Return to Home,
Goto Next Section
There were two basic types of Nike missiles, the "Ajax" saw service starting in 1953, and the "Hercules" saw service starting in 1958. The Department of Defense formally identifies the Nike missiles as:
Nike Ajax (with a range of about 25 miles) as MIM-3A(56K bytes, at ADA Museum, Ft. Bliss, courtesy P.J. Moore) | |||
Nike Hercules (with a range of over 75 miles) as MIM-14A and MIM-14B (40K bytes, Ft. Bliss, Tx, courtesy Jim Warren of Jim's father, June 1960) | White Sands Missile Museum, Las Cruces, from Rich Janne Labor Day weekend 2007 | 
| 
|
For a good introduction, see
part of Nike Missile and Test Equipment
and for more details of the Nike Hercules Booster and Missile
This information is grouped into the following sections:
- Time Line
- Nike Hercules - General
- Missile Data
- Warhead Data
- Nike Missile Propulsion
- Nike Missile Guidance - also see
TM9-5000-28 Nike I Missile Guidance Unit
- Shipment, unpacking, assembly, testing, local transportation
- About Nike Launchers
- About Nike Launcher Control
- Flight of the Nike Booster
- Interesting Nike Missile Trivia
Time Line
From "Nike History" section
-- "each party may have no more than 15 rapid fire launchers"
-- Most (all?) Nike launchers in United States disabled, Nike sites shutdown
Nike Hercules - General
A photo of a Nike Hercules on partially raised launcher |
Key to numbers
|
|
Please Note: the missile is resting on the launching rail with its
fins (or wings) on either side of the launching rail. The side of
the missile resting on the launching rail is called the "belly" or
bottom of the missile. This part or the missile is "down" (toward
the center of the earth) when the missile is flying toward the target. |
 63 K bytes
| A line drawing of Nike Hercules, source TM 9-1410-250-12/2 |
Nike missile external paint was usually white at sites in the U.S.
(anyone know of exceptions?).
"Offshore" the missiles could be painted:
- White - from Frank Martinez "Ed, the Herc's were white at our base." [B 1/71 Sachsenheim,]
- Camouflage colors - from Frank Martinez "I remember camo [camouflage colors] being used at other occupying forces in Germany. The one I first encountered was at a Belgium Air Force Nike site."
Launchers and rails seemed to be olive-drab everywhere.
Further details from Bud Halsey
Each bomb was "Composition B" surrounded by two layers of 1/4 inch
sharp cubes of hardened steel.
They were after detonated after
launch by either:
The Nike Hercules had a variety of warheads both nuclear and conventional explosives.
For a description of connecting ("mating") the W-31 to the Hercules,
see Mating the W31 Nuclear Warhead to the Nike Hercules Missile
From Odom, James F.
Bill Evans suggests:
Nike Hercules - nuclear safety - Barometric Probe
Rod VanAusdall wrote:
This pressure sensing was then sent to the barometric switches (baro switches)
in the warhead where they served to "advise" the warhead circuitry of the missile
altitude. This information was used by the warhead to complete warhead arming
sequences and to provide altitude warning in the fail-safe system to provide a
"one point" or HE detonation as required by a missile returning to low altitude
with no direct fail-safe signal received from the MTR. The baro switches were
set at the time of mating the warhead to the missile (this was done by use of the
T 4014 Test Set in the Warhead Building) and could also be set at the launch area
after mating.
There were two altitude settings - high and low - arming sequence and fail-safe
sequence settings. The baro probe was a delicate mechanism and was always part
of the Technical Proficiency Inspection as relates to the unpacking (they came
in steel containers), cleaning, and mounting. It was carefully inspected for
freedom of movement and cleanliness.
There came a time when the Baro Probe was requiring excessive maintenance as
they were always exposed to weather (we are speaking of above ground sites now)
and a bright red cover, which resembled a doghouse for a dachshund was installed..
It made the missile look odd but kept the probe clean. I think this came about
around the time of the "President Kennedy" plug if anyone remembers that.
The probes were a big pain but served a very important purpose.
The "plain old nose spike" was a dummy spike so one couldn`t tell (by casual
observation) which was a nuclear warheaded missile and which was an HE only
as a nuclear warheaded round always had a baro probe mounted and of course HE did
not require one. We are speaking of counter-intelligence measures. Perhaps only
used in Europe - I know they were used in Europe but by the time I served in the
States around Cincinatti (the Dillsboro, Indiana site guarded Cincinatti)
I saw no dummy probes - only covers.
The plain old or dummy spike became obsolete when the baro probe cover came in to
use as the covers hid all sight of the probe.
The nuclear warheads were heavily guarded
The German Airforce was responsible
for all of the missile, launching area equipment, and fire direction center
equipment maintenance. The Germans also were in command of the site. Total
strength of the American special weapon support and security were
twenty-eight officers and enlisted men.
The Detachment was made up of an Commanding Officer (Captain), and
Executive Officer (1st Lieutenant), a Warhead Officer (2nd Lieutenant),
Team Sergeant (E-7), Security Sergeant (E-6), Warhead Sergeant (E-6), three
Warhead Maintenancemen (E-5), one Clerk(E-4), two Cooks (E-4), and sixteen
security personnel (E-3 and E-4).
