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Abandoned Secret Underground Nuclear Base

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posted on Jan, 24 2010 @ 04:20 PM
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During the height of the “Cold War” in the early 1950’s and well into the early 1970’s the United States stockpiled Nuclear Weapons at 13 or more sites around the country. One of those stockpiling sites still exists today but is largely abandoned. Clarksville Base in Kentucky was one of the most secretive and guarded places in America at this time.

Pillboxes scattered around the area known as the “Birdcage”, still exist today, and many marines spent time in them guarding our nation’s nuclear stockpile. The DoD operated this facility and conducted maintenance work on Atomic Warheads as part of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project. The Clarksville Base was one of the first six such sites to exist.

The Sandia Corporation was contracted to perform the work and sadly many of the civilians that worked here developed cancers and suffered later in life, as a result of their work. Many buildings at this site extend deep underground and tunnels extend deep into the area’s natural hillsides with blast proof doors and vaults designed to keep the secrets safe. One building known as “Gravel Gertie” was designed to contain the energy of a 1-kiloton explosion if a worker accidentally detonated one of the devices. Chain-link fences separated the public from this facility, one charged with high voltage around the inside of the cone shaped facility.

Each complex consisted of an assemblage of vaults and side rooms along a 600-foot corridor that was protected from above by 10 feet of reinforced concrete and 40 feet of earth. They used these subterranean shafts as communications centers, civil defense hospital wings, and nuclear warhead storage areas. They also conducted communications activities in a formidable, 2-story, concrete-hardened false-windowed structure.

Other buildings at the Center housed communications and support services. Working with the nuclear warheads the civilians dismantled the bombs and monitored the radioactivity of the material, and replaced short-lived initiators so they could be returned to the nation’s arsenal. In 1960 an accident at the facility involved 5 rail cars loaded with Mark-31 nuclear warheads which broke loose and rolled down a grade and slammed in to a bumper. One car derailed but none of the devices were damaged and Naval and Army officials decided against a press release.

In the middle 60’s duties involving nuclear devices were transferred elsewhere but the facility continued to be used for storage of classified material. Eventually the facility was closed altogether due to a build-up of radon gases in the underground complexes, and the Fort Campbell facility took charge of the area and used the above ground tunnels for storage of various equipment. Recently the DoE has discovered radio isotope contamination in several areas. The facility is no longer used for nuclear weapons activity and pretty much has been abandoned.

The area while not open to the general public is open to Army personnel and their escorted guest. Large steel roll-up security doors hang from the two bridges on either side of the Base, ready to drop down onto the bed of Little West Fork Creek and prevent access to intruders. The main hoist for loading and unloading nuclear weapons at the railroad spur also still exists. I recently explored the area and must say the place is spooky at night. Very quiet and quite deserted but as I thought it was an interesting part of our history and draws parallels to “Area 51” “Dulce Base” and other secret spots I thought I would share some pictures of my explorations. Imagine the secrets we once held here and the secrets we now hold elsewhere!

Links to explore:

www.leatherneck.com...

www.globalsecurity.org...

www.atomictraveler.com...

Pictures:

s937.photobucket.com...



posted on Jan, 26 2010 @ 10:33 AM
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reply to post by DJMSN
 

We want more pics and video too .



posted on Jan, 26 2010 @ 07:08 PM
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reply to post by hiluxxulih
 


I will go out there again during the day light to get some better pictures. Some of the main buildings are closed off and behind fenced areas. The area also is close to an area inhabited by part of the Special Forces and those guys don't play nice. Its not a prohibited area but the SF don't take kindly to anybody walking around their neck of the woods with a camera especiallly these days. Still I will be able to get much more pictures and better ones during the daylight and try to show the whole layout of the Birdcage area including the pillboxes which still exist. It is a part of history that should be documented. So give me a couple of days and I will go back.



posted on Jul, 23 2010 @ 07:15 PM
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Just out of curiosity which bunker were you in? I have driven around the Birdcage quite a lot as I work in the area and the only bunker I've been in was quite bare. Most of the bunkers are locked but if you would tell me where this one is I'd really like to check it out.

