Fort Tilden was the home of both Nike Ajax, and later, Nike Hercules missiles.
Nike Ajax:
Nike Ajax Missile (US Army Photo)
The first operational Nike Ajax unit was the 36th Anti-Aircraft
Artillery (AAA) Missile Battalion at Fort Meade, MD, in December of
1953.
The Nike missile site at Fort Tilden was designated NY-49. The site was
shown to the media, and on the following day, March 1,1956, the New
York Herald Tribune reported that Brig. General Charles B. Duff was the
commander of the 52nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade, in charge of the
anti-aircraft defense of the New York-New Jersey area. The tour of the
Nike facility at
Fort Tilden was conducted by Lt. Col. Mathew E. Chotas of the 505th AAA
Missile Battalion.
The numerous Nike sites were coordinated by an Army Air Defense Command Post (AADCP) operating the "Missile Master" or "Battery Integration and Radar Display Equipment" (BIRDIE)
system to ensure that only one battery engaged a target and that
friendly aircraft were not targeted. Missile Master could up to 24
batteries, while BIRDIE could handle up to 16 batteries.
On July 4, 1960, the New York area Missile Master was
activated and manned by personnel from the 52nd Air Defense Artillery
Brigade (formerly stationed at Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island, NY).
This Missile Master facility was located at the Highlands Air Force
Station along with the U.S. Air Force 646th Radar Squadron. The 646th
was a component of the "Semi-Automatic Ground Enviroment" (SAGE) system, based at McGuire AFB, NJ.
Typical Nike IFC Area (US Army Photo)
Fueling a Nike Ajax Missile (US Army Photo)
Since the Air Force was responsible for "area defense", while the Army
Air Defense Command (ARADCOM) was responsible for "point defense", the
SAGE centers identified intruders, scrambled fighter aircraft to
intercept targets, and fed data to USAF BOMARC missile units and
ARADCOM's Nike batteries. As the system developed, the Nike batteries
became the last line of
defense to protect cities and industrial areas.
Nike Hercules:
Nike Hercules Missile (US Army Photo)
Fort Tilden's Nike missile site was half-converted from Nike Ajax
missiles to the newer Nike Hercules missiles. Construction began in March of 1958, and was completed on July 1,1958.
Photo: Nike Hercules Missiles at Fort Tilden, (US Army Photo)
On September 26, 1958, the New York Herald Tribune newspaper, quoted the
words of Brig. General Robert A. Hewitt, the commanding general of the
52nd Artillery Brigade (Air Defense) at the unveiling ceremony:
"We sincerly believe that this Nike family of of guided missiles is
the most reliable yet developed and is the only one which offers great
promises for future development as an
anti-missile missile defense system. Army air defense elements now have
built an effective mantle of missile fire that extends from Boston to
our nation's capital and includes Providence, New York City,
Philadelphia and Baltimore."
On October 15, 1958, the remainder of Fort Tilden's Nike missile site
was fully converted to Nike Hercules missiles. These missiles remained
at Fort Tilden until they were removed in 1972.
Photo: Nike Hercules Missiles at Fort Tilden, (US Army Photo)
Nike missiles were never fired from Fort Tilden. But the Nike crews did
fire the missiles for practice. After 1961, the Annual Service
Practice (ASP) was instituted. On an annual basis, Nike crews would
travel to Fort Bliss, TX, to fire missiles at the McGregor Range.
Batteries would only have a 48 hour notice, and were chosen at random so
that each unit would always be at a state of high readiness.
Photo: Fort Tilden's Nike Launch Site (1980s)
Photo: Aerial View of Fort Tilden's Nike Launch Site (circled)
11/23/63 - Nike Hercules missiles on alert status the day after
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. (From the Harry Bello
Collection)
For technical information on Nike missiles, and for information on other Nike sites, please see the "Links" page.
Typical HIPAR Radar Site (US Army Photo)
Sources:
Maryland Historical Magazine, Vol 80, No 3, Fall 1985, titled
"W-25: The Davidsonville Site and Maryland Air Defense, 1950-1974."
The New York Herald Tribune Newspaper (dates as indicated above)
