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Aerial view of the silo hatch.

In the 20 years from the early ‘60s to the early ‘80s, Tucson was surrounded by missile silos like this one.

Each one was capable of launching a Titan II in under half an hour, and sending it over 6,000 miles to reach its intended target.

The warheads on those missiles were 6000 times more destructive than the bomb that hit Hiroshima.

The decommissioned nuclear silo is accessed by a 40ft staircase leading underground that was once home to the US’s largest intercontinental ballistic missile ever deployed – the Titan II.

In 1984, the titans went out use and demolition crews blew up the silos, backfilling the shafts for launch control.

Once the silos were suitably destroyed, the government put the various sites up for sale at pretty reasonable prices, and people were happy to buy the land with very little thought about what was underneath, according to tucson.com.

Ladders leading from the surface down to the silo.

The site which was just recently listed for sale belongs to a man named Rick Ellis, who originally purchased it with the intention of using it as a commercial data storage facility, taking advantage of the fact that its very nature protects it from electromagnetic pulses.

That would have been a great feature for what Ellis had in mind, but then the recession began, putting that idea to rest.

He got it from the family who first bought it from the government 35 years ago, and who bought it for a tenth of that amount.

When he and his business partner bought the land, they had to dig out the bunker before it could be useful.

Ellis said that they rented an old excavator that could only turn left.

The hallway

They started digging on a Saturday, and by the afternoon of the following day, they were in.

Cleaning the facility out set him back about $80,000, and he spent another $20,000 in legal fees to have it rezoned for commercial purposes.

When his customers pulled out during the recession, he just let the place sit empty.

Interior of the silo

Now, Ellis says he wants to sell the site because he’s bored.

He’s gotten a couple of offers for the property, one from a buyer who wanted to use it to grow medical marijuana, and another from someone who thought it had great potential to become a porn studio. Ellis rejected both offers.

One of the main rooms.

A local newspaper called the site ‘a mid-century fixer upper’, and that’s certainly true.

Vandals broke in at some point, smashing the fluorescent lights he’d installed, and knocking over the ladder used to access the space.

He had to rappel down the access shaft to put the ladder back.

In order to even get a tour of the property, buyers have to be able to show that they have the funds to make the purchase, and also have to sign a liability waiver.

Aerial view of the silo opening in the middle of the Arizona desert.

In order to tour the missile silo for sale, you begin by descending a 40-ft. staircase that leads into the bunker.

The space is large and empty. It has stained, 4-ft. thick concrete walls, and lots of exposed metal structures. There are still large floor-to-ceiling springs on each floor, which are meant to protect each of the basement’s levels from seismic shocks, and a 6,000-pound blast door.
Related Article: “Secret Agent” House for Sale Built where Britain Defended Against the Nazis Ellis still thinks that the missile silo for sale would be an ideal spot for someone who wanted to open a data storage business, but is unwilling to make a guess about who might be interested in buying the bunker, or when. Perhaps there’s a buyer out there who has survivalist tendencies or has always wanted their own hobbit-hole. You never can tell what some people will choose as their happy place.

Here you can find more information about the listing and real estate agent

Segura de León 'reconquista' su castillo al recuperar su gestión - El Ayuntamiento adjudicó en 2004 su explotación como hotel rural a una empresa pero ha acudido a la justicia para anular el contrato

Submarines wrecks, Vladivostok, Russia

Stripped down wrecks of what appear to be Foxtrot-class submarines lie trapped in the ice outside the naval base at Vladivostok.

The Foxtrot-class were diesel-electric powered submarines designed to hunt Nato vessels.

The first Foxtrotclass submarine was commissioned in 1958 and could remain submerged for up to five days with a crew of 78
 

Bristol Bloodhound, reclamation yard, Somerset, England

The Bloodhound surface-to-air missile entered service in 1958 and was deployed to protect the UK's Thor missile sites and V-bomber bases from any Soviet bombers that had escaped interception by the RAF's fighters.