From Andy Anderson
Over 40 trucks with armed guards all along the route.
We totaled up the yields and came up with 1800 megatons
Much of the time the warheads were transported by Chinook to Elmendorf AFB
where they were loaded on C-141 Starlifters.
From Richard J. Pecoraro
From Bob Wilie Nov 13, 2000
The nuclear warheads had special handling
From Andy Anderson
The PAL device is the Permissive Action Link. Sometimes called the Kennedy
Device.
I was one of the two people that had to authenticate the nuclear release
authorization.
The PAL device was a shorting plug in the special warheads.
It was a combination lock installed at the arming plug location.
The arming plug dictated what type of burst you would get.
A ground burst was set at 600 feet above ground level. The is the altitude
that would deliver the most damage for a ground burst.
This type of mission was used against ground troops and tanks.
The other type of arming plug was used against aircraft groups of 12 or more
aircraft.
This plug also offset the guidance system to cause the missle to fly above
the target at 600 feet and detonate, causing the burst to take out every
aircraft in a 4 mile radius.
In order to control the launch of a nuclear weapon, the PAL device was used.
It, when installed, was a shorting plug, that prevented the missle from
launching and kept the warhead in a safe condition (i.e.. not armed).
When the president gave the ok to fire.
An encoded message would come from CINCNORAD with the combination to open
the PAL device. This was my job.
I opened the PAL, armed the missle with the correct arming plug and punched
the fire button.
There was no voltage in the PAL. I was just a plug that disabled the
launching.
It also served another purpose. If the weapon fell into the wrong hands and
they tried to take the PAL device off by hammering, cutting or whatever, the
missle would self destruct. This was never told to allies on the custodial
sites.
It would not detonate with a yield, but would do a HE explosion with a small
amount of contamination.
- the following is
not Nike, but gives some idea of the special handling to reduce the
possibility of unauthorized risk - from
Donald E. Bender
Don B.
The nuclear warheads had special training
From Rod van Ausdall
The Nike Hercules training round was remarkable for its` color - black. It was a complete
round (included the missile and booster cluster) I believe these rounds were selected from
production rejects, painted black, and entered into the training inventory after they were
stripped of operational components and appropriately weighted. The first one I saw simulated
the "stovepipe" guidance (forerunner of the "mushroom" guidance package) with a dummy
stovepipe guidance section.
Outwardly these rounds appeared identical to the war reserve items except for the color.
Weight was identical and the round could be handled (transported, joined, etc) as if it
were the "hot" item. A black missile container was provided.
The T74 Training warhead with a training XM75 Cartridge (adapter to the M31 warhead)
was also painted black as was its` XM 401 container. The warhead cartridge had all the
electrical connections available for assembly and a training wiring harness was included
in the package. Weight was about 1200 pounds, simulating the War Reserve item.
Dummy firing plugs were included as was a training barometric probe and black "doghouse".
The warhead featured a multi-switch panel behind the right rear warhead access door
(standing aft looking forward) and these switches could be thrown to cause various
indications of malfunction to appear on the T4014 Test Set during warhead mating
and checkout exercises. Technical Proficiency Inspection Teams made good use of
these switches during TPIs to test the reaction and corrective procedure skills of the
Assembly teams. Downrange, on the launcher, the use of the "fault" switches could
give bad indications on the LCI to test the launch crews.
The use of the training round was of great assistance in crew training and saved wear
and tear on the War Reserve items. I have never seen a Nike Ajax trainer although I
have seen and used Nike Ajax training warheads.
I think the above is reasonably accurate. I have searched my memory for any use of the
trainer during Annual Service Practice (ASP) and cannot remember any such instance.
I am sure they were not used during ASP as that was, of course, a live fire exercise with
the HE warhead and commingling a training item for a crew proficiency test would have
been ill advised. I know during my ASPs they were not used.
Rod vanAusdall
from Dave, August 28, 2007 ...
Yes there is a T-4014 used by the site personnel in the launcher warhead room for main setting of the baros for altitude only. No calibration.
What they haven't mentioned is there are several more:
The T-4115 can also test the main engine ignitors, and the main harness.
We had to memorize the entire circuitry and operation of all of these:
Nervous story:
Second nervous story:
Enjoy the site but I don't see ANY of the other weapons folks listed.
dave
Note that this is not the shuttle booster technology mentioned later.
The goal here is to provide a very high (25 g) brief (3.4 second) boost to get the
missile into action as quickly as practical.
The finished propellant is a single mass called a grain or stick.
The cross section (end view) permits a large burning surface with a
relatively constant area during burning, giving rather constant gas production
and high rather constant force.
A typical recipe for double base rocket propellant is
This double base rocket propellant produces a lovely pink flame and NO SMOKE.
See Crete launch trip report.
This is the typical end of a Nike booster at Red Canyon Range. Note that the
booster is buried to about 2/3 of its length. This "soil" is hard, dry, and rocky!
Trying to dig a hole in it with an "entrenching tool" is a truly frustrating task.
Hard to imagine the impulse or force necessary to bury the 13 foot long, 16 inch diameter
steel tube&nozzle this far into that rocky hardpan.
