Subterranean Titan Missile MuseumNew York TimesSINCE THE Tilan Missile Museum opened Usdoors in Green Valley, Ariz, lasl May. morelhan iQ.DDO people hovo donned hard hatslo venture into its subtarranoan worldSurrounded by a forbidding baibcd-wifefence. the museum, off a desert stretch of Inldrslato 19,about 25 mites south ol Tucson. Is the only placo where!ha public can see an inlerccnlinenlal nuclear missileand lour a launch silo, deactivated though Ihey may be."This is Ihe only silo we know of in Ihc world," saidHugh Matheson, a rolired Air Force colonel who is one•'. ol the museum's founders. "Thisisthereallhing,"The museum, parl of Iho Pima Air Museum ofTucson, it has atlracted sightseers (ram as far as Iran.China, Brazil, Poland and Now Zealand, The guestregister boasts several "Mikhail Gorbachevs," a signthat many visitors share a sense of humor.The launching pad-turned-museum retains a slark,military leal. Viewed from below ground or above, thehuge 110-fool-tall missile somberly reflects the powerof nuclear weaponry, Us nine-tiered silo connects byunderground cabfeway (o a three-level egg-shapedcontrol center and spartan four-man barracks.What was a slate-of-the-art military complex in ths1960s was taken off alert on Nov. 11,1983, after 19years o) 34-hour-a-day operation. Seventeen olhersaround Tucson have been dismantled. The museumsite was preserved to honor Air Force crews who nevertired a missile,The 34 remaining Titan Us in Kansas and Arkansasinclude an undisclosed number still on alert near LittleRock AFB, said Orville Doughty, a retired colonel whowas commander of the 390lh Missile Wing at Davis-Monlhan AFB, which manned the Arizona missiles.'AD the Titan Us are scheduled lo be dismantled byOctober 1987. Two others were incapacitated byaccidents, including a latat explosion In 1980 that touchedoff controversy about the safety of the aging missiles.The demise of the Titan II resulted from PresidentReagan's decision to modernize weapon technology.The liquid-fueled Tilan II, with a range of 5,000 miles,was the largest missile ever built by the United Stales,and had the heaviest payload. Newer missiles like theMinuleman are smaller and fueled by less toxic solidpropellents.The muMum'B missile has been renderedimpotent so it will not be mistaken lor the real thing byorbiting spy satellites, said Becky Roberts, Ihe museummanager, who is a retired accountant.The hall-open, 740-ton silo door is permanently fixedby a concrete barricade. The cone-like Mark V-1 re-entry vehicle lacks a warhead. And holes have been cutin Ihe missile lo show it cannot be fueled."It look lour years tor the site to be approved," saidMatheson, once the chief of missile maintenance atMuseum visitors have a chance to view a 110-loot-tall Titan II mlaallo.AP phaiaDavis-Monthan. "It was a heck of a process."The Strategic Air Comd, Ihe Penlagon and Ihe StateDepartment approved Ihe museum. The Pentagonclearance alone took a year and a half, Matheson said. Themilitary wanted lo be certain the site would not be counledunder treaties limiting strategic nuclear arms, he said.Except For the missile, the complex is in workingorder. Power, communications, the alert siren,emergency phones, loudspeakers and maintenanceplatforms used, lo service the missile were leftuntouched."The only thing we can't do Is launch it." saidMatheson.This Titan II was a training missile and was neverfueled, and II was chosen for the museum because thatlack enhanced its safety.A Titan's liquid fuels and oxidizers are highly toxicand can be absorbed through the skin, as evidencedby the emergency showers and luel suits scatteredthrough Ihe complex.The Air Force leases ine site lo (he Pima AirMuseum, which has installed primitive amenities lo .accommodate the hour-long tours, which ere byreservation only. The fee is $4 lor adults,Over the last decade the land around the missilesite, surrounded by cactus-dotted mountain ranges,has developed into Green Valley, a bustling roliremenlcommunity. Like Roberts, many of the BO or sovolunteer guides are retired women.None of them so much as blink as they lead groupsthrough the control center's interlocking security gales,past en old Air Force sign that admonishes; "Walch ForRattlesnakes.""No self-respecting rattlesnake would come neaihere these days," Roberts said. "There's way loo manypeople,"China's firing range for touristsBY JAMES MILESUnited Press InternationalIMASINE THE THRILL as you raise an anti-tankrocket launcher to your shoulder, squeeze Ihe(rigger and send a missile streaking toward theGreat Wall of China. •A fraction of a second later, the warhead slamsinto a 6-inch steel plate wilh a deafening roar thatreverberates through Ihe nearby mountains, You followup fjie assault with a tew well-aimed bursts from aChinese rille similar lo the Soviet Kalashnikov.It may sound like the fantasy ot a would-be Ramboin China, but Quo Xunqing said it will all come truewhen his stale-run Weapons Research Inslilule opensits tiring range to foreign tourisls this monlh."It's not like other firing ranges," said Guo. deputydirector of the Beijing Mechano-Electrical ResearchInstitute. "We have light machine guns, heavy machineguns and anti-tank weapons. Most Americans can onlylire civilian weapons,"Another attraction, Guo said, is Ks location.The 800-yard range. About 30 miles northwest ofBeijing, is just off the road (o a restored section o( theGreat Wall, a mecca for visitors lo the Chinese capital.The foothills of the Yanshan Mountains provide an idealbackslop lor stray missiles.Actually, Guo doesn'l expect too many takers for theChinese-made 40mm high-explosive anti-tank rocketAt $1,000 a shot, it's probably beyond the means ofmost travelersGuo said tourists are more likely to tire one of theinstitute's small-caliber weapons, ranging (ram a 7 62-mm pistol described as "particularly useful in anti-terrorist actions" !o a Chinese version ot Ihe U.5 M-16rillo.Visitors may also f»e a 14.5mm anti-aircralt gun aslong as they don't point it in the air, or fire a "daggergun" — a knife that can discharge three 5 6-mm bulletstrom its hillTargets include steel plales or brick walls for anls-tank missiles, clay pigeons for shotguns and pictures ofanimals for rifles and pistols."For humane reasons we arc not using silhouotes o*human figures." Guo saidHe said many foreigners have encouraged thoinslitute to open its tiring range. 'Diplomats, journalistsSaturday, March 14, 1987and businessmen all think there are nol enoughrecreational facilities in Beijing."Japanese businessmen in particular have expressedinterest, Guo said, predicling lhat some would come loChina just to visit the range. "Perhaps it's something todo with their lifestyle or because they are weaponsenthusiasts," he said.Arms (overs can even buy some ol Ihc weapons ondisplay, including a luxury pistol plated wilh 24-caralgold inlaid with precious stones. The barrel of the$10,000 weapon is inscribed with a poem by Mao Tse-tungSales are handled by the institute"5 parcmcompany. China North Industries Corp (Nonnco). anorganization under the Ministry of Ordnance fhalhandles weapons production and trade,Guo said Nofinco decided lo open the range as partol the country's policy ol "opening to Ihe outside worldand simulating llic economy" — in other wda to gainmuch needed loreign currency to help upgrade Cnma'sdefensesBeijing has become increasingly aggressive tn Iheinternational arms ma