The upgraded Mk. II variant remained in service until 1991

B-52 storage area, Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona

Approximately 4,000 aircraft are stored at Davis-Monthan.

Most are eventually scrapped or raided for spares, but two B-52s have been restored to active service to replace those lost in accidents.

The latest took four months to become airworthy after being in storage for over ten years

Former submarine pen, Vis, Croatia

A small island in the Adriatic Sea, Vis was for a few months during WWII the headquarters of Tito, the former communist president of Yugoslavia and his Partisans.

After the war the island was developed into a major fortified military base, including submarine pens and nuclear bunkers for Tito and his general staff.

The Yugoslav Army withdrew in 1992 and it is now a tourist site

Magadan, Kolyma Region, Siberia

Their engines removed, the airframes of two Sukhoi Su-15 Flagon interceptors await scrapping. Magadan was in the front line of the Cold War, close to the Pacific Ocean.

The Su-15 was developed as a counter to the US B-52 strategic bomber, and could travel over twice the speed of sound.

It was a Soviet Su-15 aircraft that shot down Korean Air Flight 007 in 1983 after it flew into restricted airspace, killing all on board

Bechevinka, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia

An aerial view of the housing built for the staff of this former base, known as Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky-54.

Established in 1960, it was an important naval base for much of the Cold War, but was closed in 1996 and is now a remote tourist destination on Russia's Pacific coast

Former R-12U Missile Silo, Tirza, Latvia

Now overrun by nature, underneath the concrete dome once lurked an R-12U nuclear missile capable of reaching targets throughout Europe.

The R-12 was the missile that provoked the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

In the event of a nuclear launch being authorized, the dome would have opened to allow the missile to launch

Radar, RAF Neatishead, Norfolk, England

Part of the original ROTOR network, RAF Neatishead was a key component of the UK air defence network during the Cold War.

In February 1966 one of the staff deliberately started a fire in the bunker that burned for nine days before it could be extinguished and cost the lives of three civilian firemen.

He was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment

Former bunker, Valbona, Albania

In the shadow of Albania's Accursed Mountains lie these concrete Cold War bunkers near Valbona.

After Enver Hoxha, the Communist leader of Albania, broke from the Soviet sphere of influence in 1968, many bunkers were built throughout the country against the threat of invasion until his death in 1985

T-62 tank wreck, Bulgaria

Bulgaria's armed forces, like those of the other Warsaw Pact nations, operated Soviet-designed equipment, though usually a generation or two behind the types used by the Soviet forces themselves.

Some weapons were licence-built in Warsaw Pact factories.

Perhaps used for target practice, or as a result of mechanical failure, this T-62 tank has been long abandoned

Former US Army Black Hills Ordnance Depot, South Dakota

Opened in 1942, the depot was used for the storage and maintenance of various types of ordnance.

Chemical weapons such as mustard gas and sarin were tested on-site. The depot was closed in 1967.

In 2016, it was bought by a developer who has converted some of the 575 bunkers into shelters that allow up to 24 people to survive for one year

Alternate command post, Long-Range Aviation, Moscow

Long-Range Aviation was the arm of the Soviet Air Force responsible for long-range nuclear bomber strikes, equivalent to the USAF's Strategic Air Command.

As Soviet military command structures were likely to be targeted by a Nato nuclear strike, alternative locations like the one shown were constructed to ensure that military operations such as a Soviet counterstrike could continue unhindered

Former Soviet submarine repair facility, Balaklava, Crimea

This former Soviet submarine repair base in the Crimea would have been a likely target for a Nato nuclear missile, or certainly been affected by any fallout from an attack on the major Soviet naval base at Sevastapol nearby.

Workers at the base would have been required to wear full protective equipment against nuclear or chemical attack, such as the suits shown, which would have seriously inhibited their ability to work

Former listening station, Teufelsberg, Germany

The Cold War was a bitter struggle between West and East for information on what the other side was planning.

