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Posted: 5/13/2024 8:38:12 PM EDT
[#1]
Park where Milwaukee hold its annual Summerfest used to be a Nike Ajax base.
Was Nike Hercules bases in Waukesha and River Hills WI. |
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Posted: 5/13/2024 8:39:21 PM EDT
[#2]
I remember when I was a kid in the mid 60s that my Father "helped" me build this model kit. I loved it so much since he was the missile batter commander for one.
  Later when he was reassigned to Hawk battery we built this model.   Damn they want a lot of money for those old model kits. |
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Posted: 5/13/2024 8:48:23 PM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Frens: One site well part of it has been turned into a museum here in Italy https://i.postimg.cc/z3mSWcXY/IMG-9548.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/xCc43BYX/IMG-9509.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/6qZbDR8w/IMG-9511.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/RFybsGVX/IMG-9519.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/qB6FhfjY/IMG-9521.jpg Did they have any warhead stuff or the... mission select plug? |
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VA, USA
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Posted: 5/13/2024 8:49:42 PM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By GonnaNeedaBiggerBoat: There was one in the town I live in, way back in the woods, but I never got around to going back there to explore. They had already demolished all the buildings anyway, it was just the underground stull and launch pad remaining. Whiting in the Pine Barrens of Central New Jersey? |
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KY, USA
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Posted: 5/13/2024 8:53:47 PM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By sgthatred: I remember when I was a kid in the mid 60s that my Father "helped" me build this model kit. I loved it so much since he was the missile batter commander for one. https://www.oldmodelkits.com/jpegs/r/Revell%208648%20NiAjax.JPGhttps://modelingmadness.com/scott/misc/realspace/najaxd.jpg Later when he was reassigned to Hawk battery we built this model. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2b/5d/5b/2b5d5b0801daee2b1376acc37ebf5c82.jpghttp://prairie-works.com/modelimages/hawkmissile2.jpg Damn they want a lot of money for those old model kits. They've been reproduced. |
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USA
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Posted: 5/13/2024 9:10:18 PM EDT
[#6]
I grew up by one in Redmond Washington, it was turned into a park.
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Posted: 5/13/2024 9:33:12 PM EDT
[Last Edit: KELBEAST]
[#7]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Bigger_Hammer: Those are HAWKs, not NIKEs NIKE was based at large fixed bases, Vs. HAWK which designed to be smaller & mobile (as in moved in & set up along the coast)  Bigger_Hammer  Edited: There were 4 actual Hawk sites in the Keys, plus a Nike complex up on Card Sound Road. The one at the northern tip of Fleming Key is now the Army SF dive school. The one behind the airport was a paintball field for a while. And the one on Geiger and up by “sub pens” (housing that was never finished) are abandoned. Hawk:      Nike:   |
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Posted: 5/13/2024 9:45:08 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By sixnine: We have some near me. One was turned into a paintball/airsoft field and incorporates the buildings into the games. https://maps.app.goo.gl/N14frLJA5b9zKJwUA?g_st=ic and across the field to the northeast is the Launch site Played there a few times, probably still have some helmet cam footage around somewhere from some of those scenarios. |
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CO, USA
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Posted: 5/14/2024 12:18:14 AM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By high_order1: I'd love to go to the one in san francisco, it looks from the flickr pics people have put up that it is pretty well still together. I have been, when I was there, there were a buncha vets hanging out. It wasn't open, but they left the gate open. I walked in. The girl I was with at the time was terrified by the "deadly force authorized" signs on the perimeter fence I was walking through. The missile elevator worked and I got to move, by hand, Nike Herc missiles on the rails. I had a freedom boner. |
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CO, USA
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Posted: 5/14/2024 12:29:23 AM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Yankel: Whiting in the Pine Barrens of Central New Jersey? Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Yankel: Originally Posted By GonnaNeedaBiggerBoat: There was one in the town I live in, way back in the woods, but I never got around to going back there to explore. They had already demolished all the buildings anyway, it was just the underground stull and launch pad remaining. Whiting in the Pine Barrens of Central New Jersey? Whiting is more South Jersey. There was one in Central Jersey off Jake Brown Rd. in Old Bridge. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 12:50:43 AM EDT
[#11]
I grew up exploring the ones at Sandy Hook NJ, and my wife went to school at a converted Nike site in MO. Crazy how ubiquitous they were.
