Discover

The 'Titan I' was the United States' first true multistage ICBM. It was the first in a series of Titan rockets, but was unique among them in that it used LOX and RP-1 as its fuels, while the later versions all used storable fuels instead.
The program began in January 1955 and took shape in parallel with the Atlas (SM-65/HGM-25) intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The Air Force's goal in launching the Titan program was twofold: one, to serve as a backup should Atlas fail; and two, to develop a large, two-stage missile with a longer range and bigger payload that also could serve as a booster for space flights.
The Titan I was also called the SM-68, the -68 designation formerly applying to the XB-68, a stillborne jet bomber design by Martin which was cancelled before two prototypes and one test model were completed.
Produced by the Glenn L. Martin Company (which became "The Martin Company" in 1957), Titan I was a two-stage, liquid-fueled missile. The first stage delivered 300,000 pounds force (1,330 kN) of thrust, the second stage 80,000 pounds force (356 kN). The fact that Titan I, like Atlas, burned RP-1 and LOX was a severe drawback from the military point of view (as the LOX is a major logistic problem, being rather hard to store and handle), and it severely curtailed the operational flexibility/reaction times of the missile system.
The missile utilized radio inertial guidance. Each Titan I missile squadron was composed of three extensive underground launch complexes. these were composed of a control center, powerhouse, and two antenna silos for the guidance radars. There were three missile silos, each of which had a propellant terminal and equipment terminal nearby. All these facilities were underground, and connected by tunnels. The distance between the antenna silos and the most distant missile silo was between 1,00 and 1,300 feet. These were by far the most complex, extensive and expensive missile launch facilities ever deployed by the USAF. Launching a missile required fueling it in it's silo, and then raising the launcher and missile out of the silo on a massive elevator. Before each launch the guidance radar had to be calibrated by acquiring a special target at a precisely known range and bearing. When the missile was launched, the guidance radar tracked the missile and supplied precise velocity range and azimuth data to the missile's guidance system. Because of this the complex could only launch and track one missile at a time. The Titan I had an effective range of 5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km). When the first stage had finished consuming its propellant, it dropped away, thereby decreasing the mass of the vehicle. That made for a more efficient missile, which resulted in increased range and enabled a larger payload.
The warhead of the Titan I was an AVCO Mk 4 re-entry vehicle containing a W-38 thermonuclear bomb with a yield of 3.75 megatons which was fuzed for either air burst or contact burst. The Mk 4 RV also deployed penetration aids in the form of mylar balloons which replicated the radar signature of the Mk 4 RV.
When the storable fueled Titan II and the solid fueled Minuteman I were deployed in 1963, the Titan I and Atlas missiles became obsolete. They were retired from service as ICBMs in early 1965. The Titan II remained in service until the 1980s however, as it carried a much larger payload (a multi-megaton hydrogen warhead) that could be used as an effective "city buster".

Contents

Titan 1 Specifications

Service history

Survivors

External links

Related content

Titan 1 Specifications

★ Liftoff thrust: 1,296 kN Total mass: 105,142 kg

★ Core diameter: 3.1 m. Total length: 31.0 m

★ Development cost: $1,643,300,000.00 in 1960 dollars.

★ Flyaway cost: $1,500,000.00 each, in 1962 dollars.

★ Total development missiles built: 47. Total missiles fired: 68.

★ Total production missiles built: 108. Total deployed missiles: 54.
'Titan 1 First Stage:'

★ Gross mass: 76,203 kg

★ Empty mass: 4,000 kg

★ Thrust (vac): 1,467 kN

★ Isp (vac): 290 s (2.84 kN·s/kg)

★ Isp (sea level): 256 s (2.51 kN·s/kg)

★ Burn time: 138 s

★ Diameter: 3.1 m

★ Span: 3.1 m

★ Length: 16.0 m

★ Propellants: liquid oxygen (LOX)/kerosene

★ Number of engines: Two - Aerojet LR-87-3
'Titan 1 Second Stage:'

★ Gross mass: 28,939 kg

★ Empty mass: 1,725 kg

★ Thrust (vac):356 kN

★ Isp (vac): 308 s (3.02 kN·s/kg)

★ Isp (sea level): 210 s (2.06 kN·s/kg)

★ Burn time: 225 s

★ Diameter: 2.3 m

★ Span: 2.3 m

★ Length: 9.8 m

★ Propellants: liquid oxygen (LOX)/kerosene

★ Number of engines: One - Aerojet LR-91-3

Service history

The number of Titan I missiles in service, by year:

★ 1961 - 1

★ 1962 - 62

★ 1963 - 63

★ 1964 - 56

Survivors

Below is a list of museums which have a Titan I missile in their collection:

★ Air Force Space and Missile Museum, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

★ Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona

★ NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California

★ Vandenberg AFB Launch Complex 395-C, Lompoc, California

★ City of Lompoc, Lompoc, California

★ U.S. Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio

★ South Dakota Air & Space Museum, Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota

★ Florence Airport, Florence, South Carolina
Display: While not a museum, a Titan 1 missile is on display in Cordele, GA, adjacent to I-75. At exit 101, it is in a parking lot between a Chevron and a Krystal.

External links

★ Titan 1 ICBM History site

★ Titan 1A base environmental studies, USACE- Lincoln, CA

★ Tri-City Herald article by Kristin Alexander about Titan 1 complexes in Washington State

★
★ ''Info on "Northern California Triad" of Titan missile bases in Lincoln, CA; Chico, CA and Live Oak, CA (Sutter Buttes)''

Related content