SWANTON 556th  STRATEGIC MISSILE SQUADRONPLATTSBURGH  AFBSITE  3SWANTON, VERMONTPRESENT DAY PHOTOS PHOTOS TAKEN IN 1986ACCESS ROAD  ENTRYWAY  MISSILE SILO  MISSILE SILO  SILO DOOR WITH HYDRAULIC RAM  HYDRAULIC RAM  HYDRAULIC RAM  TENSION EQUALIZER  TENSION EQUALIZER  LAUNCH PLATFORM DRIVE MOTOR  LEVEL 1  LOGIC PANEL COMPONENTS  QUONSET HUTS NEAR SILO CAP  THESE PHOTOS TAKEN IN 2000MAIN GATENOTE:  QUONSET HUTS OFF SILO CAP LOOKING AT SILO CAP AREANOTE:  SILO DOORS IN OPEN POSITION  ENTRYWAY TO LAUNCH CONTROL CENTER  PHOTOS TAKEN IN 2003MANY THANKS TO FRED CRYTZER OF THE 556th SMS ASSOCIATIONSILO CAP  SILO  SILO DOOR HYDRAULICS STILL IN PLACE  HYDRAULIC RAM  LAUNCH PLATFORM DRIVE MOTOR  LAUNCH PLATFORM DRIVE MOTOR  TENSION EQUALIZERNOTE:  WATER LEVEL ABOVE LEVEL 2  PARTIAL LEVEL 1  LEVEL 1  QUONSET HUT PADS  ENTRYWAY & AIR VENTS TO LAUNCH CONTROL CENTER  MAIN GATE AREA [ HOME ] [ UP ] [ CHAMPLAIN ] [ ALBURG ] [ SWANTON ] [ WILLSBORO ] [ LEWIS ] [ AU SABLE FORKS ] [ RIVERVIEW ] [ REDFORD ] [ DANNEMORA ] [ BRAINARDSVILLE ] [ ELLENBURG  DEPOT ] [ MOOERS ]  Copyrighted �  1996-2007   The Housing Group, Inc.   All Rights Reserved.

Though possibly the least militarized state in the Union, Vermont has two intercontinental ballistic missile silos, no longer in service - as missile silos, that is. This one, near Swanton, is used as an equipment yard by the Chevalier Drilling Company, a local drilling contractor that has owned the silo for over thirty years. The other silo is owned by the town of Alburgh, near the Canadian border, and is used as a maintenance yard. Both were built in the early 1960s, part of a group of 12 that surrounded the nuclear base at Plattsburgh, New York. The missiles were Atlas Fs, rated at 4 megatons, with a 6,000 mile range. They were aimed at Russia. The silos are 175 feet deep, and were connected to an underground Launch Control Center. 45-ton doors would open at the surface to raise and launch the missile. Despite a cost of around $15 million each in 1960 dollars, the silos were operational for just three years, from 1962-1965, and according to many were obsolete before they were even finished.