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Posted: 5/14/2024 12:59:06 AM EDT
[#12]
Wife grew up with one behind her home in CA.
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ITA
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Posted: 5/14/2024 1:05:04 AM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By high_order1: NEAT pics! Did they have any warhead stuff or the... mission select plug? I’m not really into missiles stuff  They had all sort of stuff and afaik it’s the only site open to the public in Europe. The Italian Air Force was able to send some old radar stuff & extra systems to put on display Since it was not a US base there were not nuke warheads even though I’m sure in case of shtf the us would have been happy to donate some since they were available not far from there  
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USA
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Posted: 5/14/2024 1:25:41 AM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By AZ_Gun_Nut: One if them was turned into a security training facility and shooting range When I was into IPSC back in the 90's, we drove down from Syracuse to shoot the state regional tournament there. I think it was a former BOMARC site. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 1:30:11 AM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By BillofRights: I grew up exploring the ones at Sandy Hook NJ, and my wife went to school at a converted Nike site in MO. Crazy how ubiquitous they were. I also went to school at a converted Nike site in MO. Where I grew up it is where we did kindergarten & 5th grade 
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Posted: 5/14/2024 5:21:14 AM EDT
[#16]
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Posted: 5/14/2024 6:09:31 AM EDT
[Last Edit: eracer]
[#17]
- Deleted -
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Posted: 5/14/2024 6:16:07 AM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Rob940: Park where Milwaukee hold its annual Summerfest used to be a Nike Ajax base. Was Nike Hercules bases in Waukesha and River Hills WI. Late 60's, early 70's. I grew up right next to the Nike Hercules control center in Waukesha. We used to ride our minibikes around it. I thought the 'Deadly Force Authorized' signs on the fence were awesome. Our scout troop got a tour of it once. It was pretty cool. Never got that Missile Badge, though. |
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NH, USA
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Posted: 5/14/2024 6:41:50 AM EDT
[#19]
I was a 461 at Holloman AFB in "76/"77. We supported the Test Track by stripping flight hardware off various missiles, including Nikes. We were told that the Track had a sled that held 13 Nike missile motors that would get the sled going Mach 8; the fastest thing on land at the time. They are still using Nike motors at the Track today; I never knew there were so many made.
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Posted: 5/14/2024 6:43:41 AM EDT
[#20]
Seen a couple in Coastal VA. There’s one next to the Williamsburg airport behind the trailer park and there’s one down near Wallace’s marina as well.
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TX, USA
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Posted: 5/14/2024 6:54:15 AM EDT
[#21]
Have dove in a Atlas Missile silo.
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Posted: 5/14/2024 6:58:40 AM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Firearmsenthusiast: We had Sprint missile base in ND with a large over the horizon radar. The pyramid on the prairie. The sprint missile was about the most insane thing we ever built during the cold war. 0 to Mach 10 in 5 seconds with a nuclear payload. Shooting a nuke at a nuke... what could go wrong.... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ebae82a4635d50f35a002ee/1589368702466-LZDW21X1CV1DK6CRY8W2/IMG_0605.JPG https://www.warhistoryonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/64/2023/03/sprint-missile-63501.png Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Firearmsenthusiast: We had Sprint missile base in ND with a large over the horizon radar. The pyramid on the prairie. The sprint missile was about the most insane thing we ever built during the cold war. 0 to Mach 10 in 5 seconds with a nuclear payload. Shooting a nuke at a nuke... what could go wrong.... The conical Sprint was stored in and launched from a silo. To make the launch as quick as possible, the missile which was ejected by an explosive-driven piston simply blasted through the fiberglass silo cover. As the missile cleared the silo at 0.6 seconds, the first stage fired and the missile was tilted toward its target. The first stage was exhausted after only 1.2 seconds, but produced 650,000 pounds-force (2,900 kilonewtons) of thrust. On separation, the spent first stage disintegrated due to aerodynamic forces. The second stage fired within 1 to 2 seconds of launch. Interception at an altitude of 1 to 19 miles (1.5 to 30 km) took at most 15 seconds. Sprint accelerated at 100 g, reaching a speed of Mach 10 (12,000 km/h; 7,600 mph) in 5 seconds. Such a high velocity at relatively low altitudes created skin temperatures up to 6,200 °F (3,400 °C), requiring an ablative shield to dissipate the heat.