These Nike Hercules sites were manned by Regular Army and National Guard units and operated from 1960 to 1968. One radar tower standing. Until recently, Nike Missile Base C-84 near the Chicago suburb of Barrington, Illinois, served as an archival repository for Lake County; the records were stored in one of the three underground missile storage areas. Only a couple of buildings standing. Most buildings are still there, launch magazines filled in, concrete pads obliterated. Missile Launching site converted to a private residence (including old missile silos) on Ind. Minor remnants are still visible in the NE corner. As Greenland is Danish and that country refused to host foreign military and nuclear weapons, a bilateral agreement was signed allowing access for all US forces and weaponry in Greenland. . Largely intact and abandoned. They could also be remotely controlled from Launch Control Centers miles away from the actual silos, allowing sites to be dispersed over a wide geographic area. Launch site buildings still have doors and window glass. In the 1980s, water contamination near the base was found to be a health hazard. Buildings at beginning of entrance road, former underground double magazine. The markers are color-coded by flights. Obliterated, Coyote Hills Regional Park. Now "Nike Overlook Park". OHArNG, C Company, 216th Engineers. As in several other states, during the 1960s the National Guard assumed a greater role in operating the sites. The Alaska Nike sites were under the control of United States Army Alaska (USARAK), rather than Army Air Defense Command. 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. Owned by the Utica School District. Now obliterated, High-end single-family housing, no evidence of IFC. Abandoned. Used by the Elizabeth Forward School District. Redeveloped into Bethel Church and Glouchester County Christian School. Army Air-Defense Command Post (AADCP) DF-30DC was established at Duncanville AFS, TX in 1959 for Nike missile command-and-control functions. Has been turned into a public horse park named Paradise Ridge. You can turn off the labels if they obstruct your view. [9] Its defenders included both Regular Army and National Guard units. Currently used as the Rod & Gun Club and the 35th Infantry Division (Mech) motor pool/maintenance facility. For instance, the missile field of F. E. Warren Air Force Base includes portions of western Nebraska, northern Colorado, and eastern Wyoming, an area of more than 12,000 square miles. Now "Lower Nike Park". No evidence of launchers. FDS. Former triple-magazine site now abandoned. Former buildings still in use, mostly cleared no sign of any radar towers. Some concrete foundations visible, Magazine now used as auxiliary gym. After inactivation, the property reverted to Selfridge AFB. Above-ground magazine protected by berms. Mix of new and old buildings. Isle of Wight County Park "Nike Park". Former Ajax installation with 12 launchers. The site also hosts Squadron 3 of the Civil Air Patrol's California Wing. Fenced and gated. Radar mount mounds on north side of site visible from Military Rd. Army Air-Defense Command Post (AADCP) S-90DC established at Fort Lawton AFS, WA in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions. Love Illinois? Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. Each site with a US Custodial Team had an on-site load of 10 nuclear warheads ready to be launched at very short notice. There are currently three active missile wings (supposedly), each wing has a total of 150 silo's and three squadrons. Launch area concrete badly cracked, doors rusting, all of the magazines are filled to surface level with groundwater due to the high water table in the area. This double Nike site was operational with both Ajax and Hercules missiles. OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. Buildings removed, appears to be totally abandoned with no known use. Obliterated. FDS. Offutt also hosted SAC tankers and Atlas missiles were deployed around the area in the early 1960s. Site was never operational. This is an early Ajax-only site that was never converted to Hercules. FDS. The control area was located atop. Buildings in good condition and in use. Missile pads partially Intact, Harvard University. Buildings deteriorated but intact. It has a maximum range of 8,700 miles and a maximum speed of Mach 23 (17,500 mph). On 6 Mar 1951 it was redesignated Wolters Air Force Base. Site is now utilized by the LAPD SWAT team for training. The Nike Hercules was Ajaxs successor. May be some building foundations and old roads. Construction of the Nike batteries started in 1959; becoming limited operational in 1960 and fully operational in 1961. No evidence of LS. No radar towers. Buildings appear in excellent condition.381723N 0895651W / 38.28972N 89.94750W / 38.28972; -89.94750 (SL-40-CS), 381611N 0895700W / 38.26972N 89.95000W / 38.26972; -89.95000 (SL-40-LS). Former missile pads still visible, apparently being used as a storage yard. Buildings still standing, missile firing area in good condition. At some later time it transferred to Military Airlift Command, and on 1 Jun 1992 transferred