old nike missile battery

[diveplane]

I recently went to sandy hook beach in nj US, came across some old nike and military facilities scattered all over the coastline.

 

http://nikemissile.org/sandyhook.shtml

 

wiki data below for anyone unfamiliar with nike systems.

 

Project Nike was a U.S. Army project, proposed in May 1945 by Bell Laboratories, to develop a line-of-sight anti-aircraft missile system. The project delivered the United States' first operational anti-aircraft missile system, the Nike Ajax, in 1953. A great number of the technologies and rocket systems used for developing the Nike Ajax were re-used for a number of functions, many of which were given the "Nike" name (after Nike, the goddess of victory from Greek mythology). The missile's first-stage solid rocket booster became the basis for many types of rocket including the Nike Hercules missile and NASA's Nike Smoke rocket, used for upper-atmosphere research.

 

link to site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Nike

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some of my pics to share sandy hook NJ nike and artillery sites.

 

sandy hook NJ USA

 

careful when wondering around sandy hook u might just step on a unexploded piece of ordnance.

warning post below.

 

nike missile types left is the hercules version and i think thats the ajax version to the right , they did a nuclear warhead version of the hercules that packed a 20 kt warhead.

 

close up of hercules nike missile.

 

one of the control surfaces, nike hercules

 

 

in memory of the men that died accident at surrounding nike base site.

.................history of accident...

On May 22, 1958, during a modification of Nike Ajax Missiles, something went wrong. Ten souls lost their lives in a chain reaction explosion of eight Nike Ajax Missiles.

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monument

 

old decommissioned military buildings lay scattered everywhere across sandy hook beaches with concrete watch towers and bunkers everywhere.

 

pic below is a artillery battery enplacement i think or once the storage facility of the nike missiles.

 

pic below is one of the many old military personnel barracks once housed the nike crews on watch back in the 50s to 70s, some of the buildings have been sold off to pvt owners, maintained and fixed up and used as summer retreat vacation houses, this one below appears disused.

 

 

old coastal artillery cannon and cannon balls

 

anyway just a few pics to share hope yous enjoy them.

Edited June 26, 2012 by diveplane

[Teej]

Yup, there was a Nike site close to my house as well. It's a public park now.

 

The old radar dish, and their water storage tank visible in the background...it had tennis courts set up on its roof.

 

Edited June 25, 2012 by Teej

[diveplane]

never a dull momment on a nike site .

 

read some of the horror stories below.

 

quote 2 from link below..........

Finding warhead seal broken moving it up range for maintenance and doing it up wind (Black sargent turns white)

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Battery B, 5th Battalion, 6th Air Defense Artillery:

 

On a hill with our radars, we were on hot status. Suddenly we heard a number of shots. We called for immediate backup! One of our MPs had fallen asleep in the guard shack with a full load of ammo in his M16. Life was never dull on the hill. Down range we had a MP who lost it and decided to shoot at our Nukes. He was escorted to the nearby hospital.

 

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http://nikemissile.org/dangers_working_on.shtml

[diveplane]

intresting video

Close look at a Nike Hercules Missile Guidance & Warhead

 

[diveplane]

Mating (attach) the W31 Nuclear Warhead to the Nike Hercules Missile

 

http://ed-thelen.org/Mating-W31.html

 

1950's Nike Hercules Integrated Fire Control

Edited June 26, 2012 by diveplane