[2][3] The high temperature caused a plasma to form around the missile, requiring extremely powerful radio signals to reach it for guidance. The missile glowed bright white as it flew. The first stage's Hercules X-265 engine is believed to have contained alternating layers of zirconium "staples" embedded in nitrocellulose powder, followed by gelatinizing with nitroglycerine, thus forming a higher thrust double-base powder.[12][13] The Sprint was controlled by ground-based radio command guidance, which tracked the incoming reentry vehicles with phased array radar and guided the missile to its target. The Sprint was armed with an enhanced radiation nuclear warhead with a yield reportedly of a few kilotons, though the exact number has not been declassified. The warhead was intended to destroy the incoming reentry vehicle primarily by neutron flux. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ebae82a4635d50f35a002ee/1589368702466-LZDW21X1CV1DK6CRY8W2/IMG_0605.JPG https://www.warhistoryonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/64/2023/03/sprint-missile-63501.png Watch the rocket start to glow at 25 sec.   Sprint Missile |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 8:03:11 AM EDT
[#23]
The one by me operated from 1955 to 1963 according to wikipedia. It is now used by the school district for vehicle parking and maybe some vocational classes. There's some photo's online - not much left above ground.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=nike+missile+base+lido+beach+ny#ip=1&lpg=cid:CgIgAQ%3D%3D,ik:CAoSLEFGMVFpcE1XQjZLZERBYWJNSVBYd3dUYThkWEx4dGRjYlhsTU5IOWhxN19l 
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Posted: 5/14/2024 8:12:33 AM EDT
[#24]
We had a pretty good view of Site Summit north of Anchorage from the house I grew up in. I think that was the last operational site.
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Posted: 5/14/2024 9:45:38 AM EDT
[#25]
Full disclosure--I may be the last person on ARFcom to be a Nike missile launcher operator. It's not that I'm incredibly old or anything...In a previous job, we used Nike RADAR systems retrofitted with cameras to track aircraft/weapon systems under development. Manually following cruise missiles was a bitch, but we had guys that had been doing it for years and were awesome at it.
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Posted: 5/14/2024 9:49:23 AM EDT
[#26]
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Posted: 5/14/2024 10:42:47 AM EDT
[#27]
My parents house after my dad retired from the Air Force was right near the Independent Hill, VA site/. At the time it also served as the prince William county school board HQ. I remember wandering around to the old buildings. The tower structure you see in the photos was filled to the brim with old school; desks. No organization. Like a giant dump truck just dumped them in. This was in the late 80s. It’s still used by PWC schools, and I drive by it fairly frequently on my way to shop at the MCX on Quantico. I always wonder if those damn desks are still in there
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Posted: 5/14/2024 2:30:55 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Frens: I'm not really into missiles stuff They had all sort of stuff and afaik it's the only site open to the public in Europe. The Italian Air Force was able to send some old radar stuff & extra systems to put on display Since it was not a US base there were not nuke warheads even though I'm sure in case of shtf the us would have been happy to donate some since they were available not far from there https://i.postimg.cc/4dpJsW2F/IMG-5570.jpg |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 3:23:39 PM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Sixtigers: Full disclosure--I may be the last person on ARFcom to be a Nike missile launcher operator. It's not that I'm incredibly old or anything...In a previous job, we used Nike RADAR systems retrofitted with cameras to track aircraft/weapon systems under development. Manually following cruise missiles was a bitch, but we had guys that had been doing it for years and were awesome at it. Thats freaking cool |
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AL, USA
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Posted: 5/14/2024 4:12:57 PM EDT
[#30]
I was a Nike Radar mechanic from 80-84. 24P Defense Acquisition Radar Mechanic. I did my basic training, first AIT (16C), the 24P school at Fort Bliss. My first duty station was McGregor range just north of El Paso. Bravo 2/52, I think. We maintained the systems the Japanese and Dutch used to do live fire training. I got to watch a lot of Nike Hercules launches and a few Pershing and Pershing II launches while I was there. The Vulcan and Sergeant York night live fires were cool to watch too. Then it was off to Pforzheim, Germany for a tour at Delta 3/71. It was the last active US Nike site in Europe. Yes, we had nukes. I got to go to Crete for a live fire, but I was in the van for that one and didn't get to see the launch.
