Whiteman Air Force Base, Minuteman Missile Launch Facility Trainer T-12, Northeast of Oscar-01 Missile Alert Facility, Knob Noster, Johnson County, MO

Significance: Cold War missile development in the United States led to the necessity for a more rapid, yet economic system of retaliation than provided in the earlier Atlas and Titan systems. The Air Force found the solution in the Minuteman series, a solid-fuel missile that could be launched from a remote center having control over a network of silos spread over a wide geographical area. The Launch Facility Trainer (LFT), replicating a silo in the field, provided a full-scale model where some 400 missile maintenance personnel honed their skills in both routine and emergency procedures vital to the readiness of the system.

Survey number: HAER MO-88

Building/structure dates: 1967 Initial Construction

knob noster mo whiteman whiteman air force base minuteman missile launch trainer minuteman missile launch facility trainer t northeast oscar alert missile alert facility knob noster knob noster johnson johnson county air force missouri historic american engineering record robert lyon douglas mcchristian arnold thallheimer lysa wegman french photo minuteman missile launch facility trainer t 12 oscar 01 missile alert facility ultra high resolution high resolution usaf air force base geography library of congress

1969 - 1980

Library of Congress

http://www.loc.gov/

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