No.2Diesel
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- Huntington, NY
Hi,
I Thought for a little bit as to where to post this... There should be a "Cold War Discussion Forum" for stuff like this...Any way I hope you enjoy these pics. The following is a short summation on the topic. The first three attachments are .pdfs that explain in better detail.
This missile system was created in the 50s to defend against an attack by waves of Soviet bombers carrying nuclear munitions in their bomb bays. Think Dr. Strangelove. As time and technology progressed this system became absolete as ICBMs were the new threat. It was later found that the ruskies didn't even have a full time bomber force comparable to our SAC (thankfully.)
From the 50s to 1970s these missile batteries were commonplace surrounding populated places and places of significance. Usually made up of two seperate properties consisting of the launch platforms/missile storage and the radar fire direction site.
In my neck of the woods there were seven on L.I. and I remember exploring some of the defunct sites as a kid. Most people didn't even know they were in the neighborhood. The missiles were stored horizontally in shallow bunkers with steel doors that opened downward. Additional missiles could be stored underground and slid on rails to be loaded onto the launcher/erector. The launch sites didn't have much military vehicle assets other than missile dollies and maybe trailers. I have seen several pics that show civilian trucking compaines doing the transport.
There were a couple hundred or more batteries constructed and some still survive. Research your area and you might stumble upon something neat. The best preserved missile battery with the most missiles and aux. equipment (and the only functioning launcher/erector) is located just North of San Francisco at SF-88 within the NPS GNRA. The volunteer organization responsible for the restoration even employs a 5ton wrecker.
There are a few active Nike batteries still located in NATO countries.
Enjoy these pics as they contain several types of military vehicles and trailers that are associated with the operation of the Nike Missile system.
I Thought for a little bit as to where to post this... There should be a "Cold War Discussion Forum" for stuff like this...Any way I hope you enjoy these pics. The following is a short summation on the topic. The first three attachments are .pdfs that explain in better detail.
This missile system was created in the 50s to defend against an attack by waves of Soviet bombers carrying nuclear munitions in their bomb bays. Think Dr. Strangelove. As time and technology progressed this system became absolete as ICBMs were the new threat. It was later found that the ruskies didn't even have a full time bomber force comparable to our SAC (thankfully.)
From the 50s to 1970s these missile batteries were commonplace surrounding populated places and places of significance. Usually made up of two seperate properties consisting of the launch platforms/missile storage and the radar fire direction site.
In my neck of the woods there were seven on L.I. and I remember exploring some of the defunct sites as a kid. Most people didn't even know they were in the neighborhood. The missiles were stored horizontally in shallow bunkers with steel doors that opened downward. Additional missiles could be stored underground and slid on rails to be loaded onto the launcher/erector. The launch sites didn't have much military vehicle assets other than missile dollies and maybe trailers. I have seen several pics that show civilian trucking compaines doing the transport.
There were a couple hundred or more batteries constructed and some still survive. Research your area and you might stumble upon something neat. The best preserved missile battery with the most missiles and aux. equipment (and the only functioning launcher/erector) is located just North of San Francisco at SF-88 within the NPS GNRA. The volunteer organization responsible for the restoration even employs a 5ton wrecker.
There are a few active Nike batteries still located in NATO countries.
Enjoy these pics as they contain several types of military vehicles and trailers that are associated with the operation of the Nike Missile system.
![[thumbzup]](https://www.steelsoldiers.com/images/smilies/icon_smile_thumzup.gif "Thumbs Up [thumbzup]"){kind=icon}
Up the road from me we have a Atlas missle silo. There were a few of them around Plattsburg AFB. They were only operational for a short time.
