SM-65 Atlas Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile System 1956-1965
Atlas Missile 12D
General Dynamics Missile Serial Number: 57-2630
General Dynamics Manufacturing Number: 12D
Air Force Missile Tail Number: 12D
Missile Acceptance Date: 4/15/1959
Missile Delivery Date: 4/16/1959
ICBM Squadron Number: 576
ICBM Squadron Site Assignment: A-2
Missile Destination: Vandenberg Air Force Base
Missile Mission: Operational Readiness Training
Missile Launch Date: 9/9/1959
Missile Launch Payload: Operation Desert Heat
Missile Launch Location: Vandenberg AFB - Gantry A-2
Missile Launch Outcome: Successful
Notes: This was the first Atlas missile launched by a Strategic Air Command Air Force crew. It was also the first Atlas missile launched from Vandenberg AFB and was the initial operational capability (IOC) proofing launch. The missile successfully impacted near Wake Island approximately 4,480 nautical miles away. This was the very first flight from this complex and the only Atlas D type missile launched from the Gantry A-2 facility.
