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Server Time:
2024-04-18 09:22:10
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 Clostridium
   
Location: SF Bay Area
Gender: Male
We'll see the city's ripped backsides
 |  | Project Nike
< on 10/19/2013 3:42 AM >
|  | | | No not the shoes.
Developed in response to jet aircraft, Project Nike (named for the Greek Goddess of Victory) the first nation-wide missile defense system ever built, was deployed in 1953. Some 300 were placed around strategic military facilities as a last line of defense against Soviet bombers that somehow managed to evade US Naval interceptors.
The Bell Labs MIM-3 Nike Ajax was the first surface-to-air missile (SAM) ever built, a two-stage rocket capable of Mach 2.25 and equipped with three warheads.
 (Source: Wikipedia)
The Nike Defense System faced a series of issues: first, the speed of an incoming jet meant that the missiles need to be fired at the location a plane would be at, rather than where it was actually at. This meant that three radar systems would be used, to find the enemy aircraft, to track the enemy aircraft, and to track the missile. This radar facility was usually located away from the missile launch sites. An analog computer would predict the location where the missile needed to intercept the plane.
This decided the fate of the free world: 
Secondly, an Ajax missile had a limited range and a lower range limit, which caused bases to be built close to their defending locations and organized into pairs to overlap the ranges. Finally, the Ajax was also extremely dangerous to handle with liquid propulsion; consequently, it was replaced in 1958 by the Nike Hercules, with a max speed of Mach 3.65, a much larger range, and the ability to hold a nuclear warhead.
With the development of the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Nike Defense System became outdated. From 1965 onwards, the sites were slowly decommissioned. The last sites were closed following the 1972 SALT I Treaty.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, California (my hometown), there were twelve sites set up loosely to defend the vital Naval Shipyards of Hunter's Point, Oakland and Mare Island, as well as Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories. None defended what is now Silicon Valley, in the 1960s still acres and acres of orchards. After decommissioning, some have been completely sealed, others have been reused as storage, still others left to decay. I have come across a few of the sites in my travels, starting with:
SF-88
A good place to start (perhaps not really UE), SF-88 is the most complete Nike Missile Site facility in the country. Like most facilities, it started as an Ajax site but was modified in 1958 for Hercules. SF-88 closed in 1974 due to SALT I but was retained and maintained as a museum.
1.
SF-88L, the missile launching facility (between the WWI buildings on the left and Rodeo Lagoon on the right), shows a late-stage site: the pair of launch pads on the left end of the base, a missile assembly shed on the middle, a generator building to provide independent power to the left of that, and a red-roofed building where the troops tested the nuclear capabilities of the warhead. Most of the facility is underground.
2. Nike Hercules deployed here. Each launch pad could hold twelve Ajaxes or eight Hercules
3.
4.
5.Missile assembly crane-this was the most dangerous part of the base, as the propellant was loaded at this step
6. Guard post
7. These radar units collected here would actually be found at the sister facility of SF-88C, on the hill in the background, which coordinated the missile launch sites
SF-87
This Nike site is situated very close to SF-88, perhaps reflecting their importance guarding the direct path to San Francisco
8. SF-87C is fairly neglected, perched high on a hill a few miles away; the steel hexagon platform held the radar
9.Some of the buildings may have been re-utilized from an older WWII battery underneath
10. SF-87L is at Fort Cronkite here
Next: South Bay
Information based on Wikipedia and NPS documents, as well as the website http://acme.com/jef/nike/ Photos are mine unless sourced otherwise.
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bonnie&clyde
  
Location: 510 & 415
Cleverly disguised as responsible adults
| | Re: Project Nike
<Reply # 1 on 10/19/2013 5:12 AM >
| | | | Nice write-up  and a big warm welcome to the PacificSouthWest forums!
The question is not when are we gonna stop, It's who's gonna stop us?
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Therrin
 
This member has been banned. See the banlist for more information.
Location: North of Chicago, IL
Gender: Male
*Therrin puts on the penguin-suit
| |  | Re: Project Nike
<Reply # 2 on 10/19/2013 6:11 PM >
| | | | Yeah, nicely put together, and nice pictures. Welcome
Several of us from the SoCal area have been to some of the other SoCal Nike sites too. There are various threads in the SW section archives if you look around a bit.
Give a person a match and they'll be warm for a minute, but light them on fire and they'll be warm for the rest of their life. =) |
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enigma32
 
