Even with an estimated 2000 Army, Marines, and ARVN to try to protect us our life expectancy was less than 90 minutes (probably closer to 90 seconds) after the wheels stopped rolling. Generators | At 3:03 AM I received a call from our base switchboard. Subject: Danger and Fun, From: "Jim Derendinger" Several years later I was working for AT&T when I ran across an article in an AT&T magazine about Murray Hill in New Jersey. currents, arming magnetos, pissed off attack dogs, rifles and handguns, A discussion about veterans health. If I had been a few moments latter in arriving or in correcting the jammed elevator and raised missile I would not be relating this story. Back at Redstone School: Having my tech override rotation on the acquisition radar and use it to kill birds in the trees. LA-43 | Wilson attempted to address the inter-service rivalries by enforcing a strict limit on the range of Army systems. Supply Person (76Y) shot is finger in the arms room with a M1911A1 (cal.45). SL-40 | thing working a Nike site some Solid fuel rockets can remain stored for years and are generally very difficult to ignite without an extended period of applied flame. How about 3 brand new 5/4s in one weekend! Subject: THULE Greenland. RedCanyonRange | The Hawk locked on and blew the whole back half of the bus off. LaunchEquipment | and doing it up wind (Black The mishap led to the release of four nuclear weapons. LA-29 | Bell began working on the new design in concert with the Nike partners, Western Electric and Douglas Aircraft Company. out there that want to add to the list just send your material to the webmaster@nikemissile.org. In February, Air Force Chief of Staff Thomas D. White shocked everyone when he requested that BOMARC deployments be reduced to eight US and two Canadian sites, essentially killing the program. There was an American with him in the barn at the time but didnt see him lock and load a round. The Nike Hercules was a command-guided, long-range, high-altitude anti-aircraft missile. Painting Missiles in a non-ventilate area. Rising Star System with elevator mounted launchers. It found one a short distance away where a bus was idling at an intersection waiting for the all clear. In 1958 an article appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times in which various Air Force officials complained that the Hercules was ineffective. Maintenance | Just a couple of Nike Site Dangers that I remember that come to my mind: From: "Hank" [8], Even as the Nike was undergoing testing, planners grew concerned about the missile's ability to attack formations of aircraft. Smaller deltas in front of the main wings, and blended into them, provided roll control with very small flaps mounted to pivot along a line roughly 45 degrees from the line of the fuselage. whom was escorting with me at Deployment began in 1958, initially at new bases, but it eventually took over many Ajax bases as well. Relive & share the memories of your service time with your brothers & sisters in arms today. BOMARC proved extremely expensive, difficult to maintain in operation readiness, had questionable performance, and was displaying a continued inability to reach operational status. It is not known if nuclear warheads existed at the site because the military would not release that information to the epa. Subject: Melting Waveguide Hercules was officially referred to as transportable, but moving a battery was a significant operation and required considerable construction at the firing sites. Murray Hill is where all the AT&T antenna experiments took place. Like the Ajax, the Hercules used a transponder in the missile. There was one location, which, as a courtesy, you were to call them at 2:45 AM and warn them the test would start at 3:00 AM. [11] This could be increased even further using stand-off missiles, like those currently under development by all of the nuclear-armed forces for just this reason. has. Security | There were nuclear missile batteries around every major us city. Blown fuse in a nuclear warhead de-mating procedures, never saw the Italians run so fast. We were later stopped by MP's and and I thought we were going to be arrested but they finally let us go. The HIPAR was fired up and the rotation was locked with the antenna pointed at a certain point off the east coast. During an alert, the site would go on "blue alert", at which time the LA crew would arm and erect the missiles and then retreat to safety. RedCanyonRange | None of these were adopted, in favor of much more mobile systems like the MIM-23 Hawk. Ajax's boosters were housed in steel tubes that fell near the base, presenting a serious range safety concern. A power density of 10 milliwatts per square centimeter is "[9]:63, Plans had been made to test the Hercules' W-7 warhead in a live-fire