Nike site

[Nikos]

We're the Nike sites that protected the coasts of the US, part of the Air Force? 

[Garibaldi]

We're the Nike sites that protected the coasts of the US, part of the Air Force?

WERE the Nike sites part of the Air Force? No, they were part of the Army. Here is a link to some information. http://nikemissile.org/

*edited TWICE for lack of information on my part*

[THRAWN]

There's still a bunch of them around, rotting into the ground. I lived near one in NJ and it was spooooooky in the dark of the fall.

[Garibaldi]

There's still a bunch of them around, rotting into the ground. I lived near one in NJ and it was spooooooky in the dark of the fall.

My dad used to take me around to where they made the missiles, in Charlotte, when I was a kid. I think they made Nike and Hercules missiles there. It was long closed by the time I came along, as the program had ceased.

[TheSkyHornet]

Don't confuse Nike as the blanket term for all missile defense systems (anti-ballistic missiles) positioned around the country. While Nike was an Army project, the Air Force did have their own, very similar, ICBM project known as Project Wizard, although much short-lived. The Army also had Project Zeus which was an alternative to the Nike project, also short-lived. In short, not all missile sites were Nike, though the overwhelming majority were.

The Ground-Based Mid-course Defense system (GMD) is essentially the replacement for the old Nike sites, controlled by the Army. These missiles are used to intercept primarily long-range surface-fired ballistic missiles or those launched from space. They're designed to travel through space, through low orbit, if needed. They're an interception missile to take out incoming nukes, although they can be used to carry nuclear warheads for strike purposes.

Currently, the THAAD system is operated by the Army's Air Defense Artillery branch, which uses mobile ground vehicles for shorter-range interception, similar to the Aegis Combat System used by the Navy on surface ships.

GMD, THAAD, and Aegis are all overseen by the Missile Defense Agency, which is a joint operation of the Department of Defense.

[Luis R. Ramos]

Those Nike sites were Army, not Air Force.

If you go by them you would not recognize them. The ones that remain look like big, open-air parking lots since the launchers here have been removed. Some of these big "parking lots" are the roofs of the rocket magazines. They have been reused by counties and other uses, some of them are part now of industrial parks, or housing developments.

Around New York City were:

1. Two launch sites at Fort Hancock
2. One launch site at Fort Tilden
3. One or two launch sites at Big Tor mountain in Rockland County
4. One launch site at Fort Wadsworth
5. One launch site at , ohh, forgot the name, there are two small islands between the Bronx and Queens one used as a Potters Field by the NYC DOC. These two islands constituted one fort one had Command and Control the other the launchers
6. Another was the site of the worst peacetime disaster, that killed two Army specialists and ten civilian consultants (or maybe the other way) where one rocket being serviced ignited, and in a chain reaction others ignited, about ten or fifteen blew up in their launchers the warhead of one was found several miles near a house
7. Another launch site at Millers Field...

Many more I do not recall just around one big city.

Really, there is a book titled Rings of Steel. Because these launch sites were all over the place. Several around each big city and industrial complex, they formed... A Ring of Steel.

[Garibaldi]

Don't confuse Nike as the blanket term for all missile defense systems (anti-ballistic missiles) positioned around the country. While Nike was an Army project, the Air Force did have their own, very similar, ICBM project known as Project Wizard, although much short-lived. The Army also had Project Zeus which was an alternative to the Nike project, also short-lived. In short, not all missile sites were Nike, though the overwhelming majority were.

The Ground-Based Mid-course Defense system (GMD) is essentially the replacement for the old Nike sites, controlled by the Army. These missiles are used to intercept primarily long-range surface-fired ballistic missiles or those launched from space. They're designed to travel through space, through low orbit, if needed. They're an interception missile to take out incoming nukes, although they can be used to carry nuclear warheads for strike purposes.

Currently, the THAAD system is operated by the Army's Air Defense Artillery branch, which uses mobile ground vehicles for shorter-range interception, similar to the Aegis Combat System used by the Navy on surface ships.

GMD, THAAD, and Aegis are all overseen by the Missile Defense Agency, which is a joint operation of the Department of Defense.