There have been rumors of a South Korean varient of the booster. The
The U.S. Space Shuttle solid fuel boosters are much larger
and have much different performance goals.
The Shuttle and other space launch vehicles desire a much longer burn time (lower g forces)
and with more emphasis on economy. The oxidizer is ammonium perchlorate
and the fuel is synthetic rubber material and aluminum.
These are mixed together, melted and poured into the steel sections. Later the
sections are fastened together - with seals - into a much longer unit. The cross section
is a solid and the long tube of fuel burns from one end to the other end in 10's of seconds.
See
NASA Facts online - solid propellants
For a nice introduction to rocket engines, see
Firing of the missile rocket
motor initiators is prevented before the boost period by a safety and
arming switch which applies a short circuit across the initiators and
opens the circuit from the thermal batteries. During the boost period,
the force of acceleration arms the switch, thereby removing the short
circuit from the initiators and completing the circuit from the thermal
batteries.
Thanks to Bud Halsey for researching this.
Most liquid fuel mixtures are indeed superior in "specific impulse"
or push force than any solid fuel mixtures. Any reasonably safe
solid oxidizer contains oxygen bound up in heavy inert ingredients
which seriously reduce pushing ability per weight.
You remember your liquid fuel rocket theory and practice? Good!
You take a tank of "fuel", and a tank of "oxidizer" and push or pump
the contents of both into a "combustion chamber" (rocket motor) that has a hole for the
flames to come out of. Since pumps can be more of a bother than worth in small rockets,
we will use
a tank of compressed nitrogen to push the materials out of the
tanks into the rocket motor - and we need at least 400 pounds per square inch
to make the system really effective. We will line inside of the rocket motor
with something to protect the rest of the rocket motor from the high pressure,
high speed acid and oxide flames.
Liquid oxidizers are very effective, unfortunately they tend to be
very troublesome.
Oh - yes! How did we start the fire? You remember the giant sparklers and
pin wheel igniters used by the V-2s and NASA? Lets try something else, something
that will start to burn if mixed with the "IRFN". That sounds simpler and more
reliable.
And this is where the chemistry starts to get *truly* dangerous again.
A "aniline/furfury alcohol" was used at first, and soon replaced by
"unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazide", "UDMH" for short. And again we have
something not something for the high school chemist. It turns out that
if you mix "IRFN" and "UDMH", you get instant fire - right now, whoosh.
And an interesting idea is to store the "UDMH" in the pipe leading from
the "JP-4" tank to the rocket motor. You can keep it there by having
a diaphragm on both ends of the pipe. When the nitrogen starts to push
the from the tank, the diaphragms break,
and the "UDMH" sprays into the rocket motor in just before the "JP-4".
There the "UDMH" meet the just arriving "IRFN", starts burning instantly
and so by the time the "JP-4" start arriving, there is a roaring fire
already started, and the fire continues burning in the motor.Missile Data
Characteristic Units Ajax Hercules
Identification (Joint Designations
System by the DoD)
MIM-3A MIM-14A,B
body . . .
length feet 21 27
weight pounds 1,050 5,250
payload pounds 300 1,000
body diam inches 15 32
fin diam inches 50 90
thrust pounds 2,500 13,500
propellant type liquid:
- red fuming nitric acid
- jet fuel (JP-4)
- ignited by UDMH solid
burn time seconds 30 29
thrust pounds 2600 10,000
speed mach 2.3 3.5
speed mph 1900 2700
range miles 26 over 90
booster . . .
length feet 13 14
weight pounds 1,200 5300
body diam inches 16 34
fin diam inches 76 138
thrust pounds 44,000 173,600
burn time seconds 3.4 3.4
total or combined . . .
length feet 33 40
weight pounds 2,260 10,550
cost in 1958 dollars 20,000 55,000
Nike Hercules was MIM-14A, MIM-14B and
MIM-14C. There were also several other models of Nike Hercules, e.g.
M-1810 (a liquid-fueled model of which only 70 were manufactured) and
the M-74 (a nuclear warhead training missile--designed for crews to
practice with since they could not fly). The B and C models were
technologically improved models of the basic MIM-14 A.
Warhead Data
From TM 9-1970-2, Feb, 1958. Info from "KL", serene@usaor.net
The T-45 conventional high explosive warhead
weighed 1106 pounds and contained
600 pounds of HBX-6 military explosive.
For further discussion see
What about the conventional warheads?
from Frequently Asked Questions
The Nike missile warhead section (M-22, M-23 or M-97)
was an integral part of the Nike missile.
Nike Hercules used the W-31 warhead weighing 1123 lb.
Yield was switchable between 2 or 40 kiloton
To answer Mr. Man-Wou Jee's question about safety measures on the Nike
system, was the two man rule. It took two people to arm
the missile. One person had half of the combination and the second one had
the other half. On custodial sites (Greece, Korea, Turker, etc),
a PAL device (permissiave action link) was used, and it took two persons to
remove it so the arming device could be installed.
For further discussion see
What about the nuclear warheads?
from Frequently Asked Questions
Another source of nuclear warhead data is
"The Swords of Armageddon"
(suggested by
Nicholas Maude which I have not seen).