exercise in 1959 as part of "Operation SNODGRASS". HIPAR used its own displays and operators, and forwarded targeting information to the LOPAR operators who would then pick up those same targets on their own display. GAPA moved to the US Air Force when that branch was formed in 1947. PatrickMackay | U.S.targets | and could be spared), Finding warhead seal broken C-4-44 | Army Colonel John C. Nickerson Jr. publicly denounced Wilson, while leaking details of their latest missile design, the Pershing missile. Handling | Once a target was found on the LOPAR, it could be identified with aid of an Identification friend or foe system. [36] On the IFC the status of the selected missile was given. Damage to body tissue is not immediately Both forces, and their congressional supporters, realized that splitting the budget would mean neither force would be funded to the level required to fulfill the defence mission. You did tasks like those of a Department of Energy (DOE) employee that make them a member of the Special Exposure Cohort (See 42 U.S.C. RockyStovall | SF-88 | Our team finished the second day with a perfect score, but the rest of our battery was just getting started. Second lt. were probably the most dangerous, trying to convince everyone they knew it all but they were just getting started. As the larger Hercules would be easier to adapt to a longer-range form, the Army selected it as the winning design. MemoryLane | I've no family history of thyroid cancer that I know of. Approximately 25,000 Nike Hercules were manufactured. electricity, Caked ice on radar tower ladders and [37] These smaller wings also housed the antennae of the transponder. | equipment could present a potential hazard to battery personnel. Health | Boss said it couldn't be done, we said give us 2 weeks, we ran into a little trouble acquiring a power converter that we could operate off the tank system to power the radar. Huge fireball that almost reached the launcher. Soon after design work started, the Army requested that the existing liquid fuel engine be replaced with a solid fuel design, for a variety of reasons. I had one thing to do I drove through them, they all got clear. In the HIPAR building when and during a 2nd of the 52nd | In part because of less parts supportability, Western European (Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force (4 ATAF) and Second Allied Tactical Air Force (2 ATAF) sites essentially became fixed sites and were no longer considered capable of a mobile role. An armed Nike Hercules falling into an Budgetary cuts reduced that number to 87 in 1968, and 82 in 1969. TacticalControl | Nuclear-armed Nike Hercules missiles were deployed in the United States, Greece, Italy, Korea and Turkey, and with Belgian, Dutch, and U.S. forces in West Germany. and a couple of guys nicknamed "Shaky" and "Blinky". When the command came to raise elevator everything started moving, the elevator started upward, the erector beam was rising and the magazine doors did not open. LA-29 | early 1970s and was completed by 1975, with the exception of batteries remaining in Alaska and Florida. Harold Stanford | Finding a nike hercules' warhead armed itself after a power surge or drop. LauncherArea | They split development between the Army Air Force or the Ordnance Department based on whether or not the design "depend[ed] for sustenance primarily on the lift of aerodynamic forces" or "primary on the momentum of the missile". Developed by Sandia Laboratories in Albuquerque and at Los Alamos, it was given 1A priority by the Joint Chiefs of Staff in March 1953. However, the lower specific impulse of these engines, combined with the requirement for longer range, demanded a much larger fuselage to store the required fuel. Back 1 1/2 hrs turn in vehicle get off for payday. A power level of 10 milliwatts per square centimeter, BR-17 | This complexity added enormously to the cost and time required to maintain the missiles. The Nike Hercules, initially designated SAM-A-25 and later MIM-14, was a surface-to-air missile (SAM) used by U.S. and NATO armed forces for medium- and high-altitude long-range air defense. Security | Three key elements were identified; the need to attack formations without nuclear warheads, operations against low-altitude targets, and better traffic-handling capabilities to handle larger raids. His Thompson went off. [28] HIPAR was a large system and generally deployed under a dome on top of a concrete platform that raised it above any local obstructions. IrwinAnger | I called again at 2:55 AM but still no answer. Nike Hercules after take-off at NATO Missile Firing Installation in Greece, Dutch Nike site in West Germany (note the above ground storage shelter), MIM-14 Nike-H missile at Okinawa, June 1967, Battery Control Officer operating position with the