There were several other missile types under Nike: Ajax, Hercules, X and Zeus. The factory in Charlotte, which my dad showed me, was one of 2 factories making the missiles initially and the only one making the Hercules variant. I was just reading on this, and this factory was also one of the first to make mass-produced Fords in the early 1920s. It was converted to a war factory during WW2, then converted to the Nike project. It was all part of a larger continental defense system encompassing the Army, Air Force and Navy. Even Canada.

[Luis R. Ramos]

One of the sites in California has been rebuilt and reopened as a museum. it has a fully-operational missile elevator.

Another site in Florida's Everglades is either being reopened as a museum, or opened already.

What most people do not know is that the Nike-Hercules was designed to carry either a conventional or nuclear warhead...

[TheSkyHornet]

One of the sites in California has been rebuilt and reopened as a museum. it has a fully-operational missile elevator.

Another site in Florida's Everglades is either being reopened as a museum, or opened already.

What most people do not know is that the Nike-Hercules was designed to carry either a conventional or nuclear warhead...

I haven't had the chance to go on a tour through one yet. I'd love to some day.  It's those converted houses that creep me out. Not because it was once a missile silo, but that it's a concrete bunker with no windows. Too isolating for me.

[MSG Mac]

These sites were around every city form the 60's into the 80's. Massachusetts Wing had a Squadron that met in a deactivated silo in the 90's

[Garibaldi]

I have yet to see a drive-by post generate so much information as this one did. I enjoyed the you-know-what out of this thread so far.

[Larry Mangum]

These sites were around every city form the 60's into the 80's. Massachusetts Wing had a Squadron that met in a deactivated silo in the 90's

That was the Beverly Composite Squadron.

[Nikos]

Thanks for the great link about Nike Sites.  I got into a site about something called "Texas Towers" out in the Atlantic Ocean.  They had Air Force crews?  Not Navy?

[Garibaldi]

Thanks for the great link about Nike Sites.  I got into a site about something called "Texas Towers" out in the Atlantic Ocean.  They had Air Force crews?  Not Navy?

I think those were under Air Force control. They got their name by the way they resemble an oil rig.

[TheSkyHornet]

Thanks for the great link about Nike Sites.  I got into a site about something called "Texas Towers" out in the Atlantic Ocean.  They had Air Force crews?  Not Navy?

I think those were under Air Force control. They got their name by the way they resemble an oil rig.

Those were indeed Air Force. They were essentially replaced by the aerial surveillance aircraft/AEW&C. The Navy now operates the Sea-based X-Band Radar which is a mobile rig usually based up near Alaska, monitoring primarily Russia, China, and North Korea. I got to see the SBX when she was parked in Hawaii a while back. Incredible sight.

[RRLE]

CT had several Nike sites. My wife's family lived near one of them. This web site has info had what happened to a lot of them Nike Sites of CT. There is a photograph on this site showing the current state of the former Fairfield Nike site and data about the others.

[Гугл переводчик]

While they aren't Nike sites, the city of Mountain Home in Idaho has 3 sites that were home to the Titan I. They have since been demolished and one is being used as a hazardous waste storage facility.

Pretty interesting.

[THRAWN]

As much as I hate wiki, this is a good starting point

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nike_missile_sites

[Luis R. Ramos]

Wikipedia has changed a lot. Now they use more referenced sites. I would still have some caveats for using it for serious research... But for general knowledge I turn to it, check the references to see if they seem credible, then go on my way.

[EMT-83]

CT had several Nike sites. My wife's family lived near one of them. This web site has info had what happened to a lot of them Nike Sites of CT. There is a photograph on this site showing the current state of the former Fairfield Nike site and data about the others.

I took Firefighter I at the old Fairfield site, which had been converted in a fire training center. The administration area became classrooms, the foundation of an old building was used a flammable liquids burn pit, and the towers used for ladder and rope work. I haven't been there in better than 30 years, so I have no idea what it looks like now.

[Nikos]

I took firefighter classes in Fairfield as well, the late 70s early 80s. I did the flammable liquid pits also, really HOT!  We did repelling from the radar tower. 

[EMT-83]

I took firefighter classes in Fairfield as well, the late 70s early 80s. I did the flammable liquid pits also, really HOT!  We did repelling from the radar tower.