I feel for the 95B that posted earlier about being stationed at an air defense site in Germany in the 80s. The MPs attached to our unit worked a brutal schedule. Most of it in a guard tower if you were an E4 or below. There are several active Nike Facebook groups for anyone that is interested. |
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IN, USA
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Posted: 5/14/2024 4:15:48 PM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By sixnine: We have some near me. One was turned into a paintball/airsoft field and incorporates the buildings into the games. https://maps.app.goo.gl/N14frLJA5b9zKJwUA?g_st=ic and across the field to the northeast is the Launch site I'm going there on the 25th to play. I haven't played paintball in 20 years. Lol |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 4:23:52 PM EDT
[#32]
Very cool! We have several NIKE sites around the Pittsburgh area as well as other smaller sites for other uses. I happened on one about a year ago and looked into the program a bit. I had no idea it was as extensive as it was but it is a really cool chapter of the Cold War for sure!
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Posted: 5/14/2024 4:27:14 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Bigger_Hammer]
[#33]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Frens: I’m not really into missiles stuff They had all sort of stuff and afaik it’s the only site open to the public in Europe. The Italian Air Force was able to send some old radar stuff & extra systems to put on display Since it was not a US base there were not nuke warheads even though I’m sure in case of shtf the us would have been happy to donate some since they were available not far from there https://i.postimg.cc/4dpJsW2F/IMG-5570.jpg Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Frens: Originally Posted By high_order1: NEAT pics! Did they have any warhead stuff or the... mission select plug? I’m not really into missiles stuff They had all sort of stuff and afaik it’s the only site open to the public in Europe. The Italian Air Force was able to send some old radar stuff & extra systems to put on display Since it was not a US base there were not nuke warheads even though I’m sure in case of shtf the us would have been happy to donate some since they were available not far from there https://i.postimg.cc/4dpJsW2F/IMG-5570.jpg Great photos! Not a lot of people know that the NIKE Hercules SAM had a secondary Surface to Surface profile by which it could deliver a nuclear warhead to a ground target. Bigger_Hammer
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AL, USA
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Posted: 5/14/2024 4:54:33 PM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Bigger_Hammer: Not a lot of people know that the NIKE Hercules SAM had a secondary Surface to Surface profile by which it could deliver a nuclear warhead to a ground target. |
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ITA
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Posted: 5/14/2024 4:58:54 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Bigger_Hammer: Great photos! Not a lot of people know that the NIKE Hercules SAM had a secondary Surface to Surface profile by which it could deliver a nuclear warhead to a ground target. Bigger_Hammer Base Tuono pictured above was located in an area where my dad worked as mil/leo.. he knew the place very well. Later on he moved to Vicenza area and did cooperate closely with US forces stationed there. Site Pluto was totally US base and used to have nukes. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 5:13:33 PM EDT
[#36]
Albany GA used to be a B-52 base. There were two old Nike areas nearby. One was not far from our house. In the 1980s, my kids used to go into the old launch bunkers. Doors had been removed and only a few random wires and gauges with busted glass. The missile launchers were gone of course but their pads remained.
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Posted: 5/14/2024 5:39:52 PM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Waldo: I remember the one just East of Cleveland along the shoreway (I think) from when I was a kid. Sometimes you'd drive by and there would be a missile out on a launcher. Navy Pay Center though there was mention of them moving a few years ago. Pretty sure it links up with the salt mines under Lake Erie. Twenty years ago as I approached the East Gate in Brahtenahl half dozen black limos came blasting out of the gate. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 5:42:13 PM EDT
[#38]
Grew up just outside of Boston. Not only did we have old Nike locations all over the area, we still had old coastal artillery / Endicott fortifications all over the place.
