A preserved former U.S. Air Force Titan II missile silo near Tucson, Arizona, has been converted to a museum, revealing the inner workings of a formerly classified nuclear weapons delivery system. Click through these images to see more travel destinations for military enthusiasts.
Courtesy Yvonne Morris/Titan Missile Museum
Underground nuclear silo complex —
A diagram of Missile Site 571-7 shows the facility "launch control center" on the left and a "launch duct" housing a Titan II missile on the right. The missile measures 103 feet tall.
Courtesy Titan Missile Museum
Silo cableway tunnel —
The facility's silo cableway tunnel connects the launch control center to the missile silo.
Courtesy Yvonne Morris/Titan Missile Museum
Missile launch control center —
At the height of the Cold War in 1983, Yvonne Morris served as an Air Force instructor and missile combat crew commander trained to launch nuclear armed Titan II rockets.
Courtesy Yvonne Morris/Titan Missile Museum
Titan II lift off —
The Titan II missile was designed to launch in as little as 58 seconds. NASA developed Titan II rockets to propel Gemini astronauts into orbit during the 1960s.
Courtesy Yvonne Morris/Titan Missile Museum
National Museum of the Pacific War —
In Fredericksburg, Texas, at the National Museum of the Pacific War , volunteers stage a "living history" reenactment of a U.S. Marine attack on a Japanese-held beachhead. The presentation includes the firing of a WWII-era flamethrower.
Courtesy Brandon Vineyard/National Museum of the Pacific War
Japanese float plane —
The museum boasts the only restored WWII Japanese rex plane -- also called a Japanese float plane -- currenly on display in the U.S. According to the museum, these aircraft were designed to support offensive operations in advance of available airstrips.
Courtesy Brandon Vinyard/Museum of the Pacific War
U.S. Navy wooden PT boat —
There are only two wooden PT boats currently on display in the U.S. that saw action during WWII. This is one of them, according to the museum. The exhibit offers an idea of what it was like for a PT boat crew to prepare for a night patrol.
Courtesy Brandon Vinyard/National Musem of the Pacific War
U.S. Marine Depot at Parris Island, South Carolina —
Since it opened as a training facility 1915, the U.S. Marine Depot at Parris Island, South Carolina, has become legendary through movies, songs and novels. It has also produced hundreds of thousands of fighting men and women, some seen here during a recent graduation ceremony.
United States Marine Corps
Three generations of Marines —
Marine Pfc. J. S. Gigliano stands with his mother and grandfather after graduating last October. His mother and gradfather are former Marines.
United States Marine Corps
Barking orders: Lance Cpl. Legend —
Lance Cpl. Legend, Parris Island's mascot English Bulldog attends a graduation ceremony last September.
United States Marine Corps
Eagle globe and anchor ceremony —
Recruits of Bravo Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, gather at Parris Island's Iwo Jima statue to receive their Eagle, Globe and Anchors last August. Each drill instructor presents their recruits with a small eagle globe and anchor emblem, shakes their hands, calls them Marines for the first time and tells them, "job well done."
United States Marine Corps
USS Midway, San Diego —
The USS Midway is the longest serving carrier of the 20th century -- logging 47 years before retiring in 1992. Some 225,000 sailors served aboard the Midway. Their average age was 19. It was the first carrier to sail into the Arctic during winter.
Courtesy USS Midway Museum
F-8 Crusader —
The F-8 Crusader is one of 25 restored aircraft exhibits aboard the Midway. The Crusader was a supersonic fighter which saw a lot of action during the Vietnam War.
Courtesy USS Midway Museum
Hands on —
The Midway bills itself as a hands-on military museum with interactive exhibits both on the flight deck and below.