Hot is right! Our instructor failed to notice a container partially full of fuel next to the pit and we had a BLEVE. After the boom, there was a fireball headed towards the marsh. I had never seen a marsh burn before, so I had no idea why the instructor was freaking out. I grabbed a hose line with the only other guy who had previous experience and we chased down the fire. The remaining students were raw recruits, and I think a couple of them may have pooped their pants.

A couple of weeks later, the was a huge fire on the opposite side of the marsh and it became very clear why the instructor was so excited. Good times.

[Slim]

Not all of them are falling down or rotten.  My unit meets in one. 

It started out as a Nike launcher site, then was turned into an Army Reserve center by building connecting hallways between buildings an a couple of extra additions.  The launcher pits are still in place, sealed with concrete.

Back in the 80s, MIWG had control of an old IFC, or admin site, that was used as a training facility.

[resq1192]

We have several decommissioned sites in Rhode Island as well. There were 2 in Foster, RI ... one was home to some of the Foster-Glocester Regional school district offices before all the buildings were finally demolished.  Another old one is now believed to be the site of the Training Academy for the RI State Police. A third is in Coventry and is now a park w/athletic fields; one or 2 buildings still remain, all boarded up and fences off.  I am sure there are more around here somewhere ...

[Cliff_Chambliss]

Not really Nike, but related.  Several years ago Wings/Airpower Magazine did a feature on the IM-99 Bomarc Missile.  The article addressed one instance where a Bomarc caught fire and basically melted the nuclear warhead.  I believe it was in New Jersey somewhere.  The clean up operation consisted of filling and sealing everything off with concrete.  I really did not get too much into the article because I am not really into missiles, and New Jersey is not a place I ever plan to go.  But if I remember correctly somewhere there is a danger of old radiation leaking into the ground. 

[Luis R. Ramos]

New Jersey Bomarc accident, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BOMARC_Missile_Accident_Site

More:

http://www.readex.com/blog/bomarc-missile-plutonium-spill-crisis-exercises-propaganda-and-containment-1960-and-beyond

Another incident completely destroying a New Jersey Nike (not BOMARC) facility:

http://www3.gendisasters.com/new-jersey/14060/leonardo-nj-nike-missile-explosion-may-1958

Edited to add:

More Nike accidents:

http://www.techbastard.com/missile/nike/accidents.php

[Mitchell 1969]

A few that I know of in the Los Angeles area:

Oat Mountain, in the hills at the north of the San Fernando Valley. It was later converted into a county youth detention facility.

There was one on Pershing Drive at the northeast corner of LAX. It was converted into a business, "Jet Pets," which specialized in shipping and receiving animals. They had vet facilities, a quarantine area and boarding facilities. They actually specialized in larger animals, including horses, cattle and elephants.

South of Van Nuys airport in the San Fernando Valley. It was converted into an ANG communications squadron base. My CAP squadron was based there for a few years, evicted because they were going to "tear down those buildings in that area." CA WG HQ later moved into that same area (into the same, but nominally updated, buildings) and the squadron moved back as well.

[USACAP]

The BOMARC site in NJ can be visited with permission.
It's worth checking out if you're into that sort of thing ...

New Jersey Bomarc accident, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BOMARC_Missile_Accident_Site

More:

http://www.readex.com/blog/bomarc-missile-plutonium-spill-crisis-exercises-propaganda-and-containment-1960-and-beyond

Another incident completely destroying a New Jersey Nike (not BOMARC) facility:

http://www3.gendisasters.com/new-jersey/14060/leonardo-nj-nike-missile-explosion-may-1958

Edited to add:

More Nike accidents:

http://www.techbastard.com/missile/nike/accidents.php

[xray328]

There were several in the Chicago area.

There's one in Naperville, IL that's now a sports complex called "Nike Park".  I'm guessing most of the folks think it's named after the shoes...lol.

http://www.napervilleparks.org/parks/nike-sports-complex

http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM1TC5_C_70_Naperville_Illinois

[CAP_truth]

Tinley Park Composite Squadron in Illinois held there meeting at a nike site for many years back in the 60s and 70s.