Long Island, off the coast of Quincy, MA, for example has the remnants of a Nike battery AND and two Endicott fortifications (Battery Taylor and Battery Hitchcock) all within a mile of each other. Massachusetts may be a liberal shithole, but if you look around the coastal areas and out into the islands of Boston Harbor, there's still lots of old fortifications everywhere. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 5:42:27 PM EDT
[#39]
All kinds of Nike awesome at the artillery museum at Ft. Bliss
 Attached File Attached FileMy stepson is a Patriot tech |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 6:21:33 PM EDT
[Last Edit: high_order1]
[#40]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Bigger_Hammer: Great photos! Not a lot of people know that the NIKE Hercules SAM had a secondary Surface to Surface profile by which it could deliver a nuclear warhead to a ground target. Bigger_Hammer Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Bigger_Hammer: Great photos! Not a lot of people know that the NIKE Hercules SAM had a secondary Surface to Surface profile by which it could deliver a nuclear warhead to a ground target. Bigger_Hammer That is exactly why I asked the question I did. The plugs for the san franscisco ones appear to be missing from the exhibit, but I think I see one in another display... (edit - blood sugar is dropping so I think I am getting missile systems mixed up, here is the picture where I found it:  ) https://www.flickr.com/photos/nuclearanthro/53693669452/  Attached FileOriginally Posted By PoopdeckPappy: D 3/71 went through two NATO tactical evaluations while I was there. The mission we drew both times was nuking the bridges crossing the Neckar in Heidelberg. I just read a book by a guy who talked about how rough some of those evaluations could be, especially considering what the weather and trying to navigate the existing streets were like. And then getting food to those points... Lot of respect for you guys. |
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CT, USA
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Posted: 5/14/2024 6:53:09 PM EDT
[Last Edit: PhatForrest]
[#41]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By fsj_man: My father commanded a site in Connecticut. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/34385/IMG_4953_jpeg-3214042.JPG https://coldwar-ct.com/Nike_HA-26_Portland.html This battery was the first one I got a chance to check out. It's located in Meshomasic State Forest. There's not much left to either the radar or launch site now unfortunately, just lots of building foundations, filled in launch bunkers, staircases, and a water tank. You can get into one of the launch bunkers if you squeeze in past the boulders, but I'm not going down there, Meshomasic SF is home to the largest concentration of rattlesnakes in the state. |
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GA, USA
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Posted: 5/14/2024 7:08:07 PM EDT
[#42]
If I remember correctly the Nike guidance system on the ground was very robust and reconfigurable. Also the tracking system was repurposed for system testing other missile systems.
The US used to build things. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 7:29:18 PM EDT
[#43]
Used to shoot at the one down KGB Rd across the river from Anchorage before Palin or her replacement had it shut down. There is a start to a great bike trail at the one in south Anchorage. Rucking up towards Site Summit across from Rich's gate was a bitch.
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Posted: 5/14/2024 8:27:19 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Merlin]
[#44]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Firearmsenthusiast: We had Sprint missile base in ND with a large over the horizon radar. The pyramid on the prairie. The sprint missile was about the most insane thing we ever built during the cold war. 0 to Mach 10 in 5 seconds with a nuclear payload. Shooting a nuke at a nuke... what could go wrong.... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ebae82a4635d50f35a002ee/1589368702466-LZDW21X1CV1DK6CRY8W2/IMG_0605.JPG https://www.warhistoryonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/64/2023/03/sprint-missile-63501.png   The Pyramid on the Prairie:  The other part of the Safeguard System still in use today: The six 3 MWe generators from the Stanley R. Mikkelson site near Nekoma ND (Pyramid on the Prairie site) are now powering the Eareckson Air Station on Shemya Island in the Aleutians Islands. |
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AL, USA
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Posted: 5/15/2024 2:06:43 PM EDT
[#45]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Clovis_Ledbetter_Jr: If I remember correctly the Nike guidance system on the ground was very robust and reconfigurable. Also the tracking system was repurposed for system testing other missile systems. The US used to build things. |
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