Location: Los Angeles and NYC
Gender: Male
| | Re: Project Nike
<Reply # 3 on 10/20/2013 2:02 AM >
| | | | Cool stuff. Thanks for sharing!
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Clostridium
Location: SF Bay Area
Gender: Male
We'll see the city's ripped backsides
| | Re: Project Nike
<Reply # 4 on 10/20/2013 3:15 AM >
| | | | Thanks for the welcome bonnie&clyde and enigma32!
SF-59
SF-59L is now a parking lot. One of the buildings (assembly?) remains as storage, while the missile battery magazines have been welded shut. SF-59C has been re-utilized as a microwave relay station that I have not found yet.
1.
SF-51
Like SF-87 and SF-88, this site is on parkland. Little remains of the SF-51L missile launching sites besides the sealed magazine doors.
2.
SF-51C located a few miles away is pretty well preserved, with the remains of the Acquisition Radar Building, the Ready Room, the Generator Building, and a Maintenance Building still intact. Since my second trip over, taggers appear to have found the spot and have liberally colored up the buildings. Bits and pieces of metal are scattered around, but the chaparral makes poking around difficult.
3. Remains of guard post
4. Acquisition Radar Building
5. Generator Building (right) and Maintenance Building (left)
6.
7. Ready Room
8.
9.
10.
Next: Other Areas
Information based on Wikipedia and NPS documents, as well as the website http://acme.com/jef/nike/ Photos are mine unless sourced otherwise.
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Therrin
This member has been banned. See the banlist for more information.
Location: North of Chicago, IL
Gender: Male
*Therrin puts on the penguin-suit
| | | Re: Project Nike
<Reply # 5 on 10/20/2013 4:55 AM >
| | | | Posted by Clostridium
Thanks for the welcome bonnie&clyde and enigma32!
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wtf...am I invisible? 
Give a person a match and they'll be warm for a minute, but light them on fire and they'll be warm for the rest of their life. =) |
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Clostridium
Location: SF Bay Area
Gender: Male
We'll see the city's ripped backsides
| | Re: Project Nike
<Reply # 6 on 10/21/2013 3:25 AM >
| | | | SF-91
SF-91 is in the middle of an island in San Francisco Bay. SF91C was located at the top of the peak, which was leveled for the position. The peak was restored in 2002, leaving only a guard shack and some concrete pads of the site.
1.
SF-91L is at the bottom of the hill, and remains fairly complete, with only a thin, rusted fence and a tiny hill separating it from the main trail. The guard shack, magazines, a few other buildings, and exhaust ports remain.
2.
3.
4.
SF-37
The southernmost of the Nike sites guarding San Francisco Bay, SF-37 may have guarded Lawrence Berkeley or Lawrence Livermore Labs. SF37C has been re-utilized as a radio communication area, but the guardhouse and a few buildings remain, as well as a large painted California National Guard logo. SF-27L has been completely obliterated.
5.
6. The ubiquitous guardhouse and possibly a maintenance shed in the back. A police shooting range was nearby, and during my visit there was the continuous pop of handgun fire-I decided against trespassing.
7. This appears to be a Nike-period mural (IFC stands for Integrated Fire Control, the proper name for the C in SF-XXC).
SF-08
SF-08 and SF-09 are closely arrayed in the hills of the East Bay. They were sealed and paved over.
8. From a distance, you can see the leveled areas for the building and launch sites on the left, all that remains of this site. SF-09 is very close as well, but I then proceeded to tumble down a hillside so I never did find it.
Okay I'm done, thanks for reading!
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enigma32
Location: Los Angeles and NYC
Gender: Male
| | Re: Project Nike
<Reply # 7 on 10/21/2013 6:33 PM >
| | | | Looks like there were originally 16 sites around LA. A couple still have some structures left, according to Wikipedia.
If I get ambitious I'll have to go check a couple out and add them to your thread...
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Therrin
This member has been banned. See the banlist for more information.
Location: North of Chicago, IL
Gender: Male
*Therrin puts on the penguin-suit
| | | Re: Project Nike
<Reply # 8 on 10/21/2013 10:42 PM >
| | | | Posted by enigma32
Looks like there were originally 16 sites around LA. A couple still have some structures left, according to Wikipedia.
If I get ambitious I'll have to go check a couple out and add them to your thread...
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Again...
There are various threads on here about the LA sites.
You'd likely want to READ them first, to keep from getting fined/arrested; as several of them you don't just go waltzing up to, and some are currently being used or are on active County property.
Have fun, take pictures, but do some research not only on wiki, but on what other explorers have to say about those sites before you decide to go for a hike.
Give a person a match and they'll be warm for a minute, but light them on fire and they'll be warm for the rest of their life. =) |
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spacetimecurvature
Location: San Francisco
Gender: Female
| |  | Re: Project Nike
<Reply # 9 on 10/22/2013 1:31 AM >
| | | | Clostridium, it is a nice hike up on the ridge. It is really too bad that some of these are trashed now and trashed relatively recently. Here are a few shots of one of the sites you posted from back in 2005:
1.
2.
3.
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Austtie
Location: Ventura County
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Project Nike
<Reply # 10 on 10/22/2013 4:29 AM >
| | | | Awesome write-up, pictures, and update Clostridium. I'm a huge fan (and frequent visitor) of the LA Nike sites. The rich history behind these locations is incredibly interesting.
spacetimecurvature, Nice! It's fascinating to see how much these Nike sites change over the years. I've seen pictures of the Nike sites in my area from just a few years ago, and the changes are blatant. It's very unfortunate, actually.
Do you have any more pictures from 2005?
https://www.flickr...otos/97773368@N06/
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spacetimecurvature
Location: San Francisco
Gender: Female
| | | Re: Project Nike
<Reply # 11 on 10/22/2013 4:52 AM >
| | | | Posted by Austtie
spacetimecurvature, Nice! It's fascinating to see how much these Nike sites change over the years. I've seen pictures of the Nike sites in my area from just a few years ago, and the changes are blatant. It's very unfortunate, actually.
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I have a few other detail shots, but not really anything else of these sites that shows the state of the location in general.
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Clostridium
Location: SF Bay Area
Gender: Male
We'll see the city's ripped backsides
| | Re: Project Nike
<Reply # 12 on 10/22/2013 5:10 AM >
| | | | Posted by Austtie
Awesome write-up, pictures, and update Clostridium. I'm a huge fan (and frequent visitor) of the LA Nike sites. The rich history behind these locations is incredibly interesting.
spacetimecurvature, Nice! It's fascinating to see how much these Nike sites change over the years. I've seen pictures of the Nike sites in my area from just a few years ago, and the changes are blatant. It's very unfortunate, actually.
Do you have any more pictures from 2005?
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Thanks for your interest! I have a few photos from 2008, evidently before the vandalism, though they kinda fail as far as photography is concerned. Generally much less tagging and more roofs.
1.Also someone ran off with the turbine
2.
3.
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Clostridium
Location: SF Bay Area
Gender: Male
We'll see the city's ripped backsides
| | Re: Project Nike
<Reply # 13 on 10/22/2013 5:16 AM >
| | | | Posted by enigma32
Looks like there were originally 16 sites around LA. A couple still have some structures left, according to Wikipedia.
If I get ambitious I'll have to go check a couple out and add them to your thread...
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| Posted by spacetimecurvature Clostridium, it is a nice hike up on the ridge. It is really too bad that some of these are trashed now and trashed relatively recently. Here are a few shots of one of the sites you posted from back in 2005 |
Thanks for the interest! It is good that there were so many sites in the first place, so much has been destroyed over the years. A fairly complete site is definitely worth checking out though I've never found an abandoned but accessible magazine like some seem to have.
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FastEddy
 
