It was a day we nearly lost Arkansas and a day Devlin almost lost his life. Just as they sat down on the concrete edge of the access portal, the missile exploded, blowing the 740-ton launch duct closure door 200 feet into the air and some 600 feet northeast of the launch complex. The missile complex and the surrounding area were evacuated and a team of specialists was called in from Little Rock Air Force Base, the missile's main support base.
According to the Center for Defense Information(CDI): The explosion of volatile fuel blew off the 740 ton silo door of reinforced concrete and steel and catapulted the warhead 600 feet.
The Damascus Titan missile explosion refers to an incident where the fuel in a nuclear armed missile exploded at a missile launch facility in Damascus, Arkansas, on September 18–19, 1980. Livingston died of his injuries that day. On September 19, 1980 during routine maintenance in a Titan II silo, an Air Force repairman dropped a heavy wrench socket, which rolled off a work platform and fell toward the bottom of the silo. Kennedy, his leg broken, was blown 150 feet from the silo. All Rights Reserved.
The commander of the 308Airmen Rex Hukle and Greg Devlin were the first to enter the complex, under orders to cut down a security fence and then break through a steel outer portal that had an electromagnetic lock.
For more information, contact 501-918-3025 or Spreading your gift out through monthly contributions is a great solution for your budget and ours. On September 19th, 1980, the Titan II Missile exploded in Damascus and blew its nuclear warhead out of the silo. It recommended, however, improved communications between the Air Force and local officials in case of accidents and a modification of the Air Force’s policy of neither confirming nor denying the presence and condition of nuclear weapons at an accident site. The socket bounced and struck the missile, causing a leak from a pressurized fuel tank.
Give a donation in someone’s name to mark a special occasion, honor a friend or colleague or remember a beloved family member. In 1980, an American nuclear warhead was blown out of its silo by an exploding Titan II missile at Damascus, Arkansas
The W-53 nuclear warhead landed about 100 feet from the launch complex’s entry gate; its safety features operated correctly and prevented any loss of radioactive material. Twenty-one people, including Hukle and Devlin, were injured by the explosion or during rescue efforts.In early October 1980, cleanup operations gathered tons of debris from around 400 acres surrounding the launch complex and pumped some 100,000 gallons of contaminated water from the silo.
An Air Force airman was killed, and the complex was destroyed.
At about 3:00 a.m., the two men returned to the surface to await further instructions. The incident occurred on September 18–19, 1980, at Missile Complex 374-7 in rural Arkansas when a U.S. Air Force LGM-25C Titan II ICBM loaded with a 9 megaton W-53 Nuclear … It is estimated that Titan II ICBMs carry a 9 megaton warhead. Ultimately, the Air Force decided to seal the complex with soil, gravel, and small concrete debris.A congressional inquiry into the accident found the Titan II missile program to be essentially reliable. About 8 1/2 hours after initial puncture, fuel vapors within the silo ignited and exploded. The Titan II Launch Complex 374-7 in Southside (Van Buren County), just north of Complex 374-7 had already been the site of one significant accident on January 27, 1978, when an oxidizer leak sent a cloud of toxic fumes 3,000 feet long, 300 feet wide, and 100 feet high drifting across On September 18, 1980, at about 6:30 p.m., an airman conducting maintenance on the Titan II missile dropped a wrench socket, which fell about eighty feet before hitting and piercing the skin on the rocket’s first-stage fuel tank, causing it to leak. “Explosive Era: Tour Visits Site Where Titan II Blast in 1980 Sent Warhead Flying.” Stumpf, David K. “We Can Neither Confirm Nor Deny.” In Major support provided through a partnership with the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism.Major funding provided by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.Special thanks to the Department of Arkansas Heritage.Additional support provided by the Arkansas Humanities Council.Additional support provided by the Arkansas General Assembly.Additional support provided by the Arkansas Community Foundation.Additional support provided by the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation Inc.Honor or memorial gifts are an everlasting way to pay tribute to someone who has touched your life. When a tribute gift is given the honoree will receive a letter acknowledging your generosity and a bookplate will be placed in a book. They were unable, however, to open the inner blast doors. They accomplished this using a crowbar and other tools. For more information, contact 501-918-3025 or Or, sign up for Kroger Rewards and a portion of your purchases at Kroger will be donated to the CALS Foundation. The socket bounced and struck the missile, causing a leak from a pressurized fuel tank.
Help the Channel Grow Like, Comment & Subscribe! A Brief History of: The 1980 Damascus Titan 2 Accident It is 1980 and in rural Arkansas north of Damascus, a fuel leak would result in disaster within a Nuclear missile silo.