Robins AFB Nike Missile Sites
B
Battery: The R-88 Nike Missile Base in Byron, GA
A Battery: The R-28 Nike Missile Base in
Jeffersonville, GA
We’re Back! After I changed ISP’s and had to discontinue
my website I am happy to announce that Robinsnike.org is back up. This is some 60 years to the month after the
Nike sites became operational. Until I
get this site spruced up I am uploading the 16 AUG 14 revision.
Thanks to all who made this
possible.
Welcome!
Reunion of 4/61 ADA this September 13, 2014 in Byron at Byron United Methodist Church!
Video of the R-88 IFC I took in 1999
The passing of 1LT Walter F. Skerrett. He helped start Battery B in 1960 as the XO.
Pictures of the Georgia Nike Veterans' Reunion held September 14, 2013. Thanks to all who attended and made it possible! Special Thanks to Byron United Methodist Church for allowing us use of their fellowship hall.
Mr.
Charles Carter
Mr.
Ernest Cooling, right
Rev.
Hugh Davis, right
Richard
Jones and Jim Earnhardt. To the left is a sign that Richard Jones presented. It
was on Battery B IFC's fence.
Picture
of R-88 IFC in Operation Courtesy Mr. Charles Carter
Picture
of R-88 launcher (note inflatable shelters for missiles) in Operation Courtesy
Mr. Charles Carter
Thanks to all who attended
the Georgia Nike Hercules Veterans' Reunion at the Robins AFB Museum of
Aviation on December 3, 2011.
NEW! Georgia Nike Hercules Sites- Mr. Jim
Earnhardt
SP4 Jim Earnhardt's Byron Nike Base Page. He was
stationed at R-88 when it was operational.
Picture of Byron Nike Base
Visitor Sign courtesy Byron Area Historical Society
R-88,
along with R-28 near Jeffersonville, defended Robins Air Force Base from enemy
attack until it was decided to simplify force structure, divert assets to
Vietnam, and because ballistic missiles were the predominant threat to SAC
bases (Robins had B-52 bombers stationed up until 1983)
Nike
System Overview
The
Nike Hercules was a more reliable version of the older Nike Ajax. It resembled
a cone with four cylinders shoved up its behind.
The
Nike Hercules had a 75 mile range according to the Redstone Arsenal. Thus at
the Byron base it could defend an area from Athens to Albany to Vidalia GA.
Targets as high as 25 miles could be downed. Its altitude was 150,000 feet. The
speed was Mach 3.65. The Improved Hercules added measures against jamming. An
anti-missile variant, Nike Zeus, was tested but not fielded. Fortunately
the only firings of the Nike Hercules were practice rounds against remotely
controlled drones at SNAP (Short Notice Annual Practice) sessions in Texas.
The
missile was powered by solid propellants. It was manufactured by Douglas (now
Boeing) Aircraft Company in Santa Monica, CA. Booster propulsion came from
Hercules Powder Company and the sustainer was from Thiokol Chemical Company.
Guidance came from Western Electric Company.
Either
conventional, fragmentation or nuclear warheads were carried. Nuclear warheads
were designed to obliterate entire formations of bombers. 33 missiles were
stockpiled on the site with 12 readied to launch
Dimensions
were 41 feet in length and 31.5 inches in diameter. Wingspan was 6 feet, 2
inches. Guidance was command-based; that is, the radars tracked the missile and
the target and by using computers arranged a bumpy relationship with missile
and target by vectoring in the missile.
Youtube video of Nike Operations
The
Byron Site (R-88)
The
R-88 base (R is the military designation for the area missiles were protecting)
was where Nike Hercules air defense missiles were stationed along with 160 or
so Army personnel from 1960-1966. It was the first above-ground Nike Hercules
base constructed by ARADCOM (Army Air Defense Command) in the United States.
