From: Emmett R. Caraker Jr. Germany 1961: Being the only one in the back of a 5 ton when the driver slams on the brakes. This, in turn, required a much larger booster to loft it, but this was solved by strapping together four of the existing Nike boosters to form a cluster known as the XM-42, with the only modification to the original M5 engine design being the addition of new holes to bolt them together, creating the M5E. Video | Used to clean power supplies and chassis on antennas. Of these threats, Redstone was considered just within the Hercules' capabilities, able to defend against such a target over a relatively limited range. As early as 1944 the US Army started exploring anti-aircraft missiles, examining a variety of concepts. Body parts sucked into cooling fans; And memorandum to chief of engineers from dcslog. I heard he also relieved himself of all that was in his lower intestine. Service personnel records show that the veteran spent most of his active duty service at the nike missile battery in milwaukee. 2 people pulling/pushing by hand a 10,710 pound missile to a launcher. Nike Site filled with constant alerts, training, inspections, Radar Bomb Sent: Thursday, May 30, 2013 4:38:38 PM Supply Person (76Y) shot is finger in the arms room with a M1911A1 (cal.45). The upper stage alone was 24feet 11inches (7.59m) long. I called the number at 2:45 AM and got no answer (this was before answering machines). MTR operator console. [6]:20, In 1953, Project Nike delivered the world's first operational anti-aircraft missile system, known simply as Nike. Testing of the W-7 was put into AMMO, while the SNODGRASS series was moved to an Army-Air Force test at Eglin Air Force Base with tests of both the conventional T45 and nuclear W-7 warheads. Posterior subcapsular cataracts. In May 1952, Bell was asked to explore such an adaptation to the Nike. take a cab), Best [9]:5657, "Nike Ajax" used a slightly modified Nike missile, largely a re-arrangement of the internal components, making room for the 15kt (63TJ) WX-9 "gun-type" warhead also being developed as an artillery round. Information from the MTR and TTR continued to be fed to the computer for updating the intercept point based on any actual changes in either the missile or the target location, speed or direction. The LA consisted to a maximum of four launching sections, each section consisted of an underground storage area, an elevator to move missiles to and from the surface launchers, and four aboveground firing locations. PresentingSF-88L | Hercules also offered the ability to attack pre-located ground targets, after feeding in the coordinates in an operation that took about five minutes. R. . Pittsburgh | 4 hrs in the tower and 4 hrs out of the tower. However, it makes the determination of range difficult or impossible. [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. A power level of 10 milliwatts per square centimeter, CWVA In one Redeye shoulder launch test there was a fault in the software that caused the missile to lock full left if it failed to acquire a hot target. I updated my log and headed down the hill for some rest. U.S.targets | MOS 16b20 War Veterans Assc. hospital (those deemed sickest About | [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. Cold War Missiles in Miami | Two of the weapons were damaged when they hit the ground and released plutonium, a radioactive material. Engineers continued work on getting a second missile operational at McGuire, but the Air Force went ahead with plans to open the Suffolk County Missile Annex by 1 January 1960. The U.S. Army continued to use Hercules as a front-line air defense weapon in Europe until 1983, when Patriot missile batteries were deployed. Sieverts or rem are used in reports on radiation disasters, because they give a better sense of how the radiation might affect human health. Hercules, still known officially as Nike B at this point,[N 2] grew to become a much larger design. This signal would be very difficult to jam because the jammer would have to broadcast across a wide set of frequencies in order to ensure they were returning on the frequency the receiver had actually selected. I stuck my head out the door only to see that the vertical interlock had failed allowing the transmitter to fire with the antenna sweeping directly at us. GAPA moved to the US Air Force when that branch was formed in 1947. C-50 | Dogs | It had great maneuverability and a speed of Mach 3.65 (2,707 miles per hour). AADCPS | However, both Ajax and Hercules systems in Europe had to be able to move as US forces shifted. PRP | When mounted on its booster pack, the Hercules missile was 41feet 6inches (12.65m) long with a wingspan of 6feet 2inches (1.88m) (one side only). LauncherArea | B3/71 (Turks welding covers), Or a [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. Sent: Sunday, July 7, 2013 8:14:23 PM Hercules was officially referred to as transportable, but moving a battery was a significant operation and required considerable construction at the firing sites. "[9]:6061 By the time early Hercules deployments were starting in 1958, BOMARC was still nowhere near operational. To: webmaster@nikemissile.org LaunchSet | Another development for the anti-ballistic missile role later emerged as the much larger LIM-49 Nike Zeus design. [N 3] The first SNODGRASS round was launched on 14 July with its warhead replaced by an instrument package and launched against a 350-knot (400mph; 650km/h) Q2A Ryan Firebee I drone. project, after they rebuilt their antennas front end receiver! 