It's MISSILE TIME AGAIN!
Have a look at the pencil sketch above—sharp eyes will know immediately that it's actually a Minuteman II, or, to the unenlightened, the LGM-30F. But it represents the LGM-30A/B, the "almost" indistinguishable godfather to the incredible Minuteman Missile program. Please trust me, the MM I will be a brand-new drawing and as accurate as can be considering the things were never supposed to be seen in the first place!
This past month, two patrons have made their case that I need to do the Minuteman I to round out my Minuteman II and III drawings. They made their point and the MM I has temporarily bumped a B-29, an F-111 and a strange Polish airplane (more later) off my desk.
So many people are ignorant of the Missileer's service. Until I was commissioned to do the LGM-30G of a certain Minot AFB Captain, I was too. The more I've learned about Missiles, the more impressed and grateful I've become of the devices and the men and women who make sure they're ready for the unthinkable. But suffice it to state, it can be argued that the American ICBM system is the most successful weapon system ever created.
Don't believe me? Watch this space.
And have a look at my drawings of the MMII and MMIII below. The MM I may not end up looking much different than the MM II but to the thousands of Missileers out there, II and III don't add up unless you start with I.
In the meantime, tonight's a great time to go outside, take a breath of clean, fresh, non-radioactive air. And when you do, snap a salute towards the men and women in concrete vaults buried far below who have helped make it happen.