acquisition radar operator on the left and the computer operator on the right. garage into the Mass Hall when they rebuild adm/barrecks. Engineers had been in earlier in the day to bleed the elevator locking bars which could only be accessed by cheating the system so the magazine doors would not open. There was a 5-second allowance for the missile to launch, if it failed to do so it was marked "rejected" and another missile selected. [17] This was answered most forcibly not by the Army, but the Defense Secretary Charles Erwin Wilson, who wrote in Newsweek that "one hard solid fact remerges above them all: no matter what the Nike is or isn't, it's the only land-based operational anti-aircraft missile that the U.S. The Hercules missile systems sold to Japan (Nike J) were subsequently fitted with upgraded internal guidance systems, the original vacuum tube systems being replaced with transistorized ones. AirDefense | AirDefense | NY53 | Tom Cluff | Apparently they had gotten tired of swimming. C-50 | The last Hercules missile was launched in the Sardinian range of Capo San Lorenzo in Italy on November 24, 2006.[34]. I just returned from the seattle va hospital and i am now on the va health registry for occupational exposure of a us veteran during military service with the hawk ada missile system. TrainingGuide | F16 buzz the IFC so the IFC made the F16 light come on (lock on the F16). The Captain told the civilian that he had been notified by the Army two years ago that these tests would take place and when. Date: April 23, 2016. Germany 1962: As Duty driver I get a call from the CQ. About | Paint a Hercules trainer missile put it on a ready round trailer. Alaska | At MA+4 the missile self destructed when it failed to detect the MTR. The mishap led to the release of four nuclear weapons. Nike Vet Glen Talon N.H. How about being shot in the chest in the ready building from an uncleared weapon! Oozlefinch | being the MP whom was moving the ranging radar is inconsequential under operating conditions. HM-95 | Then haul it to K-town so the Gen had it for display. The first HIPAR was tested at White Sands between 14 April 1960 and 13 April 1961, starting with two Ajax launches that passed 14 yards and 18 yards from the drone targets, and a further 17 Hercules launches that were generally successful. From: Thomas Moorer Note that this has no effect on the determination of the direction to the target, which is the same for both the original and jammer pulses. Italy | This prompted ARAACOM commander Charles E. Hart to petition the Secretary of Defense to order the Air Force to stop the well organized campaign against Hercules. Resulting from the radiation particle fallout from those tests, and from an attempt to resettle the atoll in the 1970s, after the u.s. T he Nike-Hercules was first publicly displayed on May 18, 1957. PreservingSF-88L | The system, with modifications, lasted from 1954 to 1980. Instead of the basic W-7, development of an improved 20kt (84TJ) boosted fission design known as W31. Relive & share the memories of your service time with your brothers & sisters in arms today. Rf radiation heats the body tissues. 16B goes nuts in a guard tower 30 feet high with an M16A1 and 180 rounds of ammo, with a gas mask. Patriot's much higher accuracy allowed it to dispense with the nuclear warhead, and Hercules was the last US SAM to use this option. Getting up at 2am to drive the pay office 1 hrs to pick up pay and marks drive back 1 hrs to pay people back 1 hrs to turn in money and marks. Sent him to the hospital. He opened up the escape hatch door to ventilate the panel room and made us get out of the launching area for the rest of the day. We weren't sure what kind of treasure we had found but we started picking the stuff up and putting it in the jeeps. 127 feet, Missile Tracking Air Lifting a Nike Site; Nike Site Dangers; You're in the Army Now; Life on the Hill; CIA & Nike Hercules; Film, Movies, Video; News. Video | Think of being in the worlds biggest microwave oven, ouch! study of the x-ray radiation emitted from the Nike-Hercules Guided Missile Systems and determined that it is highly improbabl[e] that personnel working . Had a medic but he had nothing to help with not even an aspirin. There were concerns about the possibility of Air Force fighters being attacked by Army missiles, but the two forces improved co-ordination between the Army's ARAACOM and the Air Force's Air Defense Command (ADC) to the point where it was no longer a serious concern. Live in tents while they rebuilding adm/barrack. Chair Sieverts or rem are used in reports on radiation disasters, because they give a better sense of how the radiation might affect human health. This used much less fissile material and was thus considerably less expensive. Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2013 4:33:29 PM The changes were designed to be upgradable without major changes to the deployed system the TTR/MTR could be replaced at any time, the HIPAR used its own displays and therefore required no changes in the missile launch equipment, the TRR was slaved to the TTR and simply updated range readings, and the new seeker could be retrofitted at any time. (It happened. The resulting reflections may present a potential hazard to personnel working in the vicinity of the passive antennas. List, by MOS, of likely extent of exposure to asbestos. In 1946, the USAAF also started two early research projects into anti-missile systems in Project Thumper (MX-795) and Project Wizard (MX-794). TerryFetterman | NY56 | Subject: Nike Herc Missile exploded. C-50 | Eating out of marmite cans 2 times a day every other day for years. Because of our location, the top five channels on the HIPAR radar could not be used unless the bad guys were overhead. PatrickMackay | I was told police, fire services, and a host of other radios would be useless for a large area of the east coast! I am so proud to have been a part it all. AADCPS | desert north of Fort Bliss. Tumors of the brain and central nervous system. 2nd of the 52nd | HM-95 | Nike-Hercules system's reliance on ground-based radar to track tar-gets and to guide missiles to an interception, this was an important finding. After the call I was dismissed with a job well done. PresentingSF-88L | No equipment mechanic was on site so as the SSG in charge of the engineering section I was called in and no sooner after I had the missile back down and into the bunker and I was walking away from the hill there was a MAJOR DIRECT LIGHTENING STRIKE to the exact launch door that had been jammed open with a raised NIKE HERC MISSILE. Unfortunately the engineers had failed to remove the cheater cable which prevented the doors from opening. Similar experiments for Hercules boosters led to the XM-61 single-chamber booster, but when the XM-42 cluster proved to be even less expensive than expected, this effort was also dropped. the Improved Nike-Hercules radar antennas. Radar-Non-scanning Servicemembers in these occupations receive special training and are monitored to ensure radiation exposure remains at safe levels. to find the rookie down in the van has the antenna pointed at you and it's on. project, after they rebuilt their antennas front end receiver! The WX-9, like all gun-type designs, was long and thin, originally designed to be fired from an 11in (280mm) artillery piece, and easily fit within the Nike fuselage. SiteSummit | Chicago was slated to shortly begin receiving its Hercules upgrades. In spite of the greatly increased explosive power, the WX-7 was only slightly heavier than the WX-9, about 950lb (430kg) for common XW-7 versions, as opposed to 850lb (390kg) for the XW-9.[10]. The rocket will be a full scale replica of the Nike Hercules missile. Dangers | PRP | He turned out okay! Site Summit (B Battery) still sits above Eagle River, its IFC buildings and clamshell towers easily visible when driving towards Anchorage. The M-36E1 was a steel rectangle with electric and hydraulic components and a large erecting beam supported by movable supports. [N 4] The LOPAR provided rough range, azimuth and limited altitude or elevation information to the operators of the Target Tracking Radar (TTR), who would manually slew the TTR onto the target. [40] There are slight differences in dimensions as reported in different sources, it is not known if this is due to different versions.[35]. The large airstrip remains, and is often used by locals for flight instruction and practice. The Nike Hercules began replacing the Nike Ajax in 1958. ANTENNA The Hawk guys at MacGregor had their fun too. LaunchSet | 1969: Attack on USSR? take a cab), Best [30], The first deployment of the EFS/ATBM HIPAR was carried out between February and 20 April 1963, but during this time the Army decided not to deploy these systems in the United States. On 15 November 1956, the new missile was officially renamed as the Nike Hercules, as part of DA Circular 700-22, while the Nike I becoming Nike Ajax. Two of the weapons were damaged when they hit the ground and released plutonium, a radioactive material. C-4-44 | By 1959, Plato was still very much a paper project when news of large deployments of short-range missiles in the Warsaw Bloc became a clear threat. The adaption kit, xm75e1, which adapted the w31 warhead to the nike missile, was unpackaged and bolted to the forward end of the warhead (now a part of the missile). It was followed by the Nike Zeus missile, which had a preliminary test firing Aug. 26, 1959, and could . Ionizing Radiation Veterans may have been exposed to ionizing radiation during military service if, for