Minuteman Missile Silo Launch Facility A-02 Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota

In 1961 the Air Force selected the land around Minot for a new Minuteman I Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) complex. Field construction began on the missile complex in January 1962. SAC activated the 455th Strategic Missile Wing in November 1962, and in less than a year, on September 9, 1963, the first Minuteman I Missile arrived from Hill AFB, Utah. It was placed in Launch Facility A-02, September 9, 1963. Within a short 28 months, in April 1964, the 455th became combat ready.