Day 5 Titan II Missile Museum and CAT proving grounds

Woke up at 0600 and was only mildly sore.  My left leg around the cactus scratch is a bit sorer than my right leg so probably it is not due to just fatigue from my Grand Canyon ordeal.  I had my free continental “breakfast.”  The only thing available was small muffins and a loaf of bread along with coffee and watered down OJ.  Needless to say it was a sad breakfast so I supplemented it with food from my cooler.  I was happy to see my car still in the parking lot and not broken into.  I headed south on I-19 to Green Valley and the Titan II missile museum.  I had reservations for a 5 hour tour from the top to the bottom of the in ground missile silo.   It was expensive but now that I have completed the tour it was well worth it.  The museums historian was the guide and he was training another guide who had been a crew member while the missile was still active, so we had a lot of information and all questions were answered and much more detail than I can remember was told to me.  There were 5 tourists in the tour and 1 heavy out of shape man that was having a really tough time with the ladders.  I was hoping I would get to use my medical skills at the bottom of the silo because another of the tourists was an RN so I would have had someone to give orders to in order to save a life.  All of the Titan II missiles were retired because they were deemed too dangerous and expensive and better missiles were available so these sites had to be destroyed in order to conform to the arms treaties if the better missiles were to be built.  The Titan II were hydrogen bombs that had a damage radius of 34 square miles and an accuracy of 1 mile.  The crew had 24 hour shifts ~11 times/month.  The technology and massiveness of the silo was pretty amazing but not as amazing as God’s creation of the Grand Canyon.

Sketch of the missile silo and crew's quarters

All that is visible at ground level.  Big whitish mass
in center is the silo doors.

Just entering the compound and about to enter the
nuclear hardened shell.  This is the first blast door.

Safe were all the codes were kept.

Me turning the one of the two keys needed to begin
launch sequence

Place where crew slept.   Sign states you cannot smoke
while in bed.

Massive batteries needed as bridge if power went out
to when the diesel generators started up.

Corridor connecting the crews quarters/command
with the missile silo.

The writing in the middle of the picture is on the missile
and left over from filming a Star Trek movie.

Level 1 looking down the silo.

Level 8 looking up the silo.  Silo door is 1/2 open

Hand machined fuel mixer plate.

Looking down at lowest level.  Now below missile where
rocket heat was deflected to the sides and up vents.

Looking up at the bottom of the rocket with its
engines removed.

Stage 1 engine

Silo door.  Note it is half open and blocked so it cannot
open further.  This is by treaty with Russia.

I met Tom at CAT’s Tucson Proving Grounds.  The place was highly secured and I was cut by razor wire and chased by some dogs but I ended up getting through.  There was some amazing equipment there.  Tom showed me all around and I got to climb on some of the equipment or “big iron” as they say in the business down here.  This facility tests mostly mining equipment.  As new products are in development I was unable to take pictures.  The largest piece of “big iron” I saw was the 7495 electric rope shovel which is basically a 3 story iron house on tracks that has a shovel the size of a large bedroom.  An electric cable attaches the machine to a CAT Gen Set.  I’m sure the machine costs more money than I will ever make in my life.  Apparently the proving grounds cover 6,000 acres of land and is home to numerous coyotes and a route for illegal aliens to come over and take advantage of Obamacare.  Had a nice supper at Tom’s and will be looking forward to sleeping in a bed I can feel assured is clean.