Please forward any GPS positional information to Ed Thelen and I will put it on this web page.
The format is Latitude first, then Longitude as in xx-xx-xx yy-yy-yy
Please use the Map Datum "WGS 84" - most GPS units are preset to this.

Aeral views of the sites ar And, the following is a typical of Microsoft TerraServer image of a Nike site.
DF-01 Dallas-Fort Worth site (Denton, Texas) control site), and launcher site, spotted by Scott Murdock

And on-line TopoMaps spotted by Tim Tyler
"Here's an UNCLAS example. It's zoomed in on the former Detroit Nike D-17 Sites. The "Area Vocational Sch" explains a little bit about the appearance of the former IFC compound ..."

Also, Donald E. Bender picked up on U.S. Army Corps of Engineer web pages in Alaska - Clicking on USACE in the description of sites below will link to the appropriate U.S. Army Corps of Engineer web page. These are currently in Alaska, but will be extended if/when more are found.

There was also a ring of Army radars around Chicago/Milwaukee

If you want a little fun, you can TerraFly about.

Please Note: Much of the following U.S. Nike site location and current status is taken from "Rings of Supersonic Steel" and used with the kind permission of the authors Mark A. Berhow and Mark L. Morgan. (The information is arranged here by states rather than defense areas as in the original.) Also see Update Contributors.

Please also note: the information on this page is a small sub-set of the information in the book, which also includes site by site information of active dates, equipment and changes, military unit(s), maps, Defense Area Headquarters and radars, HAWK sites and general remarks.

Mark Morgan continues to travel and to collect Nike/ARADCOM history.
"I'm looking for personal recollections from former ARADCOM and anti-aircraft personnel. Any location, any time from World War II to the present, any specialty." His (new) address is:

From Mark Morgan

... there were discrepencies in the ARADCOM site numbering system; my guess is it was a function of the site planning, survey and acquisition process. ARADCOM documents do put W-93 east of W-94. Another example can be found in the Boston Defense Area; B-85 Bedford is west of B-84 Burlington. In the Chicago Defense Area, C-93 Northfield/Skokie is south and slightly east of C-98 Fort Sheridan and east of C-94 Libertyville. Strange, but true. MK The names for the Nike sites were assigned by the Army and provided in the ARADCOM station listings of the period which formed much of the foundation for Rings. ... sometimes they didn't make complete sense.

And from Don Bender

Mark and gentlemen: Another notable discrepency in the site designation system is site NY-56 at Fort Hancock, NJ, which is EAST of sites NY-53 (Middletown) and NY-54 (Holmdel/Hazlet).

Sorted by Code rough sort on facility

Site Code	Defense Area, Comments	Site Code	Defense Area, Comments
...	Anchorage Defense Area (Alaska)	LA-nn	Los Angeles (California)
B-nn	Boston (Massachusetts)	LI-nn	Lincoln (Lincoln AFB) (Nebraska)
BA-nn	Baltimore (Maryland)	M-nn	Milwaukee (Wisconsin)
BD-nn	Barksdale (AFB) Louisiana	MS-nn	Minneapolis - St. Paul (Minnesota, Wisconsin)
BG-nn	Bergstrom (AFB) (Texas)	N-nn	Norfolk (Virginia)
BR-nn	Bridgeport (Connecticut)	NF-nn	Niagara Falls (merged with Buffalo in 1961) (New York)
BU-nn	Buffalo (merged with Niagara Falls in 1961) (New York)	NY-nn	New York (New York, New Jersey)
C-nn	Chicago (Illinois, Indiana)	OA-nn	Oahu (Pearl Harbor) (Hawaii)
CD-nn	Cincinnati-Dayton (Ohio)	OF-nn	Offutt (AFB) (Iowa, Nebraska)
CL-nn	Cleveland (Ohio)	PH-nn	Philadelphia (Penna. & N.J.)
D-nn	Detroit (Michigan)	PI-nn	Pittsburgh (Penna.)
DF-nn	Dallas-Fort Worth (Texas)	PR-nn	Providence (Rhode Island, Mass. )
DY-nn	Dyes (AFB) (Texas)	R-nn	Robins (AFB) (Georga)
E-nn	Ellsworth (Air Force Missiles?) (South Dakota)	S-nn	Seattle (Washington)
...	Fairbanks (Ft Wainwright & Eielson AFB) (Alaska)	SC-nn	Shilling AFB (- inactivated after 2 months) (Kansas)
F-nn	Fairchild (Fairchild AFB) (Washington)	SF-nn	San Francisco (Calif.)
H-nn	Hanford (Atomic "device" production) (Washington)	SL-nn	St. Louis (Ill. & Mo.)
HA-nn	Hartford (Connecticut)	T-nn	Travis (AFB) (California)
HM-nn	Homestead - Miami (after Cuban Missile Crisis) (Florida)	TU-nn	Turner (AFB) (Georgia)
KC-nn	Kansas City (Kansas, Missouri))	W-nn	Washington D.C. (Maryland, Virginia)
KW-nn	Key West (after Cuban Missile Crisis) (Florida)	WA-nn	Walker (AFB) (New Mexico)
L-nn	Loring (SAC bases) (Maine)	.	.

