The following is a list of Nike missile sites operated by the United States Army. This article lists sites in the United States, most responsible to Army Air Defense Command; however, the Army also deployed Nike missiles to Europe as part of the NATO alliance, with sites being operated by both American and European military forces. U.S. Army Nike sites were also operational in South Korea, Japan and were sold to Taiwan.[1]
Leftover traces of the approximately 265[2] Nike missile bases can still be seen around cities across the United States. As the sites were decommissioned, they were first offered to federal agencies. Many were already on Army National Guard bases who continued to use the property. Others were offered to state and local governments, while others were sold to school districts. The leftovers were offered to private individuals. Many Nike sites are now municipal yards, communications, and FAA facilities, probation camps, and even renovated for use as airsoft gaming and military simulation training complexes. Several were obliterated and turned into parks. Some are now private residences. Only a few are intact and preserve the history of the Nike project.
Belgium
General Belgian Nike info: The Nike missile system was operational in the Belgian airforce from 1959 until 1990. It was organized into a Missile Group (the overall staffing); a Support Wing (tech and log support), and 2 (9th and 13th) Missile Wings, each with 4 subordinate units. All Belgian Nike sites were in the 2 ATAF part of then West-Germany. Their defending area was the industrial Ruhr area.
Blankenheim in the federal state of Nordrhein Westfalen (NRW). Unit: 13th Missile Wing, 51st (B) Squadron 1961–1989. Operating 36x Nike Herc. (10x Nuclear armed) US custodians: 43rd (B) USAAD. Former IFC at 50°26'45"N 06°40'27"E. Former LA at 50°26'29"N 6°41'52"E. Unit disbanded and site closed.
Düren in NRW. Units: Hq 13th Missile Wing; Missile Support Wing; Group Operations Center and 50th (A) Squadron 1959–1990. Former combined IFC/LA location at 50°41'20"N 06°30'13" E when operating 12 x Nike Ajax missiles. This became the IFC when 50th Sq started Nike Herc ops. 36x Nike Herc. (10x Nuclear-armed) US Custodians: 43rd (C) USAAD. LA then moved to 50°42'44" N 6°32'3"E. Unit disbanded, and the site closed.
Erle [de] in NRW.[3][4] Unit: 13th Missile Wing, 57th (D) Squadron 1974–1984. Note: The site was taken over from the Netherlands air force in 1974, becoming ops in 1975 as 13th Missile Wing/57 Sq operating 36x Nike Herc conventional role. The unit was later reassigned to the 9th Missile Wing/57th Sq as it was the most Northern Belgian site. Former IFC demolished. Former LA at 51°44'21"N 6°53'53"E. Unit disbanded, closing the site.
Euskirchen in NRW. Unit: 13th Missile Wing, 52nd (C) Squadron 1959–1986. Operating 36 x Nike Herc (10x nuclear-armed) US custodians: 43rd (A) USAAD. Former IFC at 50°37'20"N 06°44'37"E. Former LA at 50°37'36" N 6°45'38" E. Unit disbanded, and the site closed.
Grefrath in NRW. Units: Belgian Group Missiles 1959–1990; staffing and liaison element between the Nike Wings and the Belgian air force staff. Family lodging was at nearby Kempen; Hq 9th Missile Wing; Group Operations Center; 56th Squadron 51°20'56"N 6°20'02"E.
Hinsbeck in NRW. 9th Missile Wing, 56th (C) Squadron 1962–1989. Operating 36x Nike Herc (10x Nuclear-armed) US custodians: B team 507th USAAD. Former IFC demolished. Former LA at 51°21'56"N 6°17'25" E. Unit disbanded, closing the site.
Hombroich in NRW. 9th Missile Wing, 55th (B) Squadron 1962–1985. Operating 36x Nike Herc (10x Nuclear-armed) US custodians: C team 507th USAAD. Former IFC at 51°8'27.30"N 6°37'26.49"E. Former LA at 51°9'6"N 6°38'35"E is now a modern art museum. Military family housing 53rd and 55th Squadrons were nearby Grevenbroich. The unit disbanded, and the site closed.
Kaster in NRW. 9th Missile Wing, 53rd (D) Squadron 1959–1978. Reassigned 13th Missile Wing / 56th Sq 1979–1985. Operating 36x Nike Herc missiles (10x Nuclear-armed) US custodians: 43rd (A) USAAD. Former IFC at 51°01'25"N 06°58'36" E. Former LA at 51°1'24"N 6°29'49"E. Unit disbanded, and the site closed.
Xanten in NRW. 9th Missile Wing, 54th (A) Squadron 1971–1989. Operating 36x Nike Herc (10x Nuclear-armed) US custodians: A team 507th USAAD. The former basecamp at 51°38'50"N 06°26'31" E was rebuilt into an automotive area. Former IFC at 51°38'30"N 06°22'34" E. Former LA at 51°38'48"N 6°24'33"E. Unit disbanded, and the site closed.
