SM-65 Atlas Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile System 1956-1965
FAQ's
Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
There were six different versions of the SM-65 missile system. Atlas A, B and C series were prototype and testing versions. The operational versions were Atlas D, E, and F. The Atlas D and E were housed in horizontal "coffin launcher" style complexes and the Atlas F was housed in an underground vertical silo structure.
The Atlas system was in service from 1958 thru 1965. The Atlas D sites were made operational first, then the E sites and finally the F sites. Most of the F bases were in some operational condition during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.
The estimated cost of the SM-65 program was over $4.3 billion dollars in 1960 dollar's. That would equate to over $40 billion dollars in current value.
The operational Atlas D sites were located in Nebraska and Wyoming with one site in Iowa. The Atlas E sites were located in Kansas, Wyoming, Colorado and Washington state with one site in Idaho and one site in Nebraska. The Atlas F sites were located in Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York (2 sites in Vermont), Oklahoma and Texas.
The Atlas ICBM was armed with the W-38 thermonuclear warhead. This warhead had a nominal yield of 3.8 megatons of TNT. This is the equivalent of 316 times the yield of the Little Boy atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6th, 1945. The Little Boy bomb had an estimated yield of 12 kilotons.
There were 8 Atlas D sites built with a total of 24 missiles. There were 27 Atlas E and 72 Atlas F sites constructed. This was a total of 123 operational ICBM sites plus 7 test launch facilities at Vandenberg AFB.