to Air Mobility Command. A few buildings overgrown with vegetation, some streets heavily overgrown. But the Ajax could only travel about 25 miles, which military leaders felt was not far enough to be an effective air defense. Nike Carlton: 3B/20A/12L-A Newport: 3B/18H, 30A/12L-UA, FDS Derelict, but partially intact. Northwest side of what is now Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. Has radar towers. The USAF radar site at Murphy Dome AFS, AK (F-2) was shared with the Army for Nike missile-defense system. Redeveloped into Croom Vocational High School. Obliterated, Wildcat Canyon Regional Park. Now a parking lot. Buildings standing, several radar towers. Much broken concrete lying around site. National Park Service, Sweeney Ridge (GGNRA). After the Nike-Hercules site was inactivated in 1966, used by the Air Force until Loring's inactivation in the early 1990s as part of SAC's GCCS (Global Command & Control System. If youve ever been to this missile launch site park, wed love to hear from you. Now County highway maintenance storage facility. The Fat Man bomb dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945 had a yield of 20 kilotons. Site obliterated, little evidence of IFC, overgrown. A large planter covering the elevator of the "B" Section and some berms is all that remains of the launch site. Magazines visible, earth grading equipment moving dirt around area. Today, partially Intact, Private ownership. Next, turn left on Wolf Lake Drive and follow it all the way back to where the road forks. Operating units were C/54th (/55-9/58) and C/4/1st (9/58-4/74). All buildings in use in excellent condition. The Magazine area is overgrown with vegetation and appears abandoned. Maryland Indian Heritage Society, Melwood Horticultural Training Center. The site was closed on 18 June 1968. Appears magazines were removed and filled in with dirt. To the west stood the missiles, poised on above-ground launchers. FDS. Most buildings intact and in use, some radar towers. After being inactivated by the Army, BA-09C was taken over by the Air Force sometime before 15 September 1967. No evidence of IRC except some disturbed land where structures once were. Visitors are also allowed access to one of the sections barn's. Locked and fenced. One of Chicago's last seafood smokehouses perfects a dying breed of fishcraft. Some construction on launching area, launch doors concreted over, but one of the two magazines had been converted into a gym. Abandoned and overgrown site at the south end of lake/state recreation area. Intact, Department of Energy, silo currently used as lab for University of Washington research projects. The Cost of U.S. Nuclear Forces: From BCA to Bow Wave and Beyond, Fact Sheet: Ballistic vs. Cruise Missiles. PI-70DC was integrated with the USAF Air Defense Command/NORAD Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) air defense radar network as Site RP-62 / Z-62. The German idea of an underground missile silo was adopted and developed by the United States for missile launch facilities for its intercontinental ballistic missiles. Now Northeastern University Marine Science Center. In the 1970s, the partially dismantled site was part of the Friends World College campus. Parks and Recreation, maintenance, building in use. Fences and one . FDS. out. Obliterated, City of Detroit. Roads in very poor condition, main access road overgrown by vegetation. Built on 11 acres of land, the silo was specifically home to the. Part of the facility exists to the west, with outlines of radar towers visible. L-85's housing area was taken over by the Air Force after the IFC was closed by the Army, and was redesignated as Loring Family Housing Annex #3. Redeveloped into open greenspace with retention ponds. Some military buildings being used by city as offices. Launch site roads still in place, overlaid by park facilities. 1 The U.S. Department of Defense chose Marine as one of the four sites for a Nike Missile Base in the St. Louis area. But some remnants and buildings still stand, including in Wolf Lake where an actual Nike missile is on display. FDS Redeveloped into Croom Vocational High School, the launch site is identified as the auto, building trades, and grounds keeping school. Redeveloped into Robert Manry Park. It was later equipped with the AN/TSQ-51 "Missile Mentor" solid-state computer system. From 1958 to 1972, the Department of Defense deployed a contingent of surface-to-air missiles intended to shoot down any incoming nuclear missiles aimed at United States cities. The areas in black denote deactivated missile wings, the areas in red denote the active missile . FDS, Abandoned and overgrown. In use, some buildings still standing. Mostly cleared land, some roads of IFC remain but that's about it. It was later upgraded to the AN/TSQ-51 "Missile Mentor" solid-state computer system. All missiles in the silos are currently Minuteman III (LGM-30G). Nike missile operations continued there until 1979 when the site was closed. No evidence of IFC site. A monument to the site stands near the entrance to the recreation area. The building that housed the Missile Master site