HGM - 25A Titan I The Martin Marietta SM - 68A / HGM - 25A Titan I was the United States ' first multistage Intercontinental Ballistic Missile ( ICBM ) . Incorporating the latest design technology 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 , but was unique among them in that it used LOX and RP - 1 as propellants , while the later Titan versions all used storeable fuels instead . Though the SM - 68A was operational for only three years , it was an important step in building the Air Force ' s strategic nuclear forces . Origins . The program began in January 1955 and took shape in parallel with the Atlas ( SM - 65 / HGM - 16 ) intercontinental ballistic missile ( ICBM ) . The Air Force ' s goal in launching the Titan program was twofold : one , to serve as a backup should Atlas fail ; and two , to develop a large , two - stage missile with a longer range and bigger payload that also could serve as a booster for space flights . The Titan I was initially designated SM - 68 ; it was later redesignated HGM - 25A . Characteristics . Produced by the Glenn L . Martin Company ( which became " The Martin Company " in 1957 ) , Titan I was a two - stage , liquid - fueled missile . The first stage delivered 300 , 000 pounds ( 1 , 330 kN ) of thrust , the second stage 80 , 000 pounds ( 356 kN ) . The fact that Titan I , like Atlas , burned RP - 1 and LOX meant that the oxidizer had to be loaded onto the missile just before launch from the underground storage tank , and the missile raised above ground on the enormous elevator system , exposing the missile for some time before launch . The complexity of the system combined with its relatively slow reaction time – fifteen minutes to load , raise and launch the first missile , made it a less effective weapon system . Titan I utilized radio command guidance . The inertial guidance system originally intended for the missile was instead eventually deployed in the Atlas E missile . ( The Atlas series was intended to be the first generation of American ICBMs and Titan II ( as opposed to Titan I ) was to be the second generation deployed ) . An inertial guidance system would have allowed Titan I , once launched , to guide itself independently to a pre - programmed target . It would not have relied upon continuous radio command signals from a ground location , or upon the ability to receive and react to such signals . Titan I also was the first true multi - stage ( two or more stages ) design . Whereas in Atlas , all rocket engines were ignited at launch ( including two small thrust vernier engines ) due to the unreliable nature of the engines , Titan I ’ s second stage engines were reliable enough to be ignited at altitude , after separation from the first stage booster ; and its fuel tanks , engines , launch interface equipment , and launch pad thrust ring . Titan I ’ s ability to jettison this mass prior to the ignition of the second stage , meant that Titan I had a much greater total range ( and a greater range per pound of second stage fuel ) than Atlas , even if the total fuel load of Atlas had been greater . The Titan I had an effective range of 5 , 500 nautical miles ( 10 , 200 km ) . When the first stage had finished consuming its propellant , it dropped away , thereby decreasing the mass of the vehicle . That made for a more efficient missile , which resulted in increased range and enabled a larger payload . The warhead of the Titan I was an AVCO Mk 4 re - entry vehicle containing a W38 thermonuclear bomb with a yield of 3 . 75 megatons which was fuzed for either air burst or contact burst . The Mk 4 RV also deployed penetration aid s in the form of mylar balloons which replicated the radar signature of the Mk 4 RV . Research and development . The Titan - 1 was tested in a comprehensive test program prior to deployment . From the first successful launch on 5 February 1959 with Titan - 1 A3 through to 29 January 1962 Titan - 1 M7 . There were seven variants of the Titan - 1 Research and Development missile : six A - types ( four launched ) seven B - types ( two launched ) , six C - types ( five launched ) , ten G - types ( seven launched ) , 22 J - types ( 22 launched ) , four V - types ( four launched ) , seven M - types ( seven launched ) . 62 produced ( 49 launched and two exploded ) . They were tested and launched at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station from Launch Complexes LC15 , LC16 , LC19 and LC20 . Operational deployment . Titan - 1 Strategic Missile ( SM ) production began during the final stages of the Research and Development program . In total , 101 Titan - 1 SMs were produced to be tested from underground silos at Vandenberg Air Force Base and then stationed in silos in six squadrons of nine missiles each across America . Fifty - four missiles in silos in total , with one missile as a spare on standby at each squadron , bringing to 60 in service at any one time . The Titan I was first American ICBM based in underground silos , and it gave USAF managers , contractors and missile crews valuable experience building and working in vast bunkers containing