1980 Damascus Titan missile explosion facts for kids
The Damascus Titan missile explosion (also called the Damascus accident) was a 1980 U.S. Broken Arrow incident involving a Titan II Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). The incident occurred on September 18–19, 1980, at Missile Complex 374-7 in rural Arkansas when a U.S. Air Force LGM-25C Titan II ICBM loaded with a 9 megaton W-53 Nuclear Warhead had a liquid fuel explosion inside its silo. Launch Complex 374-7 was located in Bradley Township, Van Buren County farmland just 3.3 miles (5.3 km) NNE of Damascus, and approximately fifty miles (80 km) north of Little Rock. (Coordinates: 35°24′50″N 092°23′50″W / 35.41389°N 92.39722°W.)
The incident began with a fuel leak at 6:30 p.m. on September 18, and culminated with the explosion at around 3:00 a.m. on September 19.
The Strategic Air Command facility of Little Rock Air Force Base was one of eighteen silos in the command of the 308th Strategic Missile Wing (308th SMW), specifically one of the nine silos within its 374th Strategic Missile Squadron (374th SMS), at the time of the explosion.
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Strategic Missile (SM) sites of 373rd & 374th Strategic Missile Squadrons, reporting to the 308th Strategic Missile Wing.