With such a small window of warning for any nuclear strike, both Nato and the Warsaw Pact spent much time and effort on advanced technology that might give them an advantage should war break out

Redstone Rocket Test Site, Huntsville, Alabama

In 1950 the former V-2 rocket scientists and engineers led by Wernher von Braun were established at what later became the Marshall Space Flight Center.

They developed the Redstone, a short-range ballistic missile that was the first US missile to carry and detonate a live nuclear warhead.

In the foreground are the bunkers used to store the warheads before launch

Mil Mi-2 helicopters, former airfield, Russia

Over 5,000 Mi-2 helicopters were built in Poland after 1961.

These belonged to a Soviet paramilitary sports society that helped prepare reserves for active service

Abandoned Buran transport, Baikonur, Kazakhstan

In response to the US Space Shuttle programme, the Soviet Union developed the Buran reusable spacecraft.

This giant transporter carried the Buran and its Energia launch rocket to the launchpad.

Only one unmanned orbital flight took place in 1988 before the programme was cancelled in 1993

Former warhead storage room, Podborsko, Poland

The slots in the floor of this bunker room show where the racking stood for storing the nuclear warheads.

There were four such rooms in the Podborsko bunker, and another two similar sites in Poland.

Exactly what was stored in the bunkers has not been discovered, as the records were removed before the end of the Cold War

Telecommunications unit, ARK D-0 Bunker, Konjic, Bosnia

Tito ordered the secret construction of the ARK in what is now Bosnia in 1953. Dug out of a mountain, construction continued until 1979.

The entrance was concealed behind what appeared to be an ordinary house.

The occupants had supplies to last up to six months, with communications enabling contact with the outside world

Alert level notice, Kelvedon Hatch Bunker, Essex, England

The Bikini State system was introduced in 1970 to give an easily-understandable level of alert, similar to the US Defcon system, except the Bikini States were for individual units or establishments rather than applied on a national level.

The system has now been replaced

Alte Bunker sind in der Regel nur etwas für Militärhistoriker und Hobbyforscher. In Strausberg soll das anders werden: Ein Berliner Verein will den ehemaligen Fernmeldebunker des DDR-Postministeriums zum Kulturort machen. Der Anfang ist bereits gemacht.

Strausberg Eine 300 Meter lange Galerie ist an sich nichts Besonderes. Befindet sie sich allerdings in einem Bunkertunnel aus der Zeit des Kalten Krieges, dann wohl schon. Zwei Ausstellungen sind in dem langen, unterirdischen Gang untergebracht, der auf der einen Seite noch von armdicken Starkstromkabeln gesäumt ist: „Voll der Osten“ nennt sich eine Fotoschau der Stiftung Aufarbeitung. Um den Abzug der russischen Streitkräfte Mitte der 1990-er Jahre aus Brandenburg geht es in der zweiten. „Das ist unsere erste eigene Ausstellung“, erklärt Martin Kaule vom Berliner Verein Orte der Geschichte, der den zweigeschossigen Bunker am Rande Strausbergs (Märkisch-Oderland) gepachtet hat. Ein ungewöhnliches Kulturzentrum soll entstehen. Der ehemalige Fernmeldebunker des DDR-Postministeriums wurde erst 1984 fertiggestellt und ist einer der modernsten seiner Art. Im Falle eines Atomschlages hätten hier 200 Techniker zumindest einen Tag überleben können, erzählt Hobbyhistoriker Kaule und öffnet eine der jeweils drei Tonnen schweren Eingangstüren. Nach der deutschen Wiedervereinigung nutzte dann die Bundeswehr die Anlage bis 1994, anschließend ging das Gelände in das Eigentum der Telekom über.