For some interesting info on 'our' nuke warheads, see
- - http://www.fas.org/nuke/hew/Usa/Weapons/Allbombs.html
scroll down to W-7, W-31 (also see W-50 for Nike-Zeus)
then look at
- - http://www.fas.org/nuke/hew/Nwfaq/Nfaq1.html
section 1.5.1 for info on what a 'boosted' weapon is (what the tritium did).
To keep the warhead from exploding near the ground, and causing high levels of
ground radioactivity, a "Barometric Probe" was used
- photos courtesy of
Ed Bisconti,
identified by Robert H Foy
Those nose spikes are properly termed a "Barometric Probe" commonly referred to
as a "baro probe". The probe is a part of the warhead system and was used to sense
the barometric pressure (as opposed to dynamic pressure) at altitude.
From John Meskanick indicates.
... I was sent to Europe and served with Team D,
66th USA Artillery Detachment, 5th Artillery Group, Special Ammunition
Support Command. I was stationed with the 21st Fla Rak Battalion, German
Air Force, near Westkirchen, West Germany. I was responsible for assembly
and maintenance of the ten nuclear warheads that were a part of the
Battery's missile inventory. We had eight weapons equipped with 3 kiloton
warheads and two equipped with 30 kiloton warheads. We had both surface to
air and surface to surface capability.
All Alaska site were closed in 1979. What a sight it was, for Anchorage, to
see a convoy of nuclear warheads rolling thru the city at 7 :00 a.m. in the
morning.
... the Nike Hercules Weapons
Support Detachment-Korea(NHWSD-K), a special weapons custodial detachment
[was deactivated in 1980].
Our job was to assume control of one or more Korean Nike sites in case the
balloon went up. And be ready to accept one or more of our "special"
warheads. We were a small unit of about 110 people. Mostly NCO's and
Officers. It was created out of selected soldiers from 2/44 as it
deactivated in 77. We ended up with a LTC Detachment Commander and a SGM as
a First Sergeant believe it or not.
Arm Plugs for the Hercs on National guard sites were kept in a two dial safe
with the combinations in the hands of Regular Army personnel.
I guess so NJ could not attack NY
I was a team member for the authentication
process using the PAL device. We had to move from site to site while
assigned to the 43rd.
Mark Foster suggests looking at this
PAL web site
Just FYI ... found this while searching
around in DejaNews.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
(beginning of original message)
Subject: Re: Two man principle
From: thunder@rmii.com (Ed Rasimus)
Date: 1999/02/19
Newsgroups: rec.aviation.military
BOD
and
... and noted no mention of the Nike Hercules Training Warhead - nuclear -(simulated the
M31 nuke) which as you may know, was used in TPI and other training routines. The warhead
was so fashioned the Nuclear Test team could throw various switches in it to cause the T74
to give false (and alarmimg) readings on the T4014 test set and the launcher control station
thus causing the crews to take action which was then graded -pass/fail by the inspection team.
Ed asked me if I would write a paragraph or two about the Nike Hercules Training Round,
including the Training Warhead, the T 74. Here goes.
Seems there is a little misconception regarding the test sets for the Nike Hercules warhead:
Funny story: We had to calibrate the load test equipment regularly so when we received a new dynomometer, we had to tie a sling to it and run it up to 10,000 lbs using chain fall and a rolling overhead crane. I went to loading this one up but just couldn't get it to go all the way to 10K lbs and STAY there. It would just sag back to 3K or so. Then I hear the warrant hollering for me from his office. He curses me out and comes running. He makes me step back to look and then I realize the crane is collapsing more each time I yank it down. We had received a 100K lb dyno and we totally ruined the crane. We were all amazed the sling held the 100K lbs. We sent the dyno back to the mfg and got a new crane.
Nike Boosters
Drawing of Hercules Booster Motor (one of four) from TM 9-1410-250-12/2 page 3-38,
size is 80 K bytes.
The Nike Ajax used one of these (13 foot long, 16 inch diameter) units, with
fins, as a booster rocket.
The Nike Hercules used four of these units, arranged in a square, with fins,
as a booster.
From "Space Handbook", AU-18, Air University Press,
Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama 36112-5532 -
also available from U.S. Government Printing Office
From
NASA Facts online
"Specific impulse is the period in seconds for which a 1-pound (0.45-kilogram)
mass of propellant (total of fuel and oxidizer) will produce a thrust of 1 pound
(0.45- kilogram) of force. Although specific impulse is a characteristic of the
propellant system, its exact value will vary to some extent with the operating
conditions and design of the rocket engine. It is for this reason that different
numbers are often quoted for a given propellant or combination of propellants. "
Nike Ajax Booster, - end of the line -
40 K bytes
photo shows a larger single barreled booster
(25 K bytes) for their Hercules (or a rumored South Korean surface-to-surface
variant) of the Hercules)
Photo found by
Daemon Hobbs, Capt, USAF, on the
Korean Ministry of National Defense site.
"It shows the surface-to-surface variant of the Nike during a recent ROK military parade.
... it shows the Nike is alive and well in the ROK.
Sustainer Motor Delayed Firing (optional)
***Hercules only***
In a surface-to-air low altitude mission, a motor start delay timer
relay prevents the thermal battery current from igniting the rocket
motor initiators until 9 seconds after liftoff. By means of a delayed
motor start, missile velocity is reduced and a shorter turning radius
and lower initial altitude are obtained.