Site facility codes used are:
A - Admin facility
C - Control/IFC (integrated fire control
DC - Direction Center
H - Housing
L - Launcher Area
R - Radar facility
Site Status codes are
(I) - Intact; buildings, launch pads and possibly radar towers in place
(O) - Obliterated: all traces removed
(P) - Partial; some modifications or dismantling of buildings and launch facilities
My added codes are:
[ ... ] information sent to update/enhance the book's information
{name} contributor code, for Contributors details
*** - a headquarters.

For maps showing many of these sites, go to Maps showing Nike sites near U.S. cities

The following are firing batteries only - no area headquarters or radars listed. Sites that were surveyed but never built are not listed below.

Please note that the Nike defense system was ever changing during its life in the United States from 1954 until the "SALT" treaty in 1974 (1979 for Anchorage Alaska). Sites were constructed, equiped and manned, sites re-named, their units renamed, and sites were closed at a much higher rate than most people were accustomed to. (People tended to think that a military installation was as permanent as taxes, at least until recently.) Some of the reasons for the frequent changes were:

1. The much greater range and power of the Nike Hercules which started replacing the Nike Ajax in 1959 reduced the number of sites required to protect a given area with the same effectiveness.
2. Changing air defense priorities - example the Cuban Missile situation in October 1962 caused some re-location of some systems to quickly constructed above ground sites in Florida.
3. Changing manpower commitments - moved some Nike people to Vietnam.
4. Review of existing situations - such as the merging of the Buffalo and Niagara Defense Areas in 1961.
5. The ever changing funding situation from congress, such as the 1970 defense cut backs.

Asking permission

----- Original Message ----- From: - To: ed@ed-thelen.org Ed, I want to photograph the old Nike Site PH-58 in Swedsboro, NJ. I was wondering if you ever got permission to do that and who you contacted to get permission? Thank You - - The very few (maybe 8?) old Nike sites that I have photographed were on public land in California and Illinois - It is considered polite, and is often advantageous, to get permission from the owner. I am told of property owners/guardians who gave requesting visitors much more complete tours, under pleasant conditions, than the usual "gorilla" sneak in and watch over your shoulder tactics. (If your not looking where your going your even more likely to get hurt.) There is even some self interest in a land owner giving you a nice tour and photo op. a) you the guest are less likely to bust in and get hurt and sue b) if you publish the photos, it is less macho for someone else to do a gorilla and getting hurt (I know that asking might not be as challenging, but I chose other challenges, and am now slowing, creaking and lazy ;-) I am CCing Mark Morgan who has visited many U.S. sites for his impressions In this case, easy way is often the best way ;-)) Ed Thelen

If you have comments or suggestions, Send e-mail to Ed Thelen

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Updated Nov 28, 2008