Editing Vandenberg Space Force Base (section)

====== HGM-25A Titan I ======
[[File:Titan I missile emerges from its silo at Vandenberg Operational System Test Facility in 1960.jpg|thumb|Titan I missile emerges from its silo at Vandenberg Operational System Test Facility in 1960.]]The [[HGM-25A Titan I]] was the United States' first multistage ICBM. When designed and manufactured, the Titan I provided an additional nuclear deterrent to complement the U.S. Air Force's SM-65 Atlas missile. It was the first in a series of Titan rockets, and was an important step in building the Air Force's strategic nuclear forces.

In July 1958, construction began on the Titan I ICBM Operational System Test Facility (OSTF). This was the prototype of the hardened Titan I launch control facility at its operational sites. It consisted of one silo-lift launcher, blockhouse, and associated equipment. Designated "OSTF-8", the facility was destroyed on 3 December 1960 when the launcher elevator failed while lowering a fully fueled missile back into the silo. There were no injuries. This was the first silo accident at Vandenberg.<ref name="Chronology"/>

The first "silo-lift" launch of the Titan I was successful in September 1961, and the first SAC launch of the ICBM was successful in January 1962. As a result, the Titan I ICBM launch complex (395-A1/A2/A3) at Vandenberg was turned over to the [[Strategic Air Command]] [[395th Strategic Missile Squadron]] to perform test launches of the missile.<ref name="Chronology"/>

However, the operational lifetime of the Titan I was short, as [[Robert McNamara|Secretary of Defense McNamara]] announced in November 1964 that all remaining first-generation ICBMs (Series E and F Atlas and Titan I) would be phased out (Project Added Effort) by the end of June 1965.<ref name="Chronology"/>

On 5 March 1965, the last test launch of a Titan I ICBM conducted by the Strategic Air Command at Vandenberg was successful. The 395th SMS performed 19 test launches between 1963 and 1965 before moving on to exclusively Titan II testing. During the 1980s, some Titan I second stages were used as targets for early [[Strategic Defense Initiative]] (SDI) testing.<ref name="Chronology"/>