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 (the overall staffing); a Support Wing (tech and log support), and 2 (9th and 13th) 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 (NRW). Unit: 13th Missile Wing, 51st (B) Squadron 1961–1989. Operating 36x Nike Herc. (10x Nuclear armed) US custodians: 43rd (B) 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 (A) 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. (10x Nuclear-armed) US Custodians: 43rd (C) 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 (D) 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 (C) Squadron 1959–1986. Operating 36 x Nike Herc (10x nuclear-armed) US custodians: 43rd (A) 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 (C) Squadron 1962–1989. Operating 36x Nike Herc (10x Nuclear-armed) 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 (B) Squadron 1962–1985. Operating 36x Nike Herc (10x Nuclear-armed) 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 (D) Squadron 1959–1978. Reassigned 13th Missile Wing / 56th Sq 1979–1985. Operating 36x Nike Herc missiles (10x Nuclear-armed) US custodians: 43rd (A) 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 (A) Squadron 1971–1989. Operating 36x Nike Herc (10x Nuclear-armed) 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 Greenland Defense Area (Danish sovereignty): Thule US Airbase was defended by 4 Nike batteries constructed in 1957–1958. Initially, these sites were considered part of the former Army Air Defense Command (ARADCOM) as they were intended to defend the Continental United States. Due to Greenland's climate, the missiles had been stored in underground magazines with a 10-missile capacity. Each battery had 4 magazines, and each magazine 2 missile elevators. 4th Battalion 55th Artillery ceased operations in May 1965, thus ending the Nike missile defense of Thule airbase. The sites have been disused for many years now but the remains are still clearly visible.
A battery at grid 76°34'6"N 68°49'2"W B battery at grid 76°34'23"N 68°38'34"W IFC at grid 76°33'32"N 68°43'21"W C battery at grid 76°30'7"N 68°32'13"W D battery at grid 76°30'40"N 68°53'49"W As Greenland is Danish and that country refused to host foreign military and nuclear weapons, a bilateral agreement was signed allowing access for all US forces and weaponry in Greenland. This way all Thule batteries could yet be nuclear armed.
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 (1973) 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 Site Name Missile Type Defense Area Site Location Service Dates IFC LA Air Station ESK 531 Ajax / Hercules Copenhagen Gunderød 1959–1981 Avderød 55°55'5"N 12°26'1"E ESK 532 Ajax / Hercules Copenhagen Kongenlunden 1959–1981 55°33'52"N 12°34'10"E ESK 533 Ajax / Hercules Copenhagen Sigerslev 1959–1981 Store Heddinge 55°18'25"N 12°23'27"E ESK 534 Ajax / Hercules Copenhagen Tune 1959–1981 Roskilde Airport 55°35'4"N 12°7'1"E
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 (Hagenschieß/Wurmberg), 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 As of 1959 the Italian commanding unit was: Prima Aerobrigata Intercettori Teleguidati (1st Guided Missile Brigade) at Padua overseeing the sites:
Bovolone (Verona) 72 Gruppo at grid 45°16'12"N 11°8'29"E Custodians: Team 2–47th US Army Artillery Detachment Ceggia (Venice) 57 Gruppo at grid 45°40'22"N 12°40'15"E Custodians: Hq and Team 1–34th USAAD Chioggia (Venice) 81 Gruppo at grid 45°10'1"N 12°13'43"E Custodians: Team 3–34th USAAD Conselve (Padua) 80 Gruppo at grid 45°9'35"N 11°54'49"E Custodians: Team 2–34th USAAD Cordovado (Pordenone) 58 Gruppo at grid 45°49'36"N 12°54'46"E Custodians: Team 4–34th USAAD Ca' Tron (Venice) 56 Gruppo at grid 45°34'48"N 12°27'29"E Custodians: 87th USAAD (not activated) Zelo (Rovigo) 79 Gruppo at grid 45°2'2"N 11°23'43"E Custodians: Team 3–47th USAAD Montichiari (Brescia) 65 Gruppo at grid 45°25'27"N 10°20'43"E Monte Toraro (Vicenza) 66 Gruppo at grid 45°52'18"N 11°13'57"E Monte Grappa (Prealpi venete) 64 Gruppo at grid VQXH+9J, 32030 Seren del Grappa BL Monte Calvarina (Verona) 67 Gruppo at grid 45°30'34"N 11°16'53"E Custodians: Hq and Team 1–47th USAAD Monte Pizzoc (Treviso) 59 Gruppo at grid 46°2'30"N 12°20'43"E
The Italian Nike units were initially combined Nike Ajax and Hercules equipped but switched completely over to Nike Hercules in the mid-1970s.
Each site with a US Custodial Team had an on-site load of 10 nuclear warheads ready to be launched at very short notice. The sites were using mixed warheads; meaning always 2 sections nuclear-capable (W31 selectable 20 or 2 kiloton yield) and 1 section only conventional (T-45 High Explosive) armed."Cieli fiammeggianti, dalla Guerra fredda a Base Tuono", by Alberto Mario Carnevale, Eugenio Ferracin, Maurizio Struffi, 2021, second edition
Another 60 spare W31's had been kept in permanent storage at grid 45°28'46"N 11°35'57"E Longare. These were supposed to be airlifted to certain Nike sites in case of deterioration of the international political situation in the world. The logistics train was airlifting by US CH-47's within 6 hrs after receipt of a coded message.
This event actually took place in October 1962Nuclear Battlefields - Global Links in the Arms Race, by William M. Arkin and Richard W. Fieldhouse, 1985 during the Cuban missile crisis when NATO came on full alert.
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 (now active JGSDF Chinen sub-base) 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 (IFC abandoned, 26.452808, 127.835702, LC JASDF Onna Sub-Base), the narrow waist of the island. There was also a battery at Naha, now the airport fire department.
Netherlands The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) contributed to the high level air defense of Germany by the following units:
1st Group Guided Weapons (GGW or 'Groep Geleide Wapens' in Dutch), headquarters in Münster-Handorf.
Consisting of the four Squadrons: 118 (nuclear, also Group Operations Center (GOC), 119 (nuclear), 120 (nuclear) and 121 (conventional).
Squadrons located in Vörden, Handorf, Borgholzhausen and Bad Essen
Commissioned 01-11-1959, decommissioned 15-05-1975 and merged with 2GGW into 12 GGW.
2nd Group Guided Weapons, headquarters in Schöppingen.
Commissioned 08-04-1963, decommissioned 15-05-1975 and merged with 1GGW into 12GGW;
Consisting of the four Squadrons: 220 (nuclear, also Group Operations Center (GOC), 221 (nuclear), 222 (conventional ) and 223 (nuclear).
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 (nuclear, also Group Operations Center GOC), 120 (nuclear), 220 (nuclear) en 223 (conventional).
Squadrons located in Vörden (118 sqn), Borgholzhausen (120 sqn), Schöppingen (220 sqn) en Rheine (223 sqn)