Each silo had an access portal and a Blast Lock Area, with three-ton steel blast doors and three-foot thick concrete and steel walls, protecting the crew from nuclear detonations or unwanted intruders. There was a Launch Control Center, where the crew could monitor and deploy the missile if ordered to do so, while the crew quarters contained a lavatory, bunk room and kitchen, with staff eating and sleeping in shifts.

Most of the silos were decommissioned in 1984 and were simply abandoned; their access points blocked with rubble and concrete to stop trespassers. One facility in Arizona was turned into a museum, while others were later sold, offering buyers the chance to own a piece of military history. Let's take a look...

8 Cold War missile silos that you can actually live in