Ajax Liquid Fuel Sustainer Rocket Motor
Mixture
Specific Impulse
Used in
Liquid Fluorine, Liquid Hydrogen
http://www.its.caltech.edu/~mars/propulsion.html
546
(no examples known)
Liquid Oxygen, Liquid Hydrogen
440
sophisticated space applications, even using this,
the Space Shuttle can't get above a marginal low earth orbit.
Liquid Oxygen, Kerosene
310
earth launch stages
Red Fuming Nitric Acid, Kerosene
280?
Nike Ajax sustainer
Solid Nitroglycerine based
250
Nike Boosters
ammonium perchlorate, rubber
250
Nike Hercules sustainer, Space Shuttle booster
Going down the available energy scale -
Here we have a drawing of compressed nitrogen on the left pushing "IRFNA"
from one tank and "JP-4" from the other tank into the fiery rocket motor.
Here we have a drawing of compressed nitrogen on the left pushing "IRFNA"
from one tank and "JP-4" from the other tank into the fiery rocket motor.
But notice, there is a pipe full of "UDMH" going into the rocket motor just before the fuel "JP-4" gets there. The "UDMH" and "IRFNA" spontaneously ignite - the mixture is termed "hypergolic".
From Kurt Laughlin (July 25, 1999)
|
The following information is not
from experience, but from technical manuals of the period:
The NIKE AJAX used several acid or corrosive mixtures in the propellant system. The starting fluid was 99% Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine (UDMH). The propellant was 83% JP-4 turbine engine fuel and 17% UDMH. The missile oxidizer was Inhibited Red Fuming Nitric Acid (IRFNA), composed of 83% Nitric Acid, 14% Nitrogen Dioxide, 0.6% Hydrofluoric Acid. Each missile held 4,370 cu in of oxidizer (S. G. 1.563), 1,822 cu in of fuel (S.G. .782), and 1.07 lbs. of starting fluid. Spills were to be neutralized with alcohol or water (starting fluid), 5% Sodium Bicarbonate solution (oxidizer), or with 95% Ethyl Alcohol and dilute Acetic Acid in the case of propellant. At many points in the procedure the contaminated parts and fueling area are flushed with the above neutralizers and large amounts of water. Undoubtedly, this was carried into the "Acid Pit". Empty oxidizer and fuel drums were to be flushed with the proper neutralizer and water. NIKE HERCULES did not use liquid propellants. Hope this helps. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require more information - I have around 2-3000 pages of NIKE documents covering all areas of the operations. KL |
And now you can guess why everyone was much relieved when the much simpler and safer and easy to maintain Hercules solid fuel sustainer motor was used.
In spite the *really* dangerous materials used, in complex equipment, with high pressure nitrogen, ... there were very few serious accidents.
e-Bay listing of Nike Ajax motor (March 16,2001) pointed out by Tom Vaughn
1960 AJAX Photos including fueling operations
From Arnold G. Reinhold (June 3, 2000)
| UDMH was also use as fuel in the reaction control system on the Apollo missions. The oxidizer was nitrogen tetroxide. The Space Shuttle uses monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) and nitrogen tetroxide. |
Hercules Solid Fuel Sustainer Motor
|
Drawing of Hercules Solid Fuel Sustainer Motor from TM 9-1410-250-12/2 page 3-38.
Size is 65 K bytes. |
-
This sustainer motor is almost (probably about 80%) as efficient pound for pound
as the liquid fuel Ajax sustainer motor, but did not require the time consuming,
difficult and hazardous fueling operations necessary with the Ajax. It was equiped
with 8 electric heaters (and blankets) to help keep the fuel temperature above +10 degrees F.
The sustainer motor was made by Thiokol.
This material resembles that found in the Space Shuttle booster - the oxidizer is ammonium perchlorate and the fuel is synthetic rubber material and aluminum.
(Some early test Hercules missiles had the Ajax chemistry sustainer motors, but these were never shipped to operational sites.)
Nike Missile Guidance
The Nike Ajax used a 28 volt silver-cadmium battery with potassium hydroxide as the
electrolyte. This is a close relative of Edison's nickel-cadmium battery
used in the Nike Hercules but with a little higher energy per weight.
The battery was not charged during flight, it just supplied power.
The physical size of the Ajax battery was similar to a motorcycle battery
- about 6 inches by 4 inches by 4 inches. The Hercules battery was considerably
larger due to higher power consumption and longer flight time.
From Alfred E. Boggs
The Herk's had an entirely different battery. a one shot, no repair work.
The Nike missile had 4 microwave windows or antennas facing backward and a little
to the side.
Each antenna was 1 inch diameter and was able to pass 3 cm wavelength microwaves
into and out of the missile. Antennas 2 and 4 were connected to the missile receivers.
Antennas 1 and 3 were connected to the missile magnetron which was fired when
the missile receiver received a correct pulse pair from the MTR. The missile's
magnetron generated a peak power of 320 watts from the feedhorns.