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. Later banned as a carcinogen. platforms, In the danger zone of a radiating antenna, German citizens taking pot shots at the R&D, 2d Bn 51st Arty Individual Training Guide. Rising Star System with elevator mounted launchers. The Hawk locked on and blew the whole back half of the bus off. equipment could present a potential hazard to battery personnel. It was later revealed that only one of the sixty missiles at the site was actually functional at that time. Missile Tracking Radar-Nike-Ajax Mode 126 feet Target Tracking Radar-Wide Pulse Mode 230 feet Transmitting antennas in the non-scanning mode should not be positioned so as to radiate into areas occupied by passive antennas. An armed Nike Hercules falling into an Nor did it stop the fighting in the press. 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. Getting called to duty at 3AM to go and save two MPs who were on a site-seeing mission in a snow storm and their jeep got stuck. [9] Beginning around 1965, the number of Nike batteries was reduced. Tumors of the brain and central nervous system. A total of 145 missile Most of these were converted Nike Ajax units. 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. The fuselage had a bullet-like shape (SearsHaack body), but this was difficult to make out due to the presence of the four large delta wings running almost the entire length of the fuselage. Setting in a fox hole for 8 hrs during war games in the winter. The resulting system used six semi-trailers: four to carry HIPAR electronic gear, one to carry the antenna, and one to carry the generators. Use of Trichlorethelene: I can remember when I was an E-2 or PFC at Site SF-88. The site was an AN/FSG-l Missile-Master Radar Direction Center. NoSleep | Subject: Melting Waveguide 502-537-Rotating [2]:287[22] Conventionally armed Nike Hercules missiles also served in the United States, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Japan, Norway, and Taiwan. Our section chief gave another Pvt. I was told police, fire services, and a host of other radios would be useless for a large area of the east coast! The IFC contained the search and tracking radars and control center (operators, computer, etc. Painting Missiles in a non-ventilate area. TestEquipment | Physicists use these two adjustment factorstype of radiation and sensitivity of tissueto convert from measures of radiation absorption to measures of effective dose. Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2013 4:33:29 PM to find the rookie down in the van has the antenna pointed at you and it's on. It was only winter time. Here are some dangers I encountered, some are just plain stupidity. Chief), Being a nube and forgetting to Back at Redstone School: Having my tech override rotation on the acquisition radar and use it to kill birds in the trees. IFC due to getting tired of the constant blip-blip-blip from the HIPAR. Germany 1961 - 62: On hot status and sleeping in the panel room, mice and rats nibbling on our snacks and at times the ears of the crewman. 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. From web site VA.gov. Pulling out 2 missiles (one of each type) at 2am so the IFC could do calibration. Unless the transmitter has encoded some additional form of information in the signal, the receiver cannot determine which pulse it sent out and which is from the jammer. has. [31][32] In spite of this success, the GOER-based Hercules would not be used operationally. Poor old 5 ton got run very hard that day. About | My MOS was 22f20 Nike electronic maintenance and warhead specialist. The best I remember they were kind of amber in color and a little translucent. [9]:6162, Eventually, in November the new Secretary of Defense, Neil H. McElroy announced both systems would be purchased. [11], Things changed dramatically with the development of Hercules. and a couple of guys nicknamed "Shaky" and "Blinky". AirDefense | He also testified that the Nike-Hercules missiles had atomic warheads and that he felt that he had significant exposure to ionizing radiation because of his military duties. MemoryLane | This used much less fissile material and was thus considerably less expensive. LA-88 | It was followed by the Nike Zeus missile, which had a preliminary test firing Aug. 26, 1959, and could . You may be entitled to disability compensation if these military exposures resulted in a disease or injury. When the TTR and MTR radars were locked, the computer had a firing solution and the missile reported active, the LA lamp changed from amber to green, indicating the ability to fire. least). Radar-Non-scanning Oozlefinch | In each instance, the intensity I reported as ordered. IrwinAnger | Official requirements were published in 1945; Bell Laboratories won the Ordnance contract for a short-range line-of-sight weapon under Project Nike,[5] while a team of players led by Boeing won the contract for a long-range design known as Ground-to-Air Pilotless Aircraft, or GAPA. About 5 minutes in a confined space with that stuff had you seeing pretty green stars. Further deployments to allied units and US units in Alaska were carried out between November 1963 and the summer of 1965.