On another note I don't know if you know or not but the Birdcage also has a German grave site. Near the crane used to unload the Nuclear Warheads. Tombstones are date 1944-1945.



posted on Jul, 24 2010 @ 02:09 PM
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Those are very interesting photos I look forward to seeing more. When I lived in Georgia I explored an abandoned nuclear facility I am going to search around and see if I can find them.

S&F



posted on Jul, 24 2010 @ 02:19 PM
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reply to post by DJMSN
 


I realize this may not be the same as your speaking of...
www.undergroundozarks.com...

But as kids over 20 years ago.....none of us, gave a 2nd thought to these..
Now that I'm older and now know what we were actually setting atop of, and why...scares the livin daylights outa me..

If the link don't direct you ...specifically to the "Nikey"KC-30 one ..in the list of places explored...a few old friends of mine did this a bout 8-10 years ago....and went to all these sites..in the link...just thought since one was an old nuclear launch site....in my own backyard...this might offer a different POV or pics not seen, by that many ppl

ETA another linky...same site...but now the photos...lots of them...tooo..
www.undergroundozarks.com...

[edit on 24-7-2010 by Doc Holiday]



posted on Jul, 26 2010 @ 04:39 PM
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Nice reporting interesting area I would like to hear about some abandoned facilities like this in Arizona if anyone knows of any?



posted on Jul, 27 2010 @ 11:19 PM
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Originally posted by Sumdumguy
Nice reporting interesting area I would like to hear about some
abandoned facilities like this in Arizona if anyone knows of any?


Agreed, I would love to hear the same. I am from the Phoenix area and you have to believe with all the unoccupied space in our state, there has to be quite a few of these here.

On another note, I would really love some more info on some of these locations for the reason that I think it could prove extremely useful if they were able to be accessed by us in the event of some calamaties where bunkers/shelters could be useful to get underground.



posted on Jul, 28 2010 @ 02:55 AM
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does anyone know of the government employee who worked at area 51 in the 1950's and 60's by the name of val valient thorr and they say that val is from venus. has anyone on this site heard of val valiant thorr? please let me know. sleeper if you are still posting on here i would love to talk to you



posted on Jul, 29 2010 @ 09:32 PM
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Originally posted by johnnie_walker
does anyone know of the government employee who worked at area 51 in the 1950's and 60's by the name of val valient thorr and they say that val is from venus. has anyone on this site heard of val valiant thorr? please let me know. sleeper if you are still posting on here i would love to talk to you

i've no idea for that



posted on Jul, 31 2010 @ 08:02 PM
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Does anyone know if bob lazar or John Lear still post on here or r they still banned



posted on Aug, 19 2010 @ 01:01 PM
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awesome thread....its amazing to look at all that stuff underground ....things that nobody on the surface would even give a second thought about.....would like to find any sites in michigan like this....



posted on Mar, 20 2014 @ 07:37 AM
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Just to add a bit to this, and I know this post is old, but I have a love for the area and Ft. Campbell as I was stationed there from 1997-2006. When conducting Physical Training, there were many mornings we would run and run and run all through Clarksville Base. The pill boxes are still very visible. There are three Silo's however, which you have to really look for as foliage and trees have taken over. Though obviously none are in use any longer or we would not be free to roam around back there lol. It is creepy in the wee morning hours before the sun comes up and everyone's quietly ruck marching through the area. Some of the bunkers you can see are off limits due to them being permanently closed because of radiation still lingering. Pretty neat stuff. There's supposedly a tunnel system that runs from headquarters to the area as well. That info was originally in the story of Clarksville base but looks like it has since been removed. I'll have to see if I still have the old book they'd make us study with that history in it.
edit on 20-3-2014 by misfit69 because: (no reason given)



posted on Mar, 25 2014 @ 12:58 PM
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Very interesting read OP, so SnF for that. I'm interested in these types of bunkers as I was born and spent the first few years of my life at Loring AFB in Maine, USA. My family didn't even realize it at the time, but supposedly it too was used for nuclear storage during the cold war period. You wouldn't happen to have any info on it, would you?

edit on 25-3-2014 by parad0x122 because: verbiage correction




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