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This heritage pamphlet from Malmstrom AFB traces the history of the 341st Missile Wing. The unit began as a B-25 bomb group in the China-Burma-India Theater in 1942, then flew B-47s at Abilene AFB before being activated at Malmstrom in July 1961. The pamphlet covers the Minuteman I, II and III deployments, the Cuban Missile Crisis alert, arms-reduction work under START, trophies, wing commanders and a missile field chronology. It also has museum display notes on missiles and the UH-1 helicopter.
341st Missile Wing History BOEING LGM-30A MINUTEMAN IA First Minuteman I Launch Cape Canaveral, Fla., February 1961. The first Minuteman became operational on 27 October 1962 at Malmstrom AFB. (U.S. Air Force photo) The Minuteman missile concept pushed rocket technology to a new level and it vastly improved U.S. nuclear strategic deterrence. Minuteman was the first U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to use solid fuel, permitting quick-response launches in case of attack. The first Minuteman missiles became operational in late 1962. Minuteman IA missiles like the one on display were the first generation of a revolutionary new family of ICBMs. They used solid rather than liquid fuel, and so could be launched in less than a minute -- hence the "Minuteman" name, referring to colonial American farmers who could be ready to defend their homes at a moment's notice. In contrast to Minuteman, older missiles like Atlas and Titan I took up to half an hour to fuel and launch. They were also complex and costly, requiring close monitoring and constant maintenance, and their propellants could be dangerous. Moreover, they tended to be vulnerable to attack. Minuteman's advantages combined speed, low maintenance, high reliability, high "survivability" from attack, and low cost. The U.S. Air Force had been studying solid fuels since the early 1950s, and using solid fuel was important because it meant that the missile could be stored unattended for long periods. In addition, Minuteman was small enough to be housed in very strong unmanned underground silos able to survive nuclear attack. In 1958, guided by the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division, industry began work on the new three-stage missile. Boeing was the overall contractor, and important parts of the missile came from the firms Autonetics (guidance); Aerojet, Hercules and Thiokol (rocket stages); and Avco (re-entry vehicles). The USAF planned to deploy up to 1,600 Minutemen -- later revised to 1,000 and then 950 -- making the system a very strong nuclear deterrent. Minuteman Basing After a series of successful test launches, the USAF began rapidly deploying Minuteman missiles. Minuteman IA missiles like the one on display were based at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., in the
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