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BRISTOL PR-38 C |
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Located on the historic Mount Hope height and at ther
point of the Mount Hope peninsula, the Bristol Nike site was located
fifteen miles southeast of Providence. The site was one of the longest serving in the
system, being inactivated in
1974 after 18 years service.
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IFC Site |
Street Map of Site Locations |
Launcher Area |
Location IFC/ Admin Area: Located on the slope of Mount Hope [Famous Wampanoag Indian sacred land where King Philip was killed] near Brown University Haffeneffer Museum. The IFC was at two levels. The radars were located right on top of Mount Hope's summit. The fence surrounding the radars abutted a large rock mass called King Philip's Chair, which made security difficult along that stretch. Below the summit was the admin area including messhall, orderly room, barracks and motorpool. From Rte 136 take Tower road to its end at the Haffeneffer Museum. The access road is on the right but is blocked and overgrown.
Housing: Housing for soldiers with families was leased by the government in the civilian community. Present Status
Campus Map RWU
Mount Hope Area current day (from Roger Williams University website). Former Launcher Area, Bristol Nike Site |
Dates of Operation 1956-1974 History Active Army site Sep 56- Oct 74. Nike Ajax site upgraded to Nike-Hercules in May 58-Jun 59. A RI ARNG unit was also located in Bristol but probably worked out of the armory rather than the site (though I have listed it below) as it was not part of the Nike on-site program.The site was originally scheduled to be completed in Aug 56, but delays in constructing the launcher area postponed completion until Jan 57. On 4 July 1957 a ceremony was held to give the Bristol Nike Site with the officialname "Mount Hope Nike Site." [Army records always referred to the site as Bristol, however.] The name was chosen over "King Philip," General Callan" and "General Burnside." Speakersincluded R.F. Haffenreffer and the lieutenant governor and one US senator, T.F. Green, attended. Bristol holds a large and ancient 4th of July parade. During the Nike-era, the battery from Bristol always led off the parade with a missile mounted on a truck. The IFC area consisted of radars on top of Mount Hope. In the early 70s, there was a Halloween tradition of lighting up the HIPAR as a giant jack-o-lantern, including orange lights and black cutouts, which could be seen from all over the peninsula. The site was operational as a Hercules facility on 11 December 1959. Weapons Systems & Missile Load Nike Ajax / 30 (10 per launcher section) 10 mounted on launchers (3/4 per launcher section) Nike Hercules/ 18 (6 per launcher section) Missile Magazines/ Launcher Sections 3 Magazines. 1 type "B", 2 Ajax . Units Btry C, 751st AAA Missile BN (Nike)(Continental) Sep 56-Dec 56 Battery Commander: 1LT Nelson Leggette Btry C, 739th AAA Missile BN (Nike)(Continental) Dec 56-Oct 58 redesignated Nike- Ajax, Apr 58 Battery Commander: 1LT Nelson Leggette Dec 56- Mar (?) 57, 1LT Vernon C. Foutz (acting cdr/XO) 1957 CPT Everett C. Dunham 1957-60 1LT Mason / 1LT Frazier (XO) 1960 HHB, 4th Missile BN (Nike Ajax), 56th Artillery Sep 58-Jan 61 Redesignated (Nike Hercules) Jun 59 Btry C, 4th Missile BN (Nike Ajax), 56th Artillery Oct 58-Aug 63 Redesignated (Nike Hercules) Jun 59 Btry D, 4th Missile BN (Nike Ajax), 56th Artillery Oct 58-Feb 61 Note 2 Btry C, 2d Missile BN, 243d Artillery (RI ARNG) May 59-Mar 63 Not on site. Btry C, 3d Battalion, 5th Artillery Oct 63-Aug 72 Btry C, 1st Battalion, 5th ADA Sep 72- Oct 74 Battery Commander: Glenn Meigle 1972-73 Note 1: Probably relocated to Rehoboth prior to this time [but no documentary evidence is available]. Note 2: May have been formed only on paper during its assignment history in Bristol. Links Army Corps of Engineers Update: http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/publicac/updteri.htm Roger Williams University: http://www.rwu.edu For websites on the Haffeneffer Museum, please visit the links page. Contacts
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