everything the missiles and crews needed for operation and survival . The complexes were composed of a control center , powerhouse , and two antenna silos for the ATHENA guidance radars . These early silos , however , had certain drawbacks . First , the missiles took about 15 minutes to fuel , and then had to be lifted to the surface on huge elevators for launching , which slowed their reaction time . Rapid launching was crucial to avoid possible destruction by incoming missiles , even though Titan shelters were designed to withstand nuclear blasts . Second , the missiles ' placement close together in groups of three — necessary because they shared a single ground - based radio guidance system — made them vulnerable to nuclear attack . All - inertial guidance , which does not depend on ground computers , was not yet perfected . The distance between the antenna silos and the most distant missile silo was between 1 , 000 and . These were by far the most complex , extensive and expensive missile launch facilities ever deployed by the USAF . Launching a missile required fueling it in its silo , and then raising the launcher and missile out of the silo on a massive elevator . Before each launch the guidance radar had to be calibrated by acquiring a special target at a precisely known range and bearing . When the missile was launched , the guidance radar tracked the missile and supplied precise velocity range and azimuth data to the missile ' s guidance system . Because of this the complex could only launch and track one missile at a time . Although Titan I ' s two stages gave it true intercontinental range and foreshadowed future multistage rockets , its propellants were dangerous and hard to handle . Super - chilled liquid oxygen oxidizer had to be pumped aboard the missile just before launch , and complex equipment was required to store and move this liquid . Kerosene fuel also was pumped aboard just before launch . In its brief career , six squadrons were equipped with the Titan I . Each squadron was deployed in a 3x3 configuration , which meant a total of nine missiles were divided into three launch sites in Colorado , Idaho , California , Washington state and South Dakota . Each missile site had three Titan I ICBM missiles ready to launch at any given time . See squadron article for location of launch sites . Specifications . First Stage : Second Stage : Service history . The number of Titan I missiles in service , by year : Retirement . When the storable - fueled Titan II and the solid - fueled Minuteman I were deployed in 1963 , the Titan I and Atlas missiles became obsolete . They were retired from service as ICBMs in early 1965 . The count as of 5 March 1965 ( the final launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base ( VAFB ) : 17 were launched from VAFB ( September 1961 – March 1965 ) ; one was destroyed in Beale AFB Site 851 - C1 silo explosion 24 May 1962 ; 54 were based in Silos with SAC by 20 January 1965 ; 29 were in storage SBAMA ( three at VAFB , one at each Base , including an extra at Lowry = 9 and 20 in storage at SBAMA elsewhere ) , a total of 101 production SM vehicles . The 83 surplus missiles remained in inventory at Mira Loma , AFS . SM - 65 Atlas missiles had already been converted to satellite launchers in the early 1960s , and the Titan I ' s had about the same payload capacity as an Atlas . It did not make economic sense to refurbish the 83 remaining missiles as launch vehicles . About 33 were distributed to museums , parks and schools as static displays ( see list below ) . The remaining 50 missiles were scrapped at Mira Loma AFS near San Bernardino , CA , the last was broken up in 1972 , in accordance with the SALT - I Treaty of 1 February 1972 . The official count is 101 Titan I Strategic Missiles produced : 17 Test launched , 1 lost , 50 destroyed Mira Loma , 33 at museum / display ( some missing ) . On 6 September 1985 Strategic Defense Initiative ( AKA " Star Wars " program ) , a scrapped Titan I Second Stage was used in a Missile Defense test . The MIRACL Near Infrared Laser , at White Sands Missile Range , NM was fired at a stationary Titan I second stage that was fixed to ground . The second stage burst and was destroyed by the laser blast . The second stage did not contain any fuel or oxidizer . It was pressurized with nitrogen gas to 60 - psi . A follow - up test 6 days later was conducted on a scrapped Thor IRBM , its remnants reside at the SLC - 10 Museum at Vandenberg AFB . Static displays and articles . There should be 33 Static Titan 1 Strategic Missiles and two ( plus five possible ) Research and Development Missiles to account for ( of these 22 have been positively identified by Serial Number , eight known but need to be identified ) and three are unaccounted for , missing . Note : May have been at the 14th American Rocket Society meeting at a Wash , DC hotel on 1 Nov 59 then at Charlie Bell ’ s junkyard on US - 1 Titusville , Fla . , now Puerto Rico ? ( see below ) Note : Two stacked Titan - 1 first stages created a perfect illusion of a Titan - 2 Missile for museums above .