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So I’m sure most on here know what the Nike missile site are but for those that don’t know here’s some history. In 1945 in response to the new threat of jet powered aircraft the War Department proposed a rocket driven anti-aircraft system. What was delivered by Bell Laboratories in 1953 was the Nike Ajax. They were deployed around the country to strategic areas usually near cities or large population centers as a last line of defense.
In most cases, a Nike Missile site usually consists of two parts, the battery control area, and the launch area. The control area had a full barracks and other facilities to accompany a radar tracking station. The launch area usually has around 3 underground batteries. These batteries held the missiles and had elevators to lift them into position. At this point most control areas have either been converted or demolished. The launch areas have mostly been concreted over or turned into storage. In my area there are a few nike sites but only one standing control area and one launch area from different sites. I was able to get into the launch. It’s now owned by the township and the batteries haven’t been dug up yet. We made it over to the entrances and after all my research and preparations they were flooded halfway up the stairs and there was no way to get further in to see what was inside. This really shouldn’t have come as a surprise; PA is a really wet state and I’ve heard of this happening to other Nike sites but it was still disappointing. There were three batteries at this site and the pictures of them are below. I will be exploring the remaining control site soon. It looks pretty extensive so stay tuned.
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As a side note, the classic government “No Trespassing” signs have been worn down leaving one of my favorite warning signs to date.
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"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." - George W. Bush | |
I hope you listened to that sign!
RIP Blackhawk | |
I especially like sign on the last pic. Very Cool!
Just wondering, do you know if this site used Ajax or Hercules, or Zeus because I know that some sites were built after the Nike project had already made the Ajax obsolete, so I just wondering.
-Bygone Era | |
Posted by Bygone Era
I especially like sign on the last pic. Very Cool!
Just wondering, do you know if this site used Ajax or Hercules, or Zeus because I know that some sites were built after the Nike project had already made the Ajax obsolete, so I just wondering.
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This site had both Nike Ajax and Nike Hercules from what I can tell. It would've been nice to get a look inside to tell for sure but short of bringing a water pump out there in the middle of the night theres not much more to do with them.
"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." - George W. Bush | |
That sign is great XD
Flickr | |
Awesome!
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Any idea what that neon blue equipment in the third pic is?
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Looks like the stereotypical old Nike Launch Battery that's been turned-over to a municipality for use as a misc. storage site.
Also, that US Property No Trespassing sign sure looks ancient, *but* I'm pretty sure that design doesn't date back to the Nike era. Maybe the site remained as DOD/USG property up until some point in the 1980s? Or, it's actually not unheard of for owners of private property to get USG N-T signage and put some up around their fenceline, just as a scare tactic to keep people away.
The municipality would probably like to drain the rainwater out of the magazines -- once dried-out & cleaned-up a little, the magazines can make for good, semi-secure storage assuming they also get the sump pump working again, or seal-up the stairwell hatch & elevator doors from the elements. BUT the problem is that liquid that's been accumulating in the magazines cannot just be considered rainwater any more -- it's picked up various toxic pollutants like grease, lead from the paints, asbestos, etc. motor oil, coolant, etc. *and* despite that, there may now be some sort of endangered species thought or known to live down there in that (newts, etc.). So as a responsible municipal gov't that'd have to abide by the law, it'd be one hell of an expensive debacle to try to drain the magazines & so they just let them sit as-is... If/when there's concern of that fluid leeching out into the water table used for local drinking water, then they're going to have to investigate & maybe hire a hazmat contractor to drain them out... When that's done, the next decision is whether to spend $$ on making that underground space reuseable, or to just fill it in with misc. debris & dirt...
Each of the magazines should have had a small room in the corner with a hardened door, often called the Panel Room, where Launch Battery troops could
take shelter if they were in the magazine when a missile was about to be launched, and they also had the capability to launch the missile from there during a contingency. That room would have had a vertical ladder leading to a hatch on the surface for emergency escape, and lowering a light & camera down thought that emergency escape could show you some of that room, though it should be flooded to the same level as the rest of the magazine.
/-/oolie
P.S. If you have strong interest in your area Nike sites, back when they were operational, they tried to be somewhat active with the local community -- softball leagues, fundraisers, etc. and would occasionally have public open houses, as well as private tours for local media & dignitaries. If you went to the local newspaper, they probably have stories & photos of the sites in their archives.
There are no stupid questions, just stupid people. | |
I was in one of these recently. Only instead of water, it had been filled in with dirt through the launch doors. Only a little space under the ceiling. Still pretty cool though.
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Posted by Squirrel.
Any idea what that neon blue equipment in the third pic is?
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I didn't get a great look at it but it appears to be some sort of playground equipment perhaps a slide.
"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." - George W. Bush | |
Posted by /-/ooligan
that US Property No Trespassing sign sure looks ancient, *but* I'm pretty sure that design doesn't date back to the Nike era. Maybe the site remained as DOD/USG property up until some point in the 1980s? Or, it's actually not unheard of for owners of private property to get USG N-T signage and put some up around their fenceline, just as a scare tactic to keep people away. |
First of all thanks for the in depth reply. It wouldn't surprise me if the sign was newer given that I've seen the exact same one on other buildings. The nearby radar site has the same sign but with far less degradation.
As for the issue of draining the water, I have a feeling if that's the amount of effort that it would take to drain, I'd assume the municipality would just pump it out and fill it with concrete so it's no longer an issue. I would be incredibly curious to see what it looks like after all those year of water damage.
About the room, we tried every other door we could find in the area and they were all welded shut unfortunately.
[last edit 5/26/2020 8:25 PM by Mr. Schmuck - edited 1 times]
"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." - George W. Bush |
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