[30]. HM-69 | Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2015 Paint a Hercules trainer missile put it on a ready round trailer. While I was in his office, the base commander telephoned the civilian. heat to damage the tissues permanently. We went to SNAP. AttackonUSSR? Each of these was a steel tube, and held together in this fashion they presented a considerable range safety issue when they fell back to the ground after launch. Like the Ajax, the Hercules used a transponder in the missile. Meanwhile, the TTR can continue offering location information, and in the case that is also jammed (difficult but possible), was upgraded to offer a home-on-jam mode that used the ECM system's own broadcasts as a location source. The Captain told the civilian that he had been notified by the Army two years ago that these tests would take place and when. Attaching the warhead to the missile was a mechanical operation which was used 13 bolts at a specified torque in a proscribed sequence. Just a couple of Nike Site Dangers that I remember that come to my mind: From: "Hank" This information is base upon the average power outputs and going out to the RF Test Set. PreservingSF-88L | In addition, the policy prescribes planning, coordination, security, dosimetry, recordkeeping, training, equipment, and expertise to deal with radiological hazards. qualified, Ignition of a booster by static about being thrown from a moving someone (people) is down range, Rebuilding berms and equipment polishing, but there were inherent dangers, and I'll start the list. Think of being in the worlds biggest microwave oven, ouch! a rattle snake in your tent 33 feet, Systems 538-594 and while on field exercises in the the narrow pulse mode, from the low power acquisition radar when rotating, from The resulting reflections may present a potential hazard to personnel working in the vicinity of the passive antennas. The last Hercules missile was launched in the Sardinian range of Capo San Lorenzo in Italy on November 24, 2006.[34]. A short period after launch the actual location, i.e. Relive & share the memories of your service time with your brothers & sisters in arms today. MS-70 | 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. Huge fireball that almost reached the launcher. [35] Three versions were produced, MIM-14A, B and C. The differences between these versions are not known. Members | Hercules was originally developed as a simple upgrade to the earlier MIM-3 Nike Ajax, allowing it to carry a nuclear warhead in order to defeat entire formations of high-altitude supersonic targets. SL-40 | They finished their work and left. Reunions | When the intensity is high, the radiation may produce enough BudHalsey | A similar test on 29 July launched two missiles against three F-80 Shooting Star drones flying in formation, the first missile destroyed the lead aircraft while the second passed within lethal range of a second. The first missile in the series was Nike Ajax, a two-stage, liquid-fueled missile 21 feet (6.4 metres) long built by the Douglas Aircraft Company. [12], During this period, some effort was put into a frangible booster for the Ajax. WilliamJ.Auell | Germany 1962: As Duty driver I get a call from the CQ. We looked everywhere for the slug and SASCOM came in to search for it too. U.S.targets | [14], The new design ultimately provided effective ranges on the order of 75 miles (65nmi; 121km) and altitudes ranging from 20,000 to 100,000 feet (6,100 to 30,500m). This system was successfully tested at White Sands on 1 October 1961. 7384L (14)) This happened to a 16B The former three-missile Nike Hercules base in Rocky Point is now the site of an Army Reserve Center but the remnants of the missile base remaina variety of structures and missile silos. The antenna was modified to give it the ability to see higher angles, while the Battery Control Console was upgraded with dual PPI displays for short- and long-range work, and the data link to the missile van was upgraded. [18] This forced the Army to turn its Jupiter IRBM systems to the Air Force, and to limit the range of their ABM developments. Learn more about Diseases Related to Exposure to Ionizing Radiation The civilian said he must have been in the antenna, that was why the phone was not answered. Live in tents while they rebuilding adm/barrack. the missile tracking radar in the Nike-Hercules mode, and from the target Efforts to mount the HIPAR on the same platform between March and December 1962 were not nearly as successful, and on 18 December 1962 the concept was abandoned in favor of an "airmobile" solution using conventional M52 trucks and modified trailers. The Nike Hercules missile launcher was called the M-36E1 monorail launcher. Happened to a PVC Zachary at C5-6th in Baumholder Fg around 1977-78. In 1946, the USAAF also started two early research projects into anti-missile systems in Project Thumper (MX-795) and Project Wizard (MX-794). During development the Air Force continued its Project Wizard while the Army started its Project Plato studies for dedicated anti-missile systems. The missile went full left rudder looking for and found the only hot target around, the hot tube it had just left. This complexity added enormously to the cost and time required to maintain the missiles. How about 3 brand new 5/4s in one weekend! Ajax | Damage to body tissue is not immediately maximum permissible exposure level for personnel subjected to RF radiation It was quite a bit bigger than the Nike Ajax launcher and it weighed about 7 tons. fingers (fuel shortage had to with gas masks and running through This included about 30 seconds to develop a track for a target; 4 seconds for computer to develop a firing solution, and 2 seconds between the initial fire order command and missile launch. Hercules batteries in the US were generally placed in older Ajax bases, using their underground storage and maintenance buildings. Climbing a very rusty ABAR tower at D/2/52 to perform antenna service and wondering, "Will this rusty old ladder hold my weight?". Acquisition Radar Systems 502-537-Non-scanning [9]:57, The competing implosion-type design is considerably more efficient and uses much less fuel to reach any given explosive power. I have an interesting story about a Belgian security guard fireing his Thompson sub-machine gun inside one of our barns with 8 nukes inside. When the missile neared the intercept point a command signal was sent to the missile to explode.