List of Nike missile sites


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.
Leftover traces of the approximately 265 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 ; a Support Wing, and 2 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. Unit: 13th Missile Wing, 51st Squadron 1961–1989. Operating 36x Nike Herc. US custodians: 43rd 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 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. US Custodians: 43rd USAAD. LA then moved to 50°42'44" N 6°32'3"E. Unit disbanded, and the site closed.
  • in NRW. Unit: 13th Missile Wing, 57th 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 Squadron 1959–1986. Operating 36 x Nike Herc US custodians: 43rd 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 Squadron 1962–1989. Operating 36x Nike Herc 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 Squadron 1962–1985. Operating 36x Nike Herc 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 Squadron 1959–1978. Reassigned 13th Missile Wing / 56th Sq 1979–1985. Operating 36x Nike Herc missiles US custodians: 43rd 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 Squadron 1971–1989. Operating 36x Nike Herc 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.

    Denmark

Copenhagen Defense Area: Copenhagen was defended by a ring of 4 Nike batteries. At first under Army command but as of 1964 under Air Force command and the batteries redesignated as squadrons 531/2/3/4. Initially Nike Ajax and Hercules operated but later on only Nike Hercules. All Danish Nike squadrons were operating in conventional role only.
Hq Nike Group and staffing was located at the Avedøre camp, at grid 55°37'59"N 12°26'55"E.
Nike Group Operations Control was at the Vestvolden, a fortification at grid 55°41'23"N 12°26'11"E connected with the Karup Air Force Headquarters

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, 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. A Battery was located on Isikawa Dake, the narrow waist of the island. There was also a battery at Naha.

Netherlands

The Royal Netherlands Air Force contributed to the high level air defense of Germany by the following units:
Consisting of the four Squadrons: 118, 119, 120 and 121.
Squadrons located in Vörden, Handorf, Borgholzhausen and Bad Essen
Commissioned 01-11-1959, decommissioned 15-05-1975 and merged with 2GGW into 12 GGW.
Commissioned 08-04-1963, decommissioned 15-05-1975 and merged with 1GGW into 12GGW;
Consisting of the four Squadrons: 220, 221, 222 and 223.
Squadrons located in Schöppingen, Erle, Nordhorn and Rheine
  • 12 Group Guided Weapons, headquarters in Hesepe.
Commissioned 15-05-1975, decommissioned 01-04-1988;
Consisting of the four Squadrons: 118, 120, 220 en 223.
Squadrons located in Vörden, Borgholzhausen, Schöppingen en Rheine
  • GTMGW Group Technical Materials Guided Weapons. Next to the operational units this Maintenance Group supplied the higher level maintenance and technical parts supply for the other units
Commissioned 01-02-1964, decommissioned 15-05-1975 and merged with 1GGW and 2GGW into 12GGW; Location Hesepe.

Norway

HQ Nike Battalion at Linderud at grid 59°56'49"N 10°50'37"E

A Battery at Asker at grid 59°52'28"N 10°23'0"E

B Battery at Nes at grid 60°9'22"N 11°23'36"E

C Battery at Trogstad at grid 59°38'0"N 11°20'33"E
YouTube footage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWYAtR-XgTI

D Battery at Våler at grid 59°30'0"N 10°48'6"E

Spain

Turkey

  • 15th Missile Base Command, Istanbul.
  • * 1st Nike Group Command, Asian Side - unit disbanded
  • ** 1st, 3rd & 4th Nike Missile Command
  • * 2nd Nike Group Command, European Side - unit disbanded
  • ** 2nd, 5th, 7th & 8th Nike Missile Command
  • ** 6th Nike Missile Command, Çanakkale - active

    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, located above ground, with eight launchers being converted to Nike Hercules. 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, and a letter, L = launch site, C = IFC site. The Formerly Used Defense Sites program processed many former sites and then transferred them out of Defense Department control.

Alaska

The Alaska Nike sites were under the control of United States Army Alaska, rather than Army Air Defense Command.
Anchorage Defense Area: Sites were located around Anchorage to defend the city of Anchorage, Fort Richardson, and Elmendorf AFB. Situated at Fort Richardson near Anchorage, the Command Post hosted the regional air defense command and control facility. Manned by the 4th Missile Battalion. Site Point was a dual site, having two complete and independent firing systems The damage caused by the Good Friday earthquake in 1964 caused one half of the site to be permanently out of action. The other firing system was restored to active duty and remained so, and was in fact the last Nike site in North America to be closed.
Air Defense Command/NORAD radar sites at Fire Island AFS and King Salmon AFS AK were integrated into the Army Nike operations. Radars used at Fire Island were CPS-6B, FPS-8, CPS-4, FPS-20A, FPS-6B. Nike missile operations continued there until 1979 when the site was closed. Afterwards, the Army Air Defense Command Post was moved to King Salmon. Radars were FPS-93A and in 1982 the FPS-117 was installed. King Salmon Long Range Radar Site is still in use.
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Fairbanks Defense Area: Sites were installed to replace Anti-Aircraft guns defending the Fairbanks area, which included Fort Wainwright and Eielson AFB. Manned by the 2nd Missile Battalion, 562d Air Defense Artillery. The sites around Fairbanks were inactivated in 1970 and 1971.
The USAF radar site at Murphy Dome AFS, AK was shared with the Army for Nike missile-defense system. The CPS-6B radar was removed in July 1958, FPS-8 removed 4Q 1960 until the Nike sites were inactivated in 1971.