NIKE sites around the danish capital of Copenhagen Missile site, Radar site and Air stations Missile launch control center Staf/HQ, training and maintenance
Germany
94th ADA Group, headquartered in Kaiserslautern for most of the Nike-Hercules period had four battalions as follows, with locations:
2/1 ADA headquartered at Wiesbaden Air Base
- A Battery: Wackernheim
- B Battery: Dexheim
- C Battery: Quirnheim
- D Battery: Dichtelbach
5/6 ADA headquartered in Neubruecke
- A Battery: Schoenborn
- B Battery: Wueschheim
- C Battery: Baumholder
- D Battery: Hontheim
2/56 ADA headquartered in Pirmasens
- A Battery: Geinsheim
- B Battery: Landau
- C Battery: Salzwoog
- D Battery: Oberauerbach
3/71 ADA headquartered in Ludwigsburg
- A Battery: Dallau
- B Battery: Grosssachsenheim
- C Battery: Hardheim
- D Battery: Pforzheim
- In Pforzheim (Hagenschieß/Wurmberg), in Baden-Württemberg there is a missile launch site operated by the US-Army until April 1985.
It was part of the Nike-Belt, a defense system which was created to defend Europe against the then newly invented jets. The site fired Nike missiles at potentially incoming jets as part of the Project Nike.
Greece
Italy
Japan
On Okinawa, the 30th ADA Brigade was on Okinawa. On Reversion Day, May 15, 1972, all Nike Hercules missile sites were handed over to the JASDF. Battery B,8th Battalion,3rd Air Defense Brigade was located on the Chinen peninsula in southern part of the island. The U.S. reverted the islands to Japan on May 15, 1972, setting back a Ryūkyū independence movement that had emerged.
Netherlands
Norway
Spain
Turkey
Taiwan
United States
This list is sorted by state. The "Missile type" code indicates the numbers and types of missiles and other installation details. For example, "2AK/18L-H" means the site contained two Nike Ajax magazines (A), located above ground (K), with eight launchers (8L) being converted to Nike Hercules (H). Many listings will have "FDS" following either the control site or launch site heading, which means that the site has gone through the "Formerly-Used Defense Site" program and has been transferred from DoD control to another party. With the exception of Alaska, in which sites were given a specific name, Nike missile sites were designated by a coding system of the Defense Area Name abbreviation; a two-digit number representing the degree from north converted to a number between 01 and 99 (North being 01; East being 25; South being 50; West being 75), and a letter, L = launch site, C = IFC (Integrated Fire Control) site. The Formerly Used Defense Sites (FDS) program processed many former sites and then transferred them out of Defense Department control.[7]
Alaska
The Alaska Nike sites were under the control of United States Army Alaska (USARAK), rather than Army Air Defense Command.
California
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Illinois and Northwest Indiana
Kansas
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland/District of Columbia/Northern Virginia
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
New Jersey
Links: Sandy Hook Tours :: Site NY-56 :: Gateway National Park :: NJ 14 Missile Bases :: NY-56 History :: Trip Advisor :: Highlands Air Force Station
^"Summary of Nike Missile Batteries" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 6, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
^"VCE Oudgedienden Erle". publius.biz (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 March 2019.
^"Die Erler Nike/Hercules Flarak-Batterie". kleerbaum.de (in German). Retrieved 1 March 2019.
^"Cieli fiammeggianti, dalla Guerra fredda a Base Tuono", by Alberto Mario Carnevale, Eugenio Ferracin, Maurizio Struffi, 2021, second edition
^Nuclear Battlefields - Global Links in the Arms Race, by William M. Arkin and Richard W. Fieldhouse, 1985
^John C. Lonnquest; David F. Winkler (November 1996). To Defend and Deter: The Legacy of the United States Cold War Missile Program (USA-CERL Special Report, 97/01). US Army. p. 452. ISBN 99961-75-71-5.
^"Nikesummit.org: Friends of Nike Site Summit". Nikesitesummit.org. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
^"Nike Missile Locations California".
^"Travis Defense Area". California Military Museum. Retrieved 2017-10-22.
^"Nike Missile Site – Golden Gate National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)". Nps.gov. 2013-10-20. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
^Rings of Supersonic Steel
^"The sun grows the grapes at Jones Farms winery in Shelton. Soon it will power machinery as well". 12 May 2021.
^Leary, Joseph (2004). A Shared Landscape: A Guide & History of Connecticut's State Parks & Forests. Hartford, CT: Friends of Connecticut State Parks Inc. pp. 84–85. ISBN 0-9746629-0-9. Archived from the original on 2010-08-24. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
^"65Th Artillery History".
