Thursday, April 24, 2008

Atlas E in Washington State

A friend and I visited this site a couple years ago. It remains secure. That is, it is padlocked and the water table seems to have invaded somewhat, but other than that it is an interesting site...somewhat out of my range, but we were on a roadtrip.

The Atlas E was a liquid fueled ICBM that needed to be fueled before it left the ground. It was stored horizontally and empty. It was only raised vertically prior to launch. The launch door was about 40 X 100 feet, and about two feet thick. It rolled aside and the missile was raised, fueled, and fired. A thing of beauty.

Feel free to leave a comment or question. I will answer as well as I can.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey Jim. Just stumbled across your blog doing a Google of WWII wrecks around Walla Walla. Are you acquainted with Craig Fuller of AAIR, by any chance. He said he had a contact/friend in Spokane and suggested I contact him but the contact info disappeared on me.

Jimh. said...

Sorry for being lte to reply, Yes, I believe I have written him once or twice, but I am not his Spokane contact...I am actually near Yakima. I have few accident reports from that area...one B-17 near boardman that flew out of WALLA WALLA AAF, and, I have some other less accurate records somewher. Let me know if I can help you. Try contacting the USAF Historical Research Office...Or is it Association..or Agency...well, its at Maxwell AFB. Google US AFHRA. reports are free and relatively fast (month or so) if you know the serial number.