around 1975 with 1,054 missiles. However, manned bombers remained an important part of the Strategic Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP).

MAD, MIRV, SALT, and START

The strategic-weapons lexicon involved a jumble of acronyms that still confuse American citizens decades later. "Peaceniks" were fond of citing the policy of mutually assured destruction as MAD, but it kept the balance of terror for the duration of the Cold War. Neither East nor West could mount enough megatons for a successful first strike without incurring unacceptable losses in retaliation. If it was mad, at least it averted nuclear war.

In the 1970s, missile technology had advanced to the point that multiple warheads could be mounted on one rocket. With MIRVs, one ICBM could lift as many as 10 warheads, providing more bang for the nuclear buck. Circa 1999, the United States had 982 ICBMs (432 in submarines) with 8,300 warheads.

The proliferation of thermonuclear weapons finally resulted in a series of discussions between America and Russia. The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) sought to freeze the opponents' respective arsenals before undertaking actual reductions. President Richard Nixon and Premier Leonid Brezhnev signed SALT I in 1972. SALT II remained unratified with both sides presumably abiding by the terms of the draft.

After additional SALT negotiations, the United States and the USSR entered discussions for a Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) in 1979. However, after Russia's invasion of Afghanistan that year, President Jimmy Carter curtailed negotiations. The Reagan administration subsequently determined that the Soviets were not abiding by the draft of SALT II, and those talks ended.

However, under new leaders the United States and the Soviet Union signed START I in 1991. Months later the USSR collapsed, leaving a void on the Russian side that was only redressed over the next decade. In 2001, the United States and Russian Federation reached parity at 6,000 deployable warheads. START II, completed in 2000, calls for elimination of heavy ICBMs with no more than 3,500 warheads per side in 2004, including elimination of MIRVs.

Walter J. Boyne, USAF (ret.) Series Editor, Barrett Tillman. The Jet Age. Alpha Bravo Delta Guide to the U.S. Air Force. Alpha Books. 2003.

Nuclear Weapons of the U.S. Gibson. Chapters document ICBMs, Sub-launched missiles, subs, bombers, free-fall bombs, air-to-surface missiles, ground and sea launched cruise missiles, SRBMs, anti-aircraft/missile weapons, nuclear anti-sub weapons, nuclear artillery and atomic demolition munitions.

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