Boeing LGM-30F Minuteman II
The Minuteman ICBM program has its roots in the technological revolution of the late 1950s and 1960s. Though the US already deployed several hundred Atlas and Titan ICBMs, these used liquid propellant, meaning they would need to be fueled before launch, and their early-generation computers were inaccurate. Atlas and Titans by necessity carried huge megaton warheads and were mainly "citybusters," designed to cause maximum casualties; because they needed to be fueled first, there was the possibility that a massive Soviet first strike would destroy the missiles before they could be launched.
The Minuteman, on the other hand, was meant to be solid-fueled, which meant it could be deployed as ready to fire; it would only need to be refueled every few years. This cut down on the large support facilities the Atlas and Titan used, meaning the Minuteman could be widely dispersed, guaranteeing that a Soviet first strike would not be able to get all of them--enough would survive that a nuclear war would truly result in mutually assured destruction. The solid-fuel propellant tended to burn quickly, but a breakthrough in design in 1956, as part of the US Navy's Polaris submarine-launched missile project, solved this problem. The increasing use of transistors in solid-state computers solved the accuracy issue about the same time--whereas the Atlas and Titans would be lucky to hit within five miles of their target, the Minuteman could strike within a mile, which was good enough with a nuclear warhead. This also meant that the Minuteman could carry smaller warheads.
The Minuteman was the ultimate in ICBM design, and the first Minuteman I entered service in 1962. Subsequent improvements led to the more accurate Minuteman II, and then finally the Minuteman III in 1975, which was still more accurate and, most importantly, carried multiple warheads (MIRV), allowing one missile to hit three targets. Since the early 1990s, the USAF ICBM force has standardized on the Minuteman III, and with the retirement of the Peacekeeper in 2005, the only one in American service.
Though I initially identified this as a Minuteman IA, this is actually a Minuteman II--the two are more difficult to tell apart than the Minuteman II and III versions. When it was first deployed in 1967, the LGM-30F was one of the most accurate ICBMs in the world, and used a larger warhead than the LGM-30B; it also was the first American ICBM to use stealth technology on the warhead as a way of evading any Soviet antiballistic missiles.
This particular Minuteman II represents the 44th Strategic Missile Wing at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, which was the last USAF unit to use the LGM-30F; it replaced its earlier Minuteman Is in 1971 and retired them in 1992, the same year the 44th SMW was deactivated. Operationally, Minuteman missiles were not painted, much less given USAF serials and insignia, or a SAC stripe. It does make the missile more visually attractive, however.
The 44th SMW had the distinction of being the only USAF missile wing to have both a silo and a launch control center to be preserved as a national monument--Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is about 40 miles east of Ellsworth AFB.
Boeing LGM-30F Minuteman II
The Minuteman ICBM program has its roots in the technological revolution of the late 1950s and 1960s. Though the US already deployed several hundred Atlas and Titan ICBMs, these used liquid propellant, meaning they would need to be fueled before launch, and their early-generation computers were inaccurate. Atlas and Titans by necessity carried huge megaton warheads and were mainly "citybusters," designed to cause maximum casualties; because they needed to be fueled first, there was the possibility that a massive Soviet first strike would destroy the missiles before they could be launched.
The Minuteman, on the other hand, was meant to be solid-fueled, which meant it could be deployed as ready to fire; it would only need to be refueled every few years. This cut down on the large support facilities the Atlas and Titan used, meaning the Minuteman could be widely dispersed, guaranteeing that a Soviet first strike would not be able to get all of them--enough would survive that a nuclear war would truly result in mutually assured destruction. The solid-fuel propellant tended to burn quickly, but a breakthrough in design in 1956, as part of the US Navy's Polaris submarine-launched missile project, solved this problem. The increasing use of transistors in solid-state computers solved the accuracy issue about the same time--whereas the Atlas and Titans would be lucky to hit within five miles of their target, the Minuteman could strike within a mile, which was good enough with a nuclear warhead. This also meant that the Minuteman could carry smaller warheads.
The Minuteman was the ultimate in ICBM design, and the first Minuteman I entered service in 1962. Subsequent improvements led to the more accurate Minuteman II, and then finally the Minuteman III in 1975, which was still more accurate and, most importantly, carried multiple warheads (MIRV), allowing one missile to hit three targets. Since the early 1990s, the USAF ICBM force has standardized on the Minuteman III, and with the retirement of the Peacekeeper in 2005, the only one in American service.
Though I initially identified this as a Minuteman IA, this is actually a Minuteman II--the two are more difficult to tell apart than the Minuteman II and III versions. When it was first deployed in 1967, the LGM-30F was one of the most accurate ICBMs in the world, and used a larger warhead than the LGM-30B; it also was the first American ICBM to use stealth technology on the warhead as a way of evading any Soviet antiballistic missiles.
This particular Minuteman II represents the 44th Strategic Missile Wing at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, which was the last USAF unit to use the LGM-30F; it replaced its earlier Minuteman Is in 1971 and retired them in 1992, the same year the 44th SMW was deactivated. Operationally, Minuteman missiles were not painted, much less given USAF serials and insignia, or a SAC stripe. It does make the missile more visually attractive, however.
The 44th SMW had the distinction of being the only USAF missile wing to have both a silo and a launch control center to be preserved as a national monument--Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is about 40 miles east of Ellsworth AFB.