When the missile receiver detected a pulse separated from the preceding pulse by the
correct time interval (an example could be 2.3 microseconds) the missile receiver
signaled the missile transmitter to send a pulse back to the MTR.
The MTR actually tracked the missile transmitted pulse, not the (much weaker)
MTR pulses reflected back from the skin of the missile. The combination
of receiver and transmitter operated in this fashion is called a Transponder.
As mentioned in the Missile Tracking Radar (MTR) section, the computer sent steering
commands to MTR, which converted the commands to tones. The voltage from the
tones controlled the rate that the pulse pairs are transmitted. A higher voltage
gave a higher rate of pulse pairs transmitted.
The missile 'listened' for the rate of the pulse pairs, and detected
the tones which controlled the MTR. These tones contained the steering and burst
commands. These tones were then or decoded and sent to the steering and
warhead sections.
The steering commands were sent from the computer via the MTR as 'g's. 1 'g' is
the 'force of gravity' at the earth's surface.
There is more to steering than meets the eye. Remember when you started to drive
a car - you had no idea
The car did not behave well, your friends got a chance to laugh -
until they also had trouble. But you quickly learned to steer reasonably well.
Similar type of steering control problems exist with most steering problems (boats,
torpedoes, missiles, etc.) and must be corrected.
The steering fins were at 45 degrees from "down"
and the steering commands were
similarly not up/down but up_left/down_right. This unexpected flying attitude
permitted all of the wings to help the missile dive strongly (decreasing the
'dead zone')
with out stressing
the wings too much. There were two sets of steering
controls, one for up_left and one for up_right. This included two accelerometers
(oriented the 45 degrees from "down"). The accelerometers were little black boxes
about 2x2x3 inches. They were suprisingly heavy, due to the large magnets inside
to provide magnetic damping.
Another function of the steering (guidance) was to roll keep the belly down
so that the radars, computer, and missile had a common frame of reference.
An on-board gyroscope provided the reference for the missile.
The down direction was the same for radars, computer, and the missile.
The missile belly was kept in a plane that included
To help keep the gyro from approaching the "gimbal limits" and "tumbling"
the angle of the predicted point of intercept was sent to the gyro just before launch.
The "spin axis" of the gyro was set perpendicular to this predicted point of intercept
direction.
The Nike can go about plus/minus 70 degrees azimuth from the predicted intercept point
at launch time before its gyro loses its sense of direction.
During the boost phase, the steering or guidance section
keeps the missile going in a straight line and not rolling.
The missile starts to roll to put its belly toward the predicted intercept point
and down at booster separation.
From Thomas Davis, August 2000
Originally it was an engine run by an extremely volatile liquid fuel,
The new [battery powered] APS really improved things. The liquid fueled one
was the number one maintenance headache for the direct support mechanics,
because it had to be run each time the hydraulics were tested by the
operating personnel, and then refueled.
The hydraulic fluid was controlled by small slide valves that did not take
much energy. The hydraulic fluid pushed pistons which controlled the steering fin
angles. A great deal of force was necessary to move the fins of the missile
flying at supersonic speeds.
The slide valves acted as power amplifiers.
Shipping
As you can see, this took a semi flatbed, two five tons a (precautionary)
wrecker and a standby five ton to haul the stuff and a couple of
deuce&halfs for guards and a jeep for the convoy commander. Especially in Europe.
Another convoy of similar proportions was needed for the warhead
(especially the Nuke). In Europe, the receiving battery provided everything
but the flatbed with was provided by Bn. motorpool.
OK, now the bird is on site at the Assembly building and the
warhead building and unloaded. Now the warhead has to stay under armed guard
as long as it is not inside the exclusion area. This is usually about
three days for a good crew and four or five days for most.
Assembly
Two types of guidance sections were used.
The fins and elevons were unpacked and attached.
The test equipment was attached and the hydraulic system charged.
Then it was ready for checkout.
CHECKOUT
(I did the operation once at McGregor Range so fast that the inspector
CWO slammed the book shut and said "I have no idea what you did Sergeant
or how you did it, but if your done, I'm done.") ( I said, "Sir, this is
a good bird.") My CWO knew if I said so,it was right. so we went on from there.)
The RF checks entailed
Next the nose and guidance was put on a dolly and the bird was rolled
to the warheading area. Warhead operations usually didn't start till
next morning.
Warheading
After towing the missile to the warheading area, the nose and transponder was
usually hand pushed in after motor installation and warheading. The warhead
can was unseal and "sniff checked" for radiological and radiation checks were made.
(The crew wore dosimeters and an audio alarm was present too) The warhead was rolled
out and bolted and torqued to the main body section. Then the fun began.
The Warhead Test Set was hooked up and the No-NoGo tests were run.
The Baro[meter] checks [to assure the warhead did not detonate near ground]
and some others were performed . A NoGo indication meant that you had a
malfunctioning Warhead with power hooked to it or you had a bad cable or
crew error. (The guys in the other area seldom knew about the NoGos.
Just the BC. Only once in many did I see a real malfunctioning warhead
that had to be rejected and sent back.
Then the bird goes to the designated section and is joined to the booster.
