The hidden base that could have ended the world

The hidden base that could have ended the world 1 August 2016 Richard Hollingham / Images by Chris Hinkle Features correspondent Chris Hinkle In the 1970s and 80s, crews sat at constant readiness in nuclear missile silos buried in the Arizona desert. “Even though our primary mission was peace through deterrence by preventing World War Three,” she says, “in the event we failed, we had to be ready to launch at all times in retaliation.” Chris Hinkle From ground level, there’s little to hint at what lies underneath From the early 1960s to the mid-80s, the city of Tucson was circled by 18 Titan 2 nuclear missile silos. “We were given excellent security briefings and so most days when I was driving out to the missile site, I was able to say to myself ‘today’s probably not going to be the day’.” Chris Hinkle Yvonne Morris was the commander in charge of the missile silo “That doesn’t mean,” she adds, “things can’t change in the blink of an eye, but in order to be effective at your job you have to let the possibility of Armageddon sit at the back of your brain.” Half-a-mile or so from the main highway south to Mexico, the silo lies beneath a low mound surrounded by desert. “They would release an electronic lock on the door and I’d pass into the entrapment area – really just a flight of stairs with a door at the top and bottom where I’d phone again with the entry code of the day.” Chris Hinkle The control room has an array of analogue switches and dials “They’re looking on CCTV to make sure I’m the only person there, that no-one is in there with me holding a gun to my head.” The silo proper begins 10 metres underground behind a solid steel and concrete blast door. Chris Hinkle The control room was designed to survive the blast from a nearby nuclear strike “The ‘no lone zone’ security process is a part of maintaining positive control of the nuclear weapon,” Morris explains.