Atlas E Launch Site 6, U.S. Air Force, 548th Strategic Missile Squadron, Kansas, Wabaunsee County
During the Cold War the United States deployed its first in-ground based Atlas series of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) in sparsely populated areas of the country. The 548th Strategic Missile Squadron was activated in 1961 at Forbes Air Force Base in Kansas and had operational responsibility for nine Atlas E missile launch sites in east central Kansas.
The below grade portal was the service access point to the underground launch facility at Site 6. The facility had a reinforced concrete roof that protruded aboveground. One section contained the launch control center, crew living quarters, and power plant. The Atlas E missile was housed in a "coffin launcher" style complex. The missile was kept in a horizontal position and in order to launch, a 400-ton hardened concrete overhead roof was rolled back after which the missile was elevated to a vertical launch position. Once upright, the rocket was fueled with RP-1 (kerosene) and liquid oxygen (LOX). The launch bay was connected to the other section by an underground passageway.
Three years after activating Site 6 it was deactivated, in part, because of survivability issues and launch time requirements. Atlas E missiles were phased out of the ICBM arsenal and replaced by the more sophisticated Atlas F missiles that were deployed in hardened underground silos. Launch Site 6 was deactivated in 1964. The complex was declared surplus and sold.
The owner of the site converted a portion of the underground facility into living quarters in the early 1990s and called it Subterra. In time, the escape hatches leaked water into the structure so the owner built faux castle towers over them to keep water out. For a time, the owner provide tours of the facility. An attempt was made to convert the underground quarters into an Airbnb in 2017. When I visited the site in 2021 the property was for sale. (Sources: Various, my compilation.)
Atlas E Launch Site 6, U.S. Air Force, 548th Strategic Missile Squadron, Kansas, Wabaunsee County
During the Cold War the United States deployed its first in-ground based Atlas series of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) in sparsely populated areas of the country. The 548th Strategic Missile Squadron was activated in 1961 at Forbes Air Force Base in Kansas and had operational responsibility for nine Atlas E missile launch sites in east central Kansas.
The below grade portal was the service access point to the underground launch facility at Site 6. The facility had a reinforced concrete roof that protruded aboveground. One section contained the launch control center, crew living quarters, and power plant. The Atlas E missile was housed in a "coffin launcher" style complex. The missile was kept in a horizontal position and in order to launch, a 400-ton hardened concrete overhead roof was rolled back after which the missile was elevated to a vertical launch position. Once upright, the rocket was fueled with RP-1 (kerosene) and liquid oxygen (LOX). The launch bay was connected to the other section by an underground passageway.
Three years after activating Site 6 it was deactivated, in part, because of survivability issues and launch time requirements. Atlas E missiles were phased out of the ICBM arsenal and replaced by the more sophisticated Atlas F missiles that were deployed in hardened underground silos. Launch Site 6 was deactivated in 1964. The complex was declared surplus and sold.
The owner of the site converted a portion of the underground facility into living quarters in the early 1990s and called it Subterra. In time, the escape hatches leaked water into the structure so the owner built faux castle towers over them to keep water out. For a time, the owner provide tours of the facility. An attempt was made to convert the underground quarters into an Airbnb in 2017. When I visited the site in 2021 the property was for sale. (Sources: Various, my compilation.)