| | Re: Project Nike
<Reply # 14 on 10/23/2013 7:08 PM >
| | | | Down the rabbit hole, SF-91L, July 2011.
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SixbyFire
Location: Brooklyn, Ohio
Gender: Male
Militant Mouse
| | | Re: Project Nike
<Reply # 15 on 10/24/2013 4:21 AM >
| | | | Regarding SF-59L, the assembly building is in fact the one that is left there, also the park police (& others?) are using the old Admin area of SF-59, it's a bit south of the physical launch area. One other thing of note at SF-59L are the berms just north of the assembly building, the fueling area would have been in between those berms. At Nike sites, with nukes, usually a warheading building would be built where the fueling area would have been. I don't think SF-59 ever made the switch to nukes though, I think they were Ajax missiles only, which used some nasty acid based fuel, whereas Nike was solid rocket fuel.
SF-59C, in my opinion, is best seen from Radio Road on San Bruno Mountain. It's on the western slope and about halfway up to the top if you're driving up Radio Road. If it's a clear day you can look down on it from the road fairly well. There is also a trail that goes past it, but I've not checked that out myself. A paved road leads to the site off of Radio Road, but a gate blocks vehicular access, again, I haven't walked down there myself.
SF-51L also has part of the open drainage/sewage field around, also the tennis court of the condos/apartments that are there now, appear to be where the old Admin area tennis court (or other open rec area) was, otherwise the admin area of SF-51 is gone, just gone...
Jeff
[last edit 10/24/2013 4:21 AM by SixbyFire - edited 1 times]
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Clostridium
Location: SF Bay Area
Gender: Male
We'll see the city's ripped backsides
| | Re: Project Nike
<Reply # 16 on 10/24/2013 5:40 AM >
| | | | Nice photos FastEddy! Not going to ask for POE but was it easily accessible? I was unable to find a way in when I visited.
Thanks for the info SixbyFire! I'll be sure to check out San Bruno the next time I'm in the area. I have a feeling people don't like explorers poking around communication areas.
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FastEddy
| | Re: Project Nike
<Reply # 17 on 10/24/2013 10:46 PM >
| | | | Posted by Clostridium
Nice photos FastEddy! Not going to ask for POE but was it easily accessible? I was unable to find a way in when I visited.
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I believe your #4 is the outside of my last picture. There was no lock the day we were there.
If you can't get past that Cracker Jack-prize lock, you're not trying very hard.
http://spykidtoys....teel_kmpsa_20.html
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RescueMe1060
 
Location: San Francisco
Gender: Male
Radioactivity, its in the air for you & me
| | Re: Project Nike
<Reply # 18 on 10/25/2013 2:32 AM >
| | | | A lot of great shots and investigative research in this thread. Nicely done
http://www.flickr....rescueme1060/sets/
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cdevon
Location: west county
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Project Nike
<Reply # 19 on 10/25/2013 2:42 AM >
| | | | Clostridium, as everyone else has said, Very well done and welcome to the forums.
To add, this is a very informative and well thought out history lesson with some kickers thrown in.
Thanks for the read!
When I say I'm 'clean and sober', it means I've showered and I'm headed to the liquor store. |
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