Comments
Ausmith1 t1_iu79tl8 wrote
The lady working at the Vermont Welcome Center in Alburgh, which is next door to the silo, told me that she remembers them being raised up out of the silo on occasion for drills etc.
Unlike the Minutemen missiles that replaced them, these had liquid fuel that had to be loaded before they could be fired and they could not be fired from inside the silo.
ThisistheInfiniteIs t1_iu7db7v wrote
Very cool, I never knew that Vermont has any of these, thanks for this.
timberwolf0122 t1_iu7llir wrote
These look like atlas F silos. If I recall it took something like 2 hours to get the 75 ton doors open, the rocket lifted out on an elevator then fueled on the surface before the could launch.
The idea was these location could withstand a direct nuclear blast. Inside the missile tube the whole lift assembly and missile were attached to the rock via massive springs to absorb the shock waves from a direct strike, the control room were the men were simmally suspended but on pneumatic air shocks. Ceazy stuff.
dmcginvt t1_iu874f5 wrote
Pretty sure both Boston and Montreal would be hit so we’d be dead pretty quick no matter what.
sorrycharlie88 t1_iu8c2rb wrote
Those cities are far away, we're well outside of the damage radius, and radioactive fallout wouldn't be a huge threat given the prevailing jet stream direction would take it away from us for the most part.
Careful_Square1742 t1_iu8pfi3 wrote
check this out... https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/
​
if you detonated the largest nuke "in use" right now in Montreal or Boston, it wouldn't touch most of VT.
pdogshizzle t1_iu8qo8j wrote
Where are they located?
Unique-Public-8594 t1_iu8t89k wrote
Article says simply Swanton and Alburgh
Edit: spelling
cpujockey t1_iu9jbcy wrote
The true great reset.
LenVT t1_iuacncs wrote
On Rte 2 not too far from the bridge to Rouse’s Point. The Welcome center is right near the aptly named Missile Base Road.
Luckcu13 t1_iubaiez wrote
Honestly Vermont is a stupid safe place to hide from a nuclear war.
Unless you're in Burlington :)
Twombls t1_iubcm7i wrote
We are actually a really big target. Tons of early warning bases, chip manufacturers, MIC manufacturers and silos. Im a nuclear war our entire state would probably be vaporized which is why I made that comment
Twombls t1_iubd4ez wrote
Nah but early warning bases in vt, a few millitary manufacturers. The silos and burlington woulf be hit. Most of the state would be fucked
Twombls t1_iubd7ux wrote
If you detonate one on every millitary target that would have been high priority during the cold war the state would be fucked though
Luckcu13 t1_iubfqpc wrote
I think the targets are all around the Lake Champlain area, including the bases, chips, and silos.
KI4U has an old FEMA map that shows only Burlington and Montpelier as a potential target, and there's another nuclear target map floating around on reddit somewhere where only Burlington is a major target.
Do you know of any more recent maps that might have better info?
Careful_Square1742 t1_iubfuf9 wrote
for sure. In an all out nuclear war, the F35s at BTV are probably a secondary or tertiary target for ICBMs as it'll take out camp Johnson too. this'll seriously diminish US capacity to intercept bombers and other aircraft coming in from the north and hamper ground response around the region.
Ausmith1 t1_iudi3hw wrote
Those silos have not been used since 1963 or so, targeting them would be just a waste of a MIRV.
Loudergood t1_iufq6i9 wrote
Essex junction is an obvious target.
Luckcu13 t1_iufsjkf wrote
Yeah, with Ethan Allen and all that.
It's still in the Lake Champlain area though, I'm more curious about the areas away from Lake Champlain
Loudergood t1_iug0f7d wrote
I mean, Rutland still has GE right? There are all sorts of boutique fabricators across the state.
Unique-Public-8594 t1_iu79ky8 wrote
TLDR:
In use: no
Quantity: 2
Built: in the 60s
Cost: 15 mil ea
Used: 3 years
Pointed at: Russia