PLOKSTINE MISSILE BASE // ROCKET BASE LITHUANIA // COLD WAR MUSEUM

COLD WAR MUSEUM
The former underground missile base is newly opened after the reconstruction and hosts the Cold War Museum (reconstruction funds were allocated from the European Structural Funds). Tourists can visit the underground and the missile silos labyrinth and get knowledge of the Cold War period, propaganda strategies, consequences of the nuclear explosions and the life in the military base.
PLOKSTINE MISSILE BASE
At the time when the United States started building underground military bases, it was decided that the Soviet Union had to maintain its military advantage. For that reason in September 1960 in the village of Plokščiai the Soviets started rapid construction of an underground military base, one of the first in the S. U. The shore of the Plateliai Lake and the Plokštinė forests were perfectly suitable for the construction of the military base. The chosen location for the base was located160 m above sea level, the soil was easy to excavate and the local population was small. The local inhabitants were poor farmers who were paid 4.5 thousand rubles to move their farms. Further, from this location all of the Europe could be covered by the missiles, which could reach Turkey and southern European countries.
Ten thousand soldiers, mostly Estonians, constructed the base. The missile silos were dug out with shovels which took approximately 6-8 months. Simultaneously, in the centre of the four silos they excavated a large hole for the support structures – electrical and radio stations, control rooms and recreation areas for the soldiers who would be on duty. All of these underground facilities were waterproof and covered with earth. They were constructed in the way that under normal conditions the personnel could survive in the silos for 15 days or 3 hours in extreme conditions with the silos hermetically sealed. A 2.5 km water trench was dug to the Plateliai lake, and a water pump station was constructed. The earth which had been excavated was used to lay the foundation for the new road to Plokštinė. Earlier travellers had to get to the base by going through Jogaudai. On December 31, 1962 the construction was completed; at 10 p. m. – just before the New Year – the “rocketeers” accepted their military duties.
Four R12 nuclear missiles, 23 meters high, including the 4 meters warhead, were installed in the silos. The rockets were fuelled with a mixture of kerosene and nitric acid. They were intended to last 10-15 years; in Plokštinė they were changed once in 16 years. The rocket launching facilities were guarded by 6 security systems including barbed wire, alarms, 1700 volt electric wires, etc. The rockets were aimed at different western countries: Norway, Great Britain, Spain, West Germany and Turkey. Every 3-4 years the targeted countries were changed.
Eight missile warheads were stored in the ammunition depot in Plokštinė. Extra rocket carries were stored in the ammunition depot specially build in the nearby Šateikiai. Šateikiai also had eight surface missiles which had been deployed the year before those in Plokštinė.

Видео PLOKSTINE MISSILE BASE // ROCKET BASE LITHUANIA // COLD WAR MUSEUM канала DNP Videoblog