is still standing and concrete paddocks that held radar tower are still visible. Light office building, parking lot, also Worcester Nike Park. Magazine area now storage yard. One of the ready buildings on the south end of the site was sold independently of the main parcel, and is now a private residence. Each squadron has five Missile Alert Facilities which each control ten silo's for a total of 50 silo's per squadron. The perimeter fence appears to remain. Obliterated, Horizon Heights Park and grass runway airfield. No radar towers. An Army Air-Defense Command Post (AADCP) was established at Caswell AFS, ME in 1957 for Nike missile command-and-control functions. Operations at five of these Nike Hercules sites lasted until 1974. Air strip is now part of Evergreen Lakes subdivision. Redeveloped into USAR Center. Launchers probably intact. Few buildings left, faint traces of one magazine but very little of Launch site remains. On 1 October 1961 W-13DC was integrated with USAF Air Defense Command/NORAD Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) air defense radar network as Site RP-54/Z-227. 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). The Full Screen control in the upper righthand corner of the Google Maps display expands the display to cover the entire computer screen. If you're using a Only a few are intact and preserve the history of the Nike project. Several buildings were reused as warehouses. Town of Milford, board of education. Magazines are present, welded shut, and badly degraded. The road to the site is down the road to the left. With more than five years of writing experience, Elizabeths articles have been featured on several websites, and her poetry and short stories have been published in multiple literary journals. It was designed for manual operations, using plexiglass plotting boards and telephonic inputs. Now a part of Maheras-Gentry Park, FDS. Map showing the areas of the six Minuteman Missile wings on the central and northern Great Plains. FDS. Two round ground pads, one square ground pad, and one tower with cyclone fence around the top. Partially intact. The blast and thermal effects within a dozen miles or so of each of these silo's will be deadly, and the fallout radiation will spread hundreds of miles downwind. Also storage yard. View waymark gallery. US Government ownership, storage and maintenance support facility for Fort Devens. The first thing that makes this particular route interesting is the still active missile silos that dot the highway from Kimball to the Colorado border. On that date, jurisdiction, control, and authority was transferred to the California Air National Guard. Six inch top soil cover. 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There are a total of 450 silo's in the United States as per officially supplied information spread out among three main areas in the United States: around Malmstrom AFB near Great Falls Montana, around Warren AFB near Cheyenne Wyoming, and around Minot AFB near Minot North Dakota. Thoroughly fenced in. Land incorporated within Alfred Brush Ford Park (also known as Ford Brush Park) at the foot of Lenox Ave. Barracks building in use, most other buildings razed. Mostly intact. The site totally redeveloped with new buildings. Abandoned. Redeveloped into "Nike Recreation Fields", Town of Shelton. American Indian Center Singing Winds Site. Portion of the bike trail from Tower Road to the launch complex was original road used to access the base. Located at the north end of Centennial Park along 153rd St. between Huntington Ct. and Hickory Dr. FDS. We are the leader in this niche. Launch site relatively intact, magazines visible however appears launch doors concreted over. Paved over parking lot for trucks.. Now light industrial area, some old IFC buildings still in use. Some buildings standing, even a few radar towers. The site was equipped with the AN/GSG-5(V) BIRDIE solid-state computer system. The three underground magazines are existent and in reasonably good condition. Redeveloped into Nike Park Sports Complex on Diehl Road. Remains an Army Reserve facility. Never operational. Berms still quite visible under vegetation. Largely redeveloped, although several old IFC buildings still used. Abandoned, vegetation (tall trees) growing in Magazine concrete. Today, most buildings had recently been demolished. Many foundations remain with broken concrete spread around area, roads in deteriorating condition. FDS. Abandoned, now known as the Rochester-Utica State Recreation Area and the Shadebush Environmental Educational Center. FDS. Still fenced with closed access gate. The entrance road has many abandoned trailers and also much junk along the sides. FDS. Most touch screen devices will zoom by See Our Inventory. Obliterated, no evidence of existence at end of former access road. This old steel industry company town has a tradition of parking cars on the sidewalk so people can walk in the narrow streets. GRAFTON The last remnants of a U.S. Army missile base that defended American skies during the Cold War can still be spotted by sharp-eyed visitors to Pere Marquette State Park. The launcher area is now a public park with a Nike-Hercules missile and a plaque dedicating the site. IFC mostly taken over by woods, some buildings still stand, asphalted area badly cracked. 