MPT "Misappropriated"

[SCHUDSN8694B]

Hey y'all!

Due to a hurricane a while back, I've settled at Dayton (Kettering) Ohio. Of course, the ChAir Force Museum is here. The missile displays are actually improving!

Somebody stole an MPT from somewhere and it is on display in the "silo" with the various missile airframes and engines. It looks like the box I operated for 91DOTM.

It's too bad that the "stick yankers" running the place haven't placed the GLCM/Gryphon LCC and TEL on display. Those have been hiding here for almost twenty years!

So it goes!

Jim Schudrowitz

[SAC Killer]

I think it is from FEW. When I was there last year it was mis-identified as a "Minuteman II" MPT. It is one of the later versions of Modernized. Pre-CDB, it seems, I think with a 465L keyboard so SCP configuration, but the SACCS printer looked different. So I sent the curator a long letter explaining the differences between the various versions of the LGM-30 and the WS-133. Never got a response. Dunno if they ever corrected it.

However: A couple of docents were there at the time and they were glad to hear some of the finer points of life in Minuteman, and the weapon system. For some reason many of the missiles were out of the building at the time, including the Minuteman.

[njh621]

I saw the MPT myself in November, but was kind of disappointed (three guesses as to what badges the people who run the place wear!). I recall the sign outside listing that it came from Ellsworth. Before they built the space/missile gallery, they had two manikins dressed in crew blues. When I was there they had them dressed in blue bags, with 341st MW patches on, and they added an evaluator (also wearing a blue bag). I wanted to go inside of the crew compartment, but a sheet of plexi-glass stood between me and sitting in the operators chair. *Sigh*

[Goes2Fast]

I live about 3 miles from the museum and took several friends there Sunday who had never even been on a base before. It was the first time I had been to the "Hall of Missiles" and when you first walk in it's pretty impressive. However, the MPT is rather sad. While it does have most of the equipment racks, you have to view them from the "blast door" through plexiglass or from behind where the bunk would have been in a real capsule. How easy it would have been to use more equipment from an MPT or capsule, have the path go through the capsule and exit by the MCCCs console. They could have still protected the equipment with glass a few inches in front of it. Also, it looks like a cheap attempt to show an LCC without the bed, oxygen generation, shock isolators, safe, even the aircraft style toilet. It also needed some lights...what's a LSMIP without a fault or two? They could have done much better with the display.

[njh621]

I agree, the view is pretty crappy. They should add a bit more reality; two LFs should be faulted with OZ or IZ, some comm equipment fault lights should be on (especially on the SACCS 465L rack), emergency lighting on, and the deputy should be pulling his (or her in this case) hair out! Supposedly the museum has a Titan II LCCFC somewhere. If they ever find part of a Titan II MPT, it won't be there for long .

I think they definitely need to add more missileer related stuff in the gallery; a couple signs giving an overview of who they were, a uniform exhibit, some good pictures, and a nicely sized missile badge wouldn't hurt either. Bonus points if they move all of the space stuff to a single section (or move it elsewhere entirely!).

[Rico2000]

It is an Ellsworth MPT as described. I spent a lot of time in there...seeing the Malmstrom patches on the displays kinda torqued me off a bit. Oh well.