THE LAST OF THE 24hr ALERT CREWS USAF STRATEGIC MISSILE WINGS












The United States Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile system is a very interesting subject and a Cold War Product, During the last Great War of 1939-1945 the missile made its history as a weapon of war and not of peace. What most remember is the V-Rocket program directed by a ardent Nazi Werner Von Braun. Von Braun and his team built rockets for germany during Germany's 1000 yr Reich, These missiles were to inflict damage on England for allowing Allied forces to marshal and prepare on their island. In a very deep mine in Germany the quest for a high tech weapon of the future took place as allied bombers HAMMERED the German war machine and it's people the V-1 or Buzz Bomb would launch off a rail horizontal and make its way to England with a conventional high explosive . Sounding like a cross between a Volkswagen Beetle and Bee the pulsing engine would cut out and drop down on London with no particular target. The English were terrified since it hit at random and it created an effective type of propaganda sending Britons into fear, RAF Spitfires were able to shoot down Hundreds chasing them out over the channel. The fact that the Germans were able to keep sending more without letting up led to a very frazzled nation, Von Brauns team kept on refining this weapon and improving it by coming out with the V-2 a rocket more like todays rockets . The rocket had gyroscopes and launched in a up right position and were aimed at england plus they packed a very heavy punch and were fast. When the end of the Reich came 9oo and something years early Von Braun made for the American troops and even though a SS member and ardent Nazi he and his team were sanitized through "OPERATION PAPERCLIP" the american use of important Nazis no matter their war duties. Other Germans wound up with the russians. As soon as the War ended the Cold War (a name coined in a article by  The Author of "1984" George Orwell ) started. Russia Communist and America Capitalists fire and ice the new conflict started . Russians worried about the new bomb that the US Military controlled and went to work creating one and exploded theirs in 1949. The world shuddered as the US worried about the Godless Barbarians that would come over the North Pole attacking US city's . In 1951 a defensive missile went in to Testing known as "NIKE" and with the advent of THERMONUCLEAR weapons the size of these weapons went from car size down to a piece of luggage and fitting them atop a rocket was feasible, The Redstone Arsenal had Von Braun working on Rockets and the next 10 years saw the rapid expansion of rockets with ranges over 2000 miles plus the Nike program started in 1945 and was operational in 1954.  Russia was nipping at America's heels tit for tat and work on a operational ICBM was priority .The Russians were first at Exploding a Hydrogen Bomb ,The first at creating a ICBM, the first to put a Satellite into orbit known as Sputnik. American morale was at an all time low as  American citizens listened to the beep-beep-beep as Sputnik  passed over. To add to our embarrasment the Russians far behind in their Bomber Wings pulled probably one of the best cover ups in history. During the 1955 May Day festivities and parade held  in moscow. The American Intelligence was floored to see the amount of Long Range Bombers  Spies and Military Intelligence  agents  reported this information. What they really had was (10)  and they flew over the reviewing stands six or more times creating an illusion. The american rocket program was slowly moving along when news of SPUTNIK hit the Redstone Arsenal at Huntsville Alabama, Rocket programs stepped it up and the United States put their first Satellite into orbit  a year later , The ICBMs tested and deployed were the Atlas, Titan, Minuteman , The first ICBMS, Atlas were operational at Vandenberg AFB and R&D on all ICBMS was getting results .at this time The US Army  ARADCOM ( Army Air Defense Command) had 88 NIKE Ajax sites around US cities and 173 NIKE  Hercules  the latter carried a Anti - Aircraft Nuclear warhead and the NIKE Zuess was the first to shoot down a ICBM from Thousands of miles away shooting a bullet with a bullet, At this time the US Navy Submarine forces successfully launch "POLARIS" a Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile , And that led the way for the United States Navy Submarine Forces to develop the ability to carry larger warheads and MIRVS and proved to be a crucial part of the US Nuclear Triad and a very Important Assett  other upgrades occured and now these sophisticated Machines carry enough Nuclear  ICBMS That just one Sub carries MORE explosive weapons then all the bombs that were used in world war two.The first USAF Continental Air Defense Commands  "BOMARC" Missile Squadron at McGuire AFB becomes operational in the late 1950's (THIS IS FOLLOWED BY  THE SIXTH AIR DEFENSE MISSILE SQUADRON AT SUFFOLK COUNTY AFB 1959) Werner Von Braun helped the Scientists and Engineers at the Redstone Arsenal and the Atlas and Titan were upgraded 2or3 times,  and Minuteman ICBMS were perfected. As the 1960s came a new President with visions of greatness for this nation put down on the table in 1962 that we would be walking on the Moon by the end of the decade. This was a bold bet but Von Braun and his team of scientists took the challenge and after building the implements of war his boyhood dream would come true and he nailed it by building rockets that would land men on the moon in 1969, this only was possible since we worked so hard and long on building vehicles to carry Nuclear Devices 6500 miles. Von Braun  could fit a warhead on the top of a rocket and now he was building rockets that would carry  men as a payload,this challenge proved to be no problem. America is safe thanks to these men who defended our nation and worked night and day designing weapons that proved to have peaceful purposes as well. for more info on the ICBM Program and continental missile air defense click on the above title.