Carroll H. Dunn
A
I wouldn't comment. I was not a part of it. I think people like General Wilson and
General Itschner are better able to give details than I am since they were actively
involved.
Q ..
What was particularly distinctive about the Titan II part of the project as opposed to
the other systems?
A
The Titan II was the first of the ballistic missiles that was to actually fire from the silo.
The Atlas and the Titan which were both large, long-range missiles, were built with
the idea of
raised to the surface on an elevator system before they were fired.
The Titan II was a missile fired from its storage location, and the silo became a gun
barrel. There were major problems in terms of structural capability to withstand the
firing forces, as well as differences in the fuel system.
It was the first of the missiles to use fuels that were not cryogenic-in other words, not
super-cooled. Therefore, it was a different system. The main difference was the close
integration of the silo as a firing tube, which added to the problems of close tolerances
during construction of the silo.
Q ..
Did you have to do a lot of self-education on the system and how it worked?
A ..
Yes, though, as I say, the Air Force through its parallel office was responsible for the
supervising of design. The biggest problem was close coordination with the
corresponding project officer in the Air Force who had responsibility for design. We
were co-located, and we worked together very closely.
One of the most significant aspects, I think, was the decision to do the construction in
phases. This later became known as "fast track." We did separate the contracts so that
the first major contract was for the excavation and structural concrete. The planned
interface for later work was the interior of the main silo concrete. The internals,
including mechanical and electric work, would be added by second and third contracts
since design
not complete at that time. While there were numerous changes
involved, this contract separation, in general, worked well and probably saved 6 to 12
months in completing the construction of the system.
Q.
What was the origin of this idea?
A
It basically was worked out jointly by the Air Force and the Corps. Of course, the key
to it was having the designer, which happened to be the Parsons Company, design an
with flexibility in the final work, which allowed the contracts to be separated.
Previous Page
