Equipped with a W38 thermonuclear warhead and with a range of 5,500 nautical miles, the Titan I was the Air Force's first multi-stage intercontinental ballistic missile, and a vital part of America's nuclear arsenal in the years 1961-1965. Designed and built by the Glen L. Martin Company (later Martin Marietta), the HGM-25A/SM-68A missile was the first in a series of Titan rockets. Unlike its later siblings, Titan I utilized non-storable and highly volatile LOX and RP-1 as its propellants. As a result the missile had to be fueled prior to launch - a process that took roughly fifteen minutes. It would then be lifted to the surface by an elevator for launch, a process that made it vulnerable to an enemy first strike. The first successful Titan I launch took place in February, 1959. Within a year the first of 54 missiles were delivered to one of what would eventually be six USAF squadrons. The underground silos that made up the Titan I's launch complexes represented a great leap...

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