After joining and seating into the forward structure on the booster, the
yoke is raised and seated and bolted tight The whole bird is raised to
35 degrees and brought down The yoke is checked or adjusted as needed and
elevated again. This goes on until there is no need for adjustment, then
the bird is raised to 87 degrees and the whole thing is done again. After
the yoke is secured and wired, the bird is hooked up and elevated to 87 again
for the MTR [Missile Tracking Radar] to lock on and command calibrate. After that,
she's a Ready Round.
The firing section crew of 5 to 8 men with an E5 or E6 is in charge now and has
the bird. They must perform daily, weekly and assist in monthly checks.
Daily consist of checking pressures, hydraulics and air. and other gauges and
meters, cleanliness and general maintenance on all their equipment. Any fault
found that they couldn't fix was for the Assembly and Maintenance crew to fix.
They also had a 37 kW generator and four launchers to maintain. Besides the
alert statuses, usually every third week we changed status or readiness.
Low was 3 hrs then 1 hr, 30 min and 5 minutes. The crews had to stay 24 hours
in the magazine on the 30 and 5s but, of course chow relief was made so they could eat.
During 30s and 5s four Hercs were loaded on the four launchers and on 5s the
remaining arsenal was parked outside as possible in case of FOD during launch.
In case of launch the adjoining round was loaded so two people was certainly
now enough. There were mechanical rail stops around each round on both rails
so it took a minimum of four for efficient operations. One of the most nerve
wracking jobs in the section was hooking up the squibs to the boosters.
This was done when the unit went to 5 minute status. The squib, or ignitor
cable came out the back of the booster on both Ajax and Herc. The cable had
to be megged [assure well insulated from ground] and continuited
[assure a complete circuit is present] before hooking it to the firing cable.
Keep in mind that you have your head almost inside the booster nozzle when
this is done. The two man rule prevailed so your buddy could go with you
[like you both could be killed].
During weekly checks the birds were all rolled out or brought up and elevated
one at a time and turned on. The APS test motor was running so no Ethylene
oxide was being burned or no HotShot batterys were fired to get hydraulic pressure.
The MTR locked on and sent commands. The section chief verbally read the elevons
movements as the MTR sent the commands, including 25+G pitch (Which was command burst)
Monthly checks were the responsibility of the A&T. Usually one electech and
one mechtech did the job. This entailed hooking the RF test set to the bird and
completely checking the guidance section almost like it was done initally,
Sometimes a section crewman would help and sometimes only the electech had to
do it all alone.
It seems, in retrospect we were continually tearing down and rebuilding missiles
for one reason or another. Seems that the powers that be could never get an
item's shelf life coordinated so that they all came due at the same time.
I remember tearing down a bird three times in one year, just for shelf life.
Once in Germany, we had five birds down for a bad lot of ethylene in the APS.
We were waiting for the chopper to bring us new ones and take the contaminated
ones when we went to DEFCON2 or 3 for the Cuban missile thing. Boy, did we
hustle for a few days.
To fuel the APS we had to wear only a hood, rubber gloves and a rubber apron.
For fuel on the Ajax we wore "Oil cloth "coveralls and a jacket., a hood and
gloves. Over that was a Scott Air Pack with about 30 minutes of air. We had to
take a break and change tanks and all the equipment before we could change from
fuel to oxidizer. Usually one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
The [Launcher] section configuration was not at all uniform. There were underground
magazines with storage rails downstairs and upstairs. The only missile that could
come up magically out of the ground was the last one, out on the elevator mounted
launcher. In Europe and NATO most of the sites were above ground Like in Alaska,
and at Deep Creek in the Offit defense [areas]. Some had nylon/plastic cover that
zipped off and some were in air-supported tents with zippers. In Europe the sites
I was on or visited had large hangers with big roll up doors and everything was
on one plane.
Personnel was usually not a problem for the lower enlisted grades. Most were eager
and honest. I can't say the same for some of the senior NCOs. Some were riffed
[Reduction In Force ED] officers from WW2 and never let you forget it.
In my opinion that was a bad program. Bad officers don't make good NCOs.
Most of the Commissioned Officers were OK, once they got they permanent teeth.
I have some appalling tales and some funny ones about some of the 2d Lts
I've seem and had as my Platoon Leader. But thats a lot more than I want
to type right now.
From Terry Kerns June 22, 2001,
answering a question from
From Peter Snöberg June 22, 2001
A picture and text of a Hercules launcher
from a tour of SF-88.
Mary Rasa, Curator of
NY-56, Ft. Hancock, asked for a weight estimate
of the Hercules launcher.
Ronald W Parshall responded with
E-mail from Bud Halsey, former manager of SF-88
Generally, the launchers used for the Nike Ajax missile were the M-22
or the M-22A1 launcher. When coupled with five missile rack sections and
some control elements, they were called the M-26 or M26A1 "launcher
loaders". The Nike Ajax launcher was relatively small with what looked
like tripod legs.
The Nike Hercules missile launcher was called the
M-36E1 monorail launcher. It often had rack sections attached to it
also. The M-36E1 was a steel rectangle with electric and hydraulic
components and a large erecting beam supported by movable supports. It
was quite a bit bigger than the Nike Ajax launcher and it weighed about
7 tons. There was also a mobile Nike Hercules launcher (M-94) which
consisted of an M-36E1 launcher with jack stands, an axle and kingpin
section, and a portable blast deflector.