^"Nike Missile Site C-41 – Promontory Point – Jackson Park, Chicago IL – Michael Epperson". M-epperson.home.comcast.net. Archived from the original on 2009-06-18. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
^"ARADCOM Nike Ajax Missile Site C-41". ed-thelen.org.
^"At missile site, 'on our toes' day and night". Gazette.net. 2007-04-18. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
^"Enclosure - High Value Asset List" (PDF). Public Buildings Reform Board. United States Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
^U.S. General Services Administration. "GSA Auctions – Former NIKE Site D-58".
^Cousino, Dean. "Construction has begun at former Nike base near Newport". Monroe Evening News. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
^Workman, Karen. "Fire at old Commerce Twp. missile site called suspicious". The Oakland Press. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
^ a b"Lumberton's Cold War Legacy: Nike Missile Battery PH-23/25. By Donald E. Bender". alpha.fdu.edu. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
^Optimization study aims to expedite Nike CD-78, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District, public affairs. Published Oct. 29, 2015.
^"Sports Complex Coming to Former Military Base" Archived 2012-09-15 at the Wayback Machine, Gloucester Township Patch, 25 Jan 2011.
^Slaby, MJ. "Cold War to cold brews: Pittsburgh's nuclear history is becoming a brewery's new home". The Incline. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
^"University of Texas System". Archived from the original on 2016-10-11. Retrieved 2016-09-22.
^"Nike Missile Norfolk Defense Area Virginia".
^Zambos, Ted. "History of the Four Grand". The Four Grand. Archived from the original on 2007-01-15. Retrieved 2006-12-06.
^ a b"Former Four Lakes Communications Station". U.S. Air Force Civil Engineering Center. May 10, 2013. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
^"Kent district to demolish two schools for new facilities". 30 May 2019.
^ a b c d"Nike Missile: To Defend and Deter" (website). NikeSite.org. Retrieved 2012-04-01. Webpages: 2) "Site M-74 Waukesha, Wisconsin;". 3) "Nike Overview / History;". … 17) "Milwaukee Defense Area locations;".
^"Welcome to nginx!". news.google.com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
^ a b c d"Air Defense Command in Area Reorganized" (Google News Archive). The Milwaukee Journal. August 24, 1961. Retrieved 2012-04-18. Milwaukee air defense…consists of…three Nike Hercules missile batteries and two national guard Nike Ajax missile batteries. The Nike Hercules batteries are at Maitland airstrip…Brown Deer rd., River Hills, and on Davidson rd. near Waukesha county trunk Y … Ajax batteries are at Martin rd. east [sic] of Little Muskego lake and at 4828 W. Silver Spring dr. … air defense command [post] 4828 W. Silver Spring dr.
^"US Nike Missile Sites" (KML spreadsheet). Ed Thelen's Nike Missile Web Site. Ed-Thelen.org. Retrieved 2012-04-01. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
^ a b"M-74 Nike Missile Site". www.ericapp.weebly.com. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
^Morgan, Mark L; Berhow, Mark A (2002). Rings of Supersonic Steel (Google Books) (second ed.). Hole in the Head Press. ISBN 0-615-12012-1. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
^"JS Online: Cold War museum proposed". www.jsonline.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2008.
^"JS Online: Waukesha explores park at missile site". Archived from the original on April 12, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
^"Summerfest: Maier Festival Park grounds have a long history". OnMilwaukee. 2019-07-03. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
^"The Nike Missile Bases of the Milwaukee Area Pool". Flickr. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
Further reading
John C. Lonnquest; David F. Winkler (November 1996). To Defend and Deter: The Legacy of the United States Cold War Missile Program (USA-CERL Special Report, 97/01). US Army. ISBN 99961-75-71-5.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Project Nike and Nike missile sites.
Nike Missile System at TheMilitaryStandard
Nike Missile Site Locations by State at TheMilitaryStandard
Locations of Former Nike Site Locations & Status (text) at Ed Thelen's Nike Missile Web Site
Alaska
History and Pictures of PH-32
Fairleigh Dickinson University page on PH-32 Archived 1999-02-10 at the Wayback Machine
NIKE BASE – PH07A at the Wayback Machine (archived 2009-12-27)
BRISTOL NIKE BASE – PH-15
NIKE MISSILE BATTERY PH-23/25 Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
VILLAGE GREEN NIKE BASE – PH-67 at the Wayback Machine (archived 2012-04-02)
PAOLI NIKE BASE – PH-82 at the Library of Congress Web Archives (archived 2011-11-03)
Rhode Island
Nike Missile Battery PR-79 Foster Rhode Island
Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. RI-37, "NIKE Missile Battery PR-79, East Windsor Road south of State Route 101, Foster, Providence County, RI"