Im einstigen Fernmeldebunker des DDR-Postministeriums in Strausberg entsteht eine Kulturstätte. Der Berliner Verein „Orte der Geschichte“ hat große Pläne für das Areal. Derzeit sind zwei Ausstellungen zu sehen.

Zum Bunker-Areal gehören 25 Hektar Wald

Die rund 20 Vereinsmitglieder – Historiker, Pädagogen, Handwerker – reisen seit Jahrzehnten zu Orten der Zeitgeschichte des 20. Jahrhunderts in ganz Europa. Sie wollen sie dokumentieren und in einer Datenbank aufbereiten.

Der alte DDR-Bunker ist ihr erstes eigenes Objekt, gepachtet von Eigentümer Matthias Merkle. Der Berliner Theaterregisseur hatte das Areal in erster Linie aufgrund der dazu gehörenden 25 Hektar Wald gekauft. „Die Geschichte des Kalten Krieges mit der Natur drumherum wollen wir künftig für eine öffentliche Gesamtinszenierung nutzen“, sagt der Künstler, der sich eine Holzwerkstatt eingerichtet hat.

Im alten Wasserwerk habe sich ein Theater angesiedelt, in die alte Wache soll Gastronomie einziehen. Auch Übernachtungsmöglichkeiten könnten auf dem fünf Hektar großen, bebauten Gelände laut Merkle entstehen.

Licht, Strom und Heizung funktionieren

Die Umgestaltung der einstigen militärischen Anlage zu einem Kulturbunker finanziert der Verein „Orte der Geschichte“ laut Kaule aus Buchprojekten, die er herausbringt sowie durch geführte Reisen zu zeitgeschichtlichen Orten, sogenannten „lost places“. Ziele sind das ukrainische Tschernobyl oder die Bunkeranlagen des „Ostwalls“, der durch das Deutsche Reich seit 1934 gebauten einstigen Festungsfront des Oder-Warthe-Bogens in Polen.
Durch Eigeninitiative der Vereinsmitglieder funktionieren im Strausberger Bunker nun Licht, Strom und Heizung. Zuvor wurde über ein Jahr lang containerweise Müll aus den insgesamt einen Kilometer langen Gängen und 196 Räumen geholt. Knapp 10 000 Quadratmeter warten nun auf neue Nutzer. Es gibt Wände voller Armaturen, Sicherungskästen und Anzeigen. Dicke Drehräder an manchen Türen erinnern an Bank-Tresore.

Für Führungen sollen Lautsprecher installiert werden, die typische Geräusche dazu einspielen. Zudem hat der Verein Zeitzeugenberichte aufgenommen. Viele der alten Maschinen - etwa Klimablöcke, Schaltschränke oder Kompressoren - stehen auf riesigen, metallenen Federn und schwingen. Auch einige Fußböden sind so präpariert, dass sich der Besucher fühlt, wie auf einem schwankenden Schiff. „Wir haben bereits mehrere Berliner Galeristen hier herumgeführt, die von den künftigen Ausstellungsräumen begeistert sind. Im nächsten Frühjahr geht es los“, erzählt Kaule. Strausbergs Bürgermeisterin Elke Stadeler (parteilos) freut sich über die kulturelle Nachnutzung des alten Bunkers. „Das ist eine wunderbare Kombination aus historischer Ingenieursleistung und heutiger Kunst. Der Kulturbunker könnte zu einem Highlight unserer Stadt werden. Deshalb werden wir ihn natürlich touristisch bewerben“, verspricht sie.

I alt blev omkring 1400 koldkrigsanlæg bygget i Danmark fra 1950’erne og fremefter.

Se også Flugtforsøg fra DDR trak overskrifter i Danmark

De var blandt andet konstrueret til at beskytte regeringsledere, dronningen, borgmestre, politimestre og militærfolk samt sørge for, at Danmark i tilfælde af krig kunne fungere. Siden da er mange blevet fjernet eller solgt af kommunerne, men nedenfor har vi samlet syv vigtige danske bunkere:

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