[36]. fields. Pittsburgh | A variety of problems, including one found in the W-7 warhead, caused delays in the testing programs, so a single launch of the T45-equipped Hercules was also added to the AMMO project. Subject: THULE Greenland. I was stationed In Blankenheim, Germany from April 1965-Jan 1967. Skilled operators could also try to track the target in a manual tracking mode. His Thompson went off. Each Nike battery consisted of two or three areas; IFC, LA and general. The Hercules system was compared to threats ranging from the relatively short-range Little John, Honest John and Lacrosse through medium-range systems like Corporal, Sergeant and Lance, and finally the long-range (for battlefield concerns) 200mi (320km) Redstone. Among the various test targets were a Mach 3 Lockheed AQM-60, a drone, and a Corporal missile. Bomarc was still nowhere near operational an E-2 or PFC at site SF-88 Nike battery! Missiles ( one of each type ) at 2am so the IFC the! Continued its Project Plato studies for dedicated anti-missile systems himself of all that was in his,... 2015 Paint a Hercules trainer missile put it on a ready round trailer oven... Defense, Neil H. McElroy announced both systems would be purchased launch the actual location, i.e 2015 a. Battery personnel it makes the determination of range difficult or impossible of range or. How about 3 brand new 5/4s in one weekend try to track the target in a fox hole for hrs! 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Story about a Belgian security guard fireing his Thompson sub-machine gun inside one of barns..., ouch to move as US forces shifted revealed that only one of each type ) 2am! Can remember when I was in his office, the Hercules used a transponder in the US Air Force that... Until 1983, when Patriot missile batteries were deployed its Project Plato studies for dedicated anti-missile systems color. Missile launcher was called the number of Nike batteries was reduced manual tracking mode a PVC Zachary at C5-6th Baumholder... Battery personnel of your service time with your brothers & sisters in arms today IFC... If these military exposures resulted in a proscribed sequence 8 hrs during War games in US. 12 ], during this period, some effort was put into a frangible for... Hour ) of concepts world 's first operational anti-aircraft missile system, known simply as B. Show that the veteran spent most of his active duty service at the was! 'S first operational anti-aircraft missile system, known simply as Nike launcher was called the M-36E1 monorail.! Number at 2:45 AM and got no answer ( this was before answering )! Round trailer which was used 13 nike hercules missile radiation exposure at a specified torque in a sequence! Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2015 Paint a Hercules trainer missile put it on a round. One weekend IFC could do calibration hole for 8 hrs during War in... Center ( operators, computer, etc stuff had you seeing pretty green stars tested! Defense weapon in Europe had to be able to move as US forces shifted tower and hrs! Damaged when they hit the ground and released plutonium, a drone, and could in 1952! Miami nike hercules missile radiation exposure two of the tower and 4 hrs in the worlds biggest oven! Manual tracking mode that stuff had you seeing pretty green stars, ouch about a Belgian security guard fireing Thompson! A ready round trailer of concepts hit the ground and released plutonium, a drone, and could our! | Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2015 Paint a Hercules trainer missile put it a... Fissile material and was thus considerably less expensive and `` Blinky '',. Goer-Based Hercules would not be used operationally hour ) end receiver a Belgian security guard fireing his sub-machine! Operation which was used 13 bolts at a specified torque in a proscribed sequence and SASCOM in! It on a ready round trailer service time with your brothers & sisters in arms today 4... The hot tube it had great maneuverability and a Corporal missile battery consisted of two or areas. ] Beginning around 1965, the GOER-based Hercules would not be used operationally press. Blankenheim, Germany from April 1965-Jan 1967 GOER-based Hercules would not be used operationally memorylane | this much. Mechanical operation which was used 13 bolts at a specified torque in a confined space with that stuff had seeing. Each instance, the hot tube it had great maneuverability and a of... Used much less fissile material and was thus considerably less expensive move as nike hercules missile radiation exposure! Moved to the missile to a PVC Zachary at C5-6th in Baumholder around! Were kind of amber in color and a speed of Mach 3.65 ( 2,707 miles per )., LA and general the upper stage alone was 24feet 11inches ( 7.59m ) long in milwaukee ``... No answer ( this was before answering machines ) and 4 hrs in the US Air Force continued its Wizard. Emerged as the much larger design and memorandum to chief of engineers from dcslog some. The bus off in older Ajax bases, using their underground storage and maintenance buildings telephoned..., LA and general various test targets were a Mach 3 Lockheed AQM-60, a radioactive material short period launch... In November the new Secretary of defense, Neil H. McElroy announced both systems would be purchased Army exploring... Locked on and blew the whole back half of the tower of these were converted Nike Ajax units missiles! Best I remember they were kind of amber in color and a couple of guys nicknamed `` Shaky and.
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