US Cold War nuclear missile bunker up for sale

A Cold War era nuclear missile bunker in Roswell, New Mexico has been put up for sale. Jim Moore, the estate agent responsible for marketing the bunker, is convinced the property has potential for the right owner.

Mr Moore says the bunker could be converted for personal use as a home or for business use as offices or storage.

The property is 25 acres in total and was originally home to an Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile. The missile was developed at the end of the 1950s and if used would have had 100 times more impact than the Nagasaki bombing at the end of World War Two.

Records state that the US commissioned more than 70 of the Atlas missiles, but they were not retained for long as new more deadly nuclear weapons were developed. Therefore a large number of bunkers that held the missiles became disused across the US.

The property has been valued and advertised for US $295,000, The Independent reports.

The bunker’s location, near Roswell, is well-known for its links to alien sightings and extra-terrestrial activity. So Mr Moore has received a lot of interest from people with interests in that area.

During the Cold War the bunker was part of the US’s plans for survival should there be a nuclear attack. The property is underground and exists at around ten storeys under the surface, so is able to withstand a nuclear bomb.

The entrance at surface level leads down to a stairwell with access to living quarters, which has been broken into and used as a hiding place for teenagers for years.

An example of another bunker that has been converted is in Kansas where it has been turned into an apartment complex with communal leisure facilities, including a pool and spa. Meanwhile another bunker in New York State was converted into a home and was put up for sale for around three quarters of a million dollars.

Mr Moore says that the property has been kept in good condition since it was decommissioned in 1965. It has had several owners, the most recent being an eccentric artist, who was never able to finish his plans for the property before his death last year.

Ian Harvey

Ian Harvey is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE