Titan II
The Most Powerful US ICBM
Weapon Specifications
Note that the relationship between explosive power and destruction is not linear—a weapon’s destructive effects grow far more slowly than its explosive power.
Explosive Power
9 megatons
Hiroshima Equivalent Factor
600x
Dimensions
103 ft. x 10 ft
Weight
342,000 lbs.
Range
10,000 miles
Year(s)
1962–1987
Purpose
Rapid launch to destroy enemy cities and bases
NukeMap
Simulated destruction of a Titan II at a Titan II missile silo, near Damascus, Arkansas. Click on the map to change parameters.
Videos
These curated videos provide additional context for this weapon — showing test footage, deployment scenes, technical explanations, interviews, or other historical material, allowing viewers to go deeper into the weapon’s design, use, and place in nuclear history.
Further Reading
- Wikipedia
- See this multi-page mini-site on the Titan II at the Military Standard.
- Here’s a one-page overview of the missile.
- Another overview, this time with a focus on the Arkansas-based missiles.
- Astronautix has the launch listings.
- AZOffroad has a write-up on the in-silo Titan II at the Titan Missile Museum, south of Tucson. Also see the Tucson-area Titan IIs before they were decommissioned. The Department of Defense has a useful page on this installation. The Museum hosts a large number of videos on the Titan II.
- North of Tucson is another re-claimed Titan II site, the Titan II Missile Interpretive Site Ironwood Forest National Monument, in Marana, Arizona (45 minutes north of the Titan Missile Museum). I have not visited it and it appears to be a collection of “interpretive” signs. Perhaps a few concrete pads?
- This outline of a talk by Ken Grunewald covers a lot of ground efficiently, including the Damascus accident. See this article for a report on the recollections of a few of the accident’s survivors.
- The Titan Ranch in Arkansas is an AirBnB site in an old Titan II site. You can stay (starting in August 2025) in the actual control room or in the soon-to-be-finished replica Titan II missile (positioned horizontally, outside of the silo). They also have an informative YouTube site on the history of the Titan II.