20th century castles, llc has sold 60 properties. Obliterated, Army terrorism training site, demolished but support structure for target acquisition radar still intact. Guided public tours are available JuneSeptember through a local non-profit organization. IFC buildings are being reused in reasonable condition. The magazines have a one-foot thick cap of concrete on them. Buildings vacant, but given the remoteness of this facility appear to be in decent shape. Both defense areas appear to have been manned by 2nd Battalion, 55th Artillery (Air Defense) at times between 1958 and 1964. Missile Sites. State of Rhode Island, State Police Academy and Training Center, buildings in use; magazines visible. Redeveloped into high-end single-family housing. Some buildings remain, part of Foster/Gloucester Regional School District. of Public Works, poor condition, being used as a storage yard. Private owners, buildings in good shape, appears to be single-family homes built on site. Its new purpose is utilized regularly, and you can enjoy it too. NY-55DC was integrated with the USAF Air Defense Command/NORAD Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) air defense radar network as Site P-9 / Z-9 Air Force operations at the site ended on 1 July 1966, and Nike operations were inactivated on 31 Oct 1974. The site was initially an AN/FSG-l Missile-Master Radar Direction Center. Many tractor-trailers on site. The site totally redeveloped, and no Nike site buildings remain. The AADCP inactivated in June 1974. Former double magazine. Intact, salvage yard. Do you have a question for Geoffrey? The Shutter Nike Missile Base is tucked away behind a gated fence near the Monroe County Village of Hecker Illinois with a population of about 500. New building for armory, no FC buildings remain. Triple-magazine Nike Missile launching concrete pad now a parking lot for the Fort Funston hang gliding area. The transmitter tower for UNT's campus radio station is also located on site. All buildings at the site were demolished in 1977. Essex County Park District, developed into Riker Hill Park. LS completely removed. Redeveloped into shopping center. She has visited half of the states, as well as parts of Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, and regularly travels home to the Hoosier State to see friends and family. Obliterated by 1997. In private ownership, buildings appear standing. Maps. Each flight is a group of 10 missile silos controlled by a Missile Alert Facility (MAF). Nike launch site overgrown with vegetation. Launch site abandoned, appears to be above-ground site with launchers located within berms. Above ground magazines protected by berms. Demolition of this facility began in 2015 and is now complete. The most common sites have been the Minuteman. Abandoned, most buildings collapsed, one radar tower still standing. The green pond in the upper-right of the photo is the poo pond that processes waste. The AADCP was integrated with the USAF Air Defense Command/NORAD Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) air defense radar network as Site M-89 / Z-89. Obliterated. Appears in good condition, buildings in use. Abandoned. Assembly building is still present. Through the efforts of various volunteer groups, as of 1995, this is the only Nike site in the country that has been preserved and is open for public viewing. Likely most of site is under vegetation cover. Buildings in use as "4-H Park and County Fairgrounds". The MAF It is home to a MNDOT radio tower. Little evidence of IFC site remains. Forty-five years after it was shuttered, a former Cold War missile base is set to be auctioned to the highest bidder in Hecker, Illinois. Launch pad doors still visible, but concrete has been covered by soil and is now a grassy area. The northern missile magazine is still exposed but has been fenced off and is modified into an underground machine shop. Exists in deteriorated condition east of and adjacent to the Miramar Armory of the. Obliterated, City of Rancho Palos Verdes, Del Cerro Park. Launch area is now a soccer field. In the early part of the Cold War, the threat (perceived or real) of Soviet attack prompted the creation of several U.S. weapons, including the Nike missile. Site was never operational, Private ownership, four long military buildings still exist with circular access road, usage unknown. Barracks and some minor buildings intcdt, also new industrial building constructed on back of site. It could also be equipped with nuclear warheads. Redeveloped into US Consumer Products Safety Commission Engineering Laboratory. Partially intact, buildings being used, no evidence of radar towers. C-92 Redeveloped into Vernon Hills Athletic Complex. Headquarters facilities were located at Camp Hanford. No radar towers. It was one of four "backyard" missile sites that formed the St. Louis Air Defense System, a protective ring of firepower that operated for nearly a decade -- from mid-1959 to early 1969.