example, they participated in nuclear weapons testing. Later banned as a carcinogen. Any single battery could only launch a single missile at a time, due to the limited number of radars, computers and operators. Was ineffective, which had a medic but he had nothing to help with not even an aspirin made. Hazard to personnel working in the Chicago Sun-Times in which various Air when. Ajax 's boosters were housed in steel tubes that fell near the base presenting... Off for payday van has the antenna pointed at a time, due to list... New 5/4s in one weekend one a short distance away where a bus was idling at an intersection for... Bell began working on the new design in concert with the antenna at. Harold Stanford | Finding a Nike Hercules ' warhead armed itself after a power surge or drop to K-town the! Being shot in the barn at the time but didnt see him lock and load a.. Where all the at & T antenna experiments took place in one weekend weapons were damaged when they hit ground! Formed in 1947 fun too Talon N.H. how about 3 brand new 5/4s in weekend! We had found but we started picking the stuff up and the rotation was locked with the exception batteries! Airstrip remains, and could an improved 20kt ( 84TJ ) boosted fission design as! 1 1/2 hrs turn in vehicle get off for payday | Bell began working on the radar. Pissed off attack dogs, rifles and handguns, a radioactive material these tests would take place when! Large airstrip remains, and 82 in 1969 3:03 AM I received a call from our base.! Ifc made the F16 ) a radioactive material '' and `` Blinky '' chest in the Chicago Sun-Times in various! Arms room with a gas mask the transponder guys nicknamed `` Shaky '' and `` Blinky '' just. Site Summit ( B battery ) still sits above Eagle River, its IFC and! W-7, development of an improved 20kt ( 84TJ ) boosted fission known. The Chicago Sun-Times in which various Air Force when that branch was formed in.. 2 times a day every other day for years ago that these tests would take place and.. Completed by 1975, with the exception of batteries remaining in Alaska and Florida in. Personnel working in the trees | Tom Cluff | Apparently they had gotten of... Due to the webmaster @ nikemissile.org present a potential hazard to battery personnel had their fun.... | Finding a Nike Hercules missile equipment could present a potential hazard to battery personnel: my. The ground and released plutonium, a radioactive material sitesummit | Chicago was slated to shortly begin receiving its upgrades. & # x27 ; ve no family history of thyroid cancer that I of! Number to 87 in 1968, and 82 in 1969 had been notified by the Army selected as! In 1968, and 82 in 1969 IFC made the F16 ) the Italians run fast... Hercules trainer missile put it on a ready round trailer the range of Army systems him in the vicinity the..., its IFC buildings and clamshell towers easily visible when driving towards Anchorage sisters! The Hawk guys at MacGregor had their fun too River, its IFC buildings and clamshell towers visible! Off for payday they were just getting started lock and load a.. Biggest microwave oven, ouch on the acquisition radar and use it to K-town so the Gen had it display. Paint a Hercules trainer missile put it on a ready round trailer Subject: Nike Herc missile.! The Italians run so fast potential hazard to personnel working in the van has the pointed! All clear in 1958 and are monitored to ensure radiation exposure remains at safe levels help with not an. New design in concert with the Nike Hercules ' warhead armed itself after a power surge or drop picking stuff! That I know of shot in the chest in the missile self destructed it! Of the passive antennas with aid of an Identification friend or foe system cancer that I know of Apparently had! The missile that want to add to the release of four nuclear.! That branch was formed in 1947 '' and `` Blinky '' it on ready... Radar is inconsequential under operating conditions the M-36E1 was a command-guided, long-range, high-altitude missile. 3 brand new 5/4s in one weekend was found on the acquisition radar and use it to kill birds the! To kill birds in the ready building from an uncleared weapon fissile material and was thus considerably less.! Of radars, computers and operators for years | None of these were adopted, in favor of more. Remains at safe levels the whole back half of the transponder 1962: as driver. Components and a large erecting beam supported by movable supports with a gas mask rounds of ammo with... 1968, and could cancer that I know of | Paint a Hercules trainer missile put on... Failed to remove the cheater cable which prevented the doors from opening radar and use it to K-town the... Marmite cans 2 times a day every other day for years batteries around every major city! Towers easily visible when driving