Will the real Titan II 1st stage stand up

On Wed, 27 Aug 2003 22:04:12 -0700, Larry Gales
wrote:

In the past I have heard newsgroup posts about the Titan II first
stage,
that it had a gross mass of 269,000 lbs and an empty mass of 9000
lbs,
which would give it a mass ratio of over 29! See a posting by
Mitchell
Burnside Clapp at:
http://webhome.idirect.com/~earlcp/messages/M1168.HTML
halfway down the page.

But when I look at Encyclopedia Astronautica at
http://www.friends-partners.ru/partn...lvs/titan2.htm
I see the gross mass at 117,866 kg (260,000 lbs) and an empty mass of
6,736 kg (14850 lbs), giving a mass ratio of 17.5

So, which is the right value?

Thanks,

-- Larry


According to Don Boelling's Titan II ICBM Web Page:

http://home.teleport.com/~boelling/titan.html

http://home.teleport.com/~boelling/titanD.html

"...Summary Stats
length: 103' / 31.3 m
diameter: 120" / 3.05 m
launch weight: 327,000 lb / 149,700 kg
end speed: 24,000 km/h
range: 6296 - 8100 nm / 4000 - 15000 km
ceiling: about 700 mi.
accuracy/CEP: 0.5-0.8 nm..."


..."Some statistics on the Stage I airframe a a. Length-70 feet. b.
Diameter-10 feet. c. Approximate weight loaded-258,000 pounds. d.
Approximate fuel capacity-84,600 pounds. e. Approximate oxidizer
capacity-162,500 pounds...."

"...Some statistics on Stage II a a. Length-20 feet. b. Diameter-10
feet. c. Approximate weight loaded-64,000 pounds. d. Approximate fuel
capacity-20,700 pounds. e. Approximate oxidizer capacity-37,200
pounds...."

Now you probably have three sets of stats for the Titan II. Don
Boelling was
on a Titan II missile alert crew and then was a Wing Instructor for
the 390th Strategic Missile Wing (Titan II's), he instructed missile
crews on launch and troubleshooting procedures. I think I would take
his figures as fact.


--
Rusty Barton - Antelope, California
Visit my Titan 1 ICBM History Website at
http://www.geocities.com/titan_1_missile