Titan I

A total of six squadrons were equipped with the Titan I missile. Each squadron was deployed in a 3x3 configuration, which meant each squadron controlled a total of nine missiles divided among three launch sites. The three Titan I missiles at a launch complex could be launched in from 15-30 minutes. The Titan I missile squadrons were spread across the western U.S. in five states: Colorado (with two squadrons), California (851 SMS at Beale), Idaho (569 SMS at Mountain Home), South Dakota (850 SMS at Ellsworth), and Washington (568 SMS at Larson). The Colorado squadrons were in the 451 SMW, based at Lowry AFB. Initially, these two squadrons were designated as the 848 SMS and 849 SMS, but on 1 July 1961 they were redesignated as the 724 SMS and 725 SMS. No patches are known to have been made with any of these four designations; the personnel in the SMSs wore the wing patch. With the exception of the 850 SMS at Ellsworth, which was under the 44 SMW for most of its brief life, the Strategic Missile Squadrons at the other bases were not under missile wings but were supported by the host wing at those bases (patches for those are in the Host Wings section of the Higher Headquarters album in this gallery). All Titan I units were inactivated in 1965.