An Untaken Road. Steven A. Pomeroy
Titles in the Series
The Other Space Race: Eisenhower and the Quest for Aerospace Security
Transforming War
—Paul J. Springer, editor
To ensure success, the conduct of war requires rapid and effective adaptation to changing circumstances. While every conflict involves a degree of flexibility and innovation, there are certain changes that have occurred throughout history that stand out because they fundamentally altered the conduct of warfare. The most prominent of these changes have been labeled “Revolutions in Military Affairs” (RMAs). These so-called revolutions include technological innovations as well as entirely new approaches to strategy. Revolutionary ideas in military theory, doctrine, and operations have also permanently changed the methods, means, and objectives of warfare.
This series examines fundamental transformations that have occurred in warfare. It places particular emphasis upon RMAs to examine how the development of a new idea or device can alter not only the conduct of wars, but their effect upon participants, supporters, and uninvolved parties. The unifying concept of the series is not geographical or temporal; rather, it is the notion of change in conflict and its subsequent impact. This has allowed the incorporation of a wide variety of scholars, approaches, disciplines, and conclusions to be brought under the umbrella of the series. The works include biographies, examinations of transformative events, and analyses of key technological innovations that provide a greater understanding of how and why modern conflict is carried out, and how it may change the battlefields of the future.
Naval Institute Press
291 Wood Road
Annapolis, MD 21402
© 2016 by Steven A. Pomeroy
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Pomeroy, Steven A., author.
Title: An untaken road: strategy, technology, and the hidden history of America’s mobile ICBMs / Steven A. Pomeroy.
Other titles: Strategy, technology, and the hidden history of America’s mobile ICBMs
Description: Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, [2016] | Series: Transforming war | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: ISBN 9781612519920 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Intercontinental ballistic missiles—United States—History. | Intercontinental ballistic missiles—Mobile basing.
Classification: LCC UG1312.I2 P66 2016 (print) | LCC UG1312.I2 (ebook) | DDC
358.1/754—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015033687
24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First printing
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
List of Abbreviations
Acknowledgments
INTRODUCTION: Which Road to Take?
CHAPTER 1: Embarking on the Road Untaken
CHAPTER 2: Toward a New Horizon
CHAPTER 3: Divergence
CHAPTER 4: Silos versus Trains
CHAPTER 5: Domination
CHAPTER 6: Old Ideas Never Fade Away
CHAPTER 7: Vulnerability SALTed with Indecision
CHAPTER 8: One If by Air, Two If by Ground
CHAPTER 9: Halting Technological Momentum
CHAPTER 10: The Road Ends, No?
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Lt. Gen. Bernard Schriever and his missiles
Mobile Minuteman task force components
Diorama of Hill Air Force Base mobile-Minuteman facilities
Crane lifting Minuteman ICBM from launch car
Mobile Minuteman re-entry vehicle removal
Five launch cars
Mobile Atlas
Mobile Titan
Mobile Minuteman launch consoles
Adm. Arleigh A. Burke, USN, and Rear Adm. William F. Raborn, USN, with model of USS George Washington
Triggered random mobile Minuteman
Superhard deployment
Minuteman I, II, III comparison
MX (Peacekeeper) ICBM
Boeing 747 launching ICBM
Amphibious vehicle, multiple pool basing
Slope-side pool
Tube tunnel
Tunnel-based mobile launch control center
September 1979 baseline Multiple Protective Shelter “racetrack”
September 1979 baseline transporter-erector launcher
Multiple Protective Shelter Loading Dock grid
Multiple Protective Shelter loading dock cantilever mechanism
Big Bird aircraft
MX launching from silo
| AFBMD | Air Force Ballistic Missile Division |
| AFHRA | Air Force Historical Research Agency |
| AFSC | Air Force Systems Command |
| AIAA | American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics |
| ALBM | air-launched ballistic missile |
| ARDC | Air Research and Development Command |
| AWST | Aviation Week and Space Technology |
| BMD | Ballistic |