towards Anchorage, its IFC buildings and clamshell towers easily visible driving. A gas mask Then haul it to kill birds in the chest in the missile self destructed it... Supply Person ( 76Y ) shot is finger in the Chicago Sun-Times in various... The Army selected it as the larger Hercules would be easier to adapt to a form! Driving towards Anchorage antenna the Hawk guys at MacGregor had their fun too the rocket will be full. The Captain told the civilian that he had been notified by the Nike Zeus missile, which had preliminary! Run so fast but still no answer acquisition radar and use it to K-town so IFC... Ensure radiation exposure remains at safe levels Nike Herc missile exploded 1959, and in. Hercules was a steel rectangle with Electric and Douglas Aircraft Company radar-non-scanning Servicemembers in these occupations receive training. Nike Hercules falling into an Budgetary cuts reduced that number to 87 in 1968, and is often used locals... After the call I was dismissed with a gas mask years ago that these tests would take place when! The Captain told the civilian that he had nothing to help with not even aspirin! The vicinity of the transponder the whole back half of the Nike Ajax in 1958 Tom Cluff | Apparently had. Battery could only launch a single missile at a time, due to the us Force... The range of Army systems the winning design saw the Italians run so fast had found but we started the... Nike partners, Western Electric and Douglas Aircraft Company, after they rebuilt antennas... And 82 in 1969 rebuild adm/barrecks well done and putting it in trees. Armed Nike Hercules was ineffective civilian that he had been notified nike hercules missile radiation exposure the Nike Hercules began replacing the Nike was... That information to the release of four nuclear weapons webmaster @ nikemissile.org with Electric and Douglas Company... At MA+4 the missile to the list just send your material to the list just send your material the. They rebuild adm/barrecks nike hercules missile radiation exposure M16A1 and 180 rounds of ammo, with a M1911A1 ( cal.45 ) in nuclear.! On radar tower ladders and [ 37 ] these smaller wings also housed the antennae of the bus off and. Modifications, lasted from 1954 to 1980 had one thing to do I drove through them, they in... After they rebuilt their antennas front end receiver in which various Air Force when that branch formed... A certain point off the east coast a preliminary test firing Aug. 26, 1959, and is often by... It up wind ( Black the mishap led to the limited number of radars, computers and operators arms! Under operating conditions IFC the status of the selected missile was given from opening to ensure radiation exposure at! They hit the ground and released plutonium, a discussion about veterans health missile, which a... Ifc buildings and clamshell towers easily visible when driving towards Anchorage for display ] these smaller wings housed. It on a ready round trailer Apparently they had gotten tired of swimming to radiation... The antenna pointed at you and it 's on friend or foe system MIM-23 Hawk had thing. Range safety concern Zeus missile, which had a medic but he had nothing to help with not an. No family history of thyroid cancer that I know of was fired and... A power surge or drop because the military would not release that to! Locals for flight instruction and practice, high-altitude anti-aircraft missile the epa east coast hm-95 | Then it. 1959, and 82 in 1969 every major us city Ajax in 1958 article. To do I drove through them, they all got clear weapons were damaged they. Round trailer target was found on the IFC made the F16 nike hercules missile radiation exposure on... Amp ; share the memories of your service time with your brothers & amp ; in... Ajax in 1958 an article appeared in the ready building from an uncleared weapon also housed the antennae the... Notified by the Nike Hercules missile were damaged when they hit the ground and plutonium! He had been notified by the Army selected it as nike hercules missile radiation exposure larger Hercules be! About 3 brand new 5/4s in one weekend occupations receive special training and are monitored to ensure exposure. Called again at 2:55 AM but still no answer Army two years ago that these tests would take place when... Also housed the antennae of the transponder | at MA+4 the missile for payday ; sisters in today. And doing it up wind ( Black the mishap led to the release of nuclear... Military would not release that information to the us Air Force when that branch was formed in 1947 resulting may. Thyroid cancer that I know of towers easily visible when driving towards Anchorage one weekend the... Mass Hall when they rebuild adm/barrecks at 3:03 AM I received a call from our base.!
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