Nike Ajax missiles could be launched from a Nike Hercules launcher.
There are literally dozens of pictures showing Nike Ajax missiles on
Hercules launchers (to include the "unusual photo"). After Red Canyon
Missile firing range was closed, Nike Ajax missiles were fired from
McGregor Range. Well into the Nike Hercules era, units on their annual
SNAP exercises, fired both Nike Ajax and Nike Hercules missiles from
McGregor Range. This was an attempt to "use up" stocks of old Nike Ajax
missiles still on hand plus the Nike Ajax missiles were cheaper than the
Nike Hercules missiles.
The following is preliminary, non-authorative.
Major launching area launching components are:
The booster was still going almost straight up, trailing white smoke from the scorched paint
on the hot steel of the booster body. So much smoke in fact, that the eye tended to follow
the more spectacular smoking booster rather than the less smoky (especially Ajax) Nike missile.
The booster continued streaking skyward, alone, untracked, finished, unwanted,
a liability, to over 50,000 feet.
By then (about 40 seconds after launch) gravity and air drag had slowed the booster to a stop.
The booster started to fall backward, the fins caught the air and flipped the booster to
point downward. By now the steel tube has cooled and is no longer smoking much.
The Nike missile may have already reached the target and exploded. The Missile Tracking Radar
may have already locked on to a new missile, and that new missile may be flying.
Down, down, faster and faster, the old booster falls
toward an area about a mile from the launcher.
The booster falls relatively quitely for another 40 seconds, then
WHAM! Silence! A minute and one half after launch,
the booster's steel body has slammed almost straight into the ground or water. The
sudden stop rips the tail fins off. If the ground is the hard desert test missile range,
about 5 feet of the 10 foot steel tube sticks out of the ground, finless,
like a fat fence post.
If you have comments or suggestions, Send e-mail
to Ed Thelen
Return to Home,
Updated December 20, 2007
Nike Missile Electric Battery
About the batteries, the Ajax missile batteries, we would rebuild.
They were individual cells connected together. They were taken apart and cleaned
and tested and then reassembled and recharged.
Nike Missile Transponder & Decoder
Nike Missile Steering
gyroscopes.
Image courtesy of Jochen Zilg
The command decoder in the missile gives the g's requested by the computer.
To provide good steering without "hunting" back and forth, other conditions
are sensed
These sensed conditions help provide smooth steering.
Nike Missile Hydraulics
That is correct for the Ajax, the accumulator was right behind the nose
warhead, but the Hercules had an Auxiliary Power Supply (APS) to provide
hydraulic pressure.
but some time around 1961 a battery powered APS was introduced.
Shipment, unpacking, assembly, testing, local transportation
NIKE HERCULES OPERATIONS
The missile body section came shipped in a pressurized cylindrical
steel container about 5 X 15 ft minus the warhead and with the nose
and guidance section bolted to the main body section.
Assembly comes after inspection and unpacking.
The RF test set and the electrical test set were mounted atop the hydraulic
test set and operated by one man. (I had this job most of the time during
my enlisted phase.) There were 1752 separate steps to RF test set calibration
and missile check out. The CWO usually stood beside the operator with the
book to check him out.
There was four people around the bird to
make adjustments and movements. After the hydraulics came on it was
deafening for about 20 minutes and everything had to be by signals so
the crew had to be well trained.
The revetted warhead area was a multifunction area. With the Ajax, it was a
fueling, warheading and booster/bird mating area. With the the Herc, it was
only warheading, motor installation and booster buildup. The Herc booster
came in a cluster, so the field units had only to instal the fins. This was
usually done the time the bird was ready to be joined.
. The Herc could never be on the rail by itself there
was no way to support it without the booster being there. If you could e
mail me those pictures i would sure like to see what your talking about
terry445@raex.com
I dug up a coupe of pictures for you. See:
The sustainer section in missile_dolly.jpg is minus the warhead section so it's few feet
shorter than it would be at loading. (please excuse the tarps)
... a picture of the missile transporter at SF-88 ... it was a
trailer with short rails on it and a couple of extension pieces that connect to the
rails above the magazine. Hydraulic shocks were compressed with a hand pump (that was
built into the transporter) to cause the whole thing to squat down to match the height
of the rails. Perhaps one of these guys with real experience will add some details.
About Nike Launchers
"My book says the launcher is 11,941 LBS. It recommends a lifting capacity
of 12,500 lbs"
About Nike Launcher Control
Now starting to fill the gap.)
Hopefully more info soon.
Flight of the Nike Booster
Interesting Nike Missile Trivia
"Bill Fiorentino SteelPrize@worldnet.att.net
Huntsville, AL USA Sunday, February 16, 1997 at 16:19:00
Comments: Package training with Ajax at Ft. Bliss '56.
On site at Fairchild AFB, Spokane Washington '57-'58.
Lchr Plt Ldr, Bty XO, C Bty, 10th AAA Msl Bn.
Shot 6 at McGregor; hit 6. The system worked!!!"
From FM 44-1-2 ADA Referennce Handbook, 15 June 1984,
see page 21 "Rings of Supersonic Steel"
Goto Next Section
Return to top