B-Battery,
4th Battalion, 61st Artillery (now Air Defense Artillery) Regiment, operated
the base under command of battalion commander LTC Thorpe C. Grice and Captain
John Poston. R-88 was protected by armed guards, a ten foot fence, and security
dogs. It stood up for operations on December 16, 1960. It was constructed by
the Savannah District Army Corps of Engineers and Five Boro Construction
Company of New York. Cost of constructing it and the Jeffersonville battery was
1.5 million dollars (1959 dollars) according to 1959
news articles.
1LT
Walter F. Skerrett was the executive officer for B Battery in Byron.
He offers this note:
Dear Gentlemen,
I am sending you this information not to brag but to give
you the early history of Battery B. I saw Jims ?in search of page? in The
American Legion Magazine. I was sad to see the demolition of Battery B that I
helped bring to life in 1960. My name is Walter F. Skerrett and I was the
Executive Officer of the Battery B in Byron Georgia at its beginning in 1960.
Captain Hill the battery commander and I attended the Nike Hercules Officer
training course at Fort. Bliss and then conducted package training at McGregor
range. Prior to reporting to Byron 1st Lt. Charlie Scudder was overseeing the
construction of the site with MSGT Davis. I will send separately some of the
Battery and Battalion orders from my records, showing some of the members of
Battery B and Battery A at Jeffersonville, Georgia.
Here is some local color of my stay at Byron. We invited
local dignitaries from the area to attend our shoot at McGregor, Henry Williams
the Mayor of Byron and owner of the Country Store, Kemp Harrison Mayor of
Warner Robbins (who later went to jail for misappropriation of funds) and
representatives of the local area newspapers.
An article in the Atlanta Constitution quoted Henry
Williams as saying ?That thing there Sure Does Go!? as he witnessed the launch.
We all got a laugh out of that.
Upon my arrival at the site I made a few improvements. One
of the men was a great handyman. I had him construct the cement block ?take
time for safety? bulletin board, the Day Room and the Chapel.
The Army Corps of Engineers did not spec floor tiles in the
latrine. The concrete floor looked terrible, dirty and drab even after it was
GI?d.
My supply Sergeant Sgt. Ellis from Griffin GA took charge.
He ordered an Air Force truck form Warner Robbins A. F. Base and sent our
supply clerk Specialist McGee to ?Liberate? boxes of floor tiles from a
construction site on the Base. I asked McGee did you have any problem passing
the air police guarding the gate? He said ?No Sir, I just smiled and drove
out?. Needless to say Ellis and McGee were my equivalent of Radar O?Reilly from
MASH. The troops installed the tiles quickly before the Air Base new they were
short some tiles.
There were no curtains in the barracks. So I sent letters
to the CEO?s of the textile companies in Georgia and Alabama asking if they
could donate excess material for our use. One company donated bolts of cloth. I
arranged for the Wives of the Officers, NCO?s and enlisted personnel to come
out to the base with their sewing machines and they made the curtains. Sgt
Shanaberger our mess Sgt. fed them a delicious fried chicken lunch.
I never worked with such a wonderful bunch of NCO?s and
enlisted men. There were truly professional and very proud that we were the
first above ground site in the Continental United States.
By the way all the SOPs for an above ground site were
written every morning in the mess hall as we had to change everything from an underground
site to an above ground site. Each day the drafts were typed up by our battery
clerk Spec. Moss and we worked on them the next day until our final SOPs were
complete.
As an additional duty I was the Public Information Officer.
I gave many speeches to area local clubs including the Macon Professional
Women?s Group (see a copy of my speech attached).
The Highlight of my stay at Byron was my live appearance on
The Doris Martin Show on WMAZ TV in Macon where I gave a live demonstration of
our attack dogs outside the studio. Being the XO was a fabulous experience.
Lt. Col. Thorpe C. Grice was our Battalion Commander Capt.
Irwin F. Hill was the Battery Commander 1st Walter Skerrett XO 1st Charles
Scudder IFC Platoon Leader 2nd Lt John Haywood Launcher Platoon Leader
Many photos of the site were taken by the Robins AF Base
photographer. I lost all my copies. I wish I could find out if the base or the
ARADCOM Archives have any of them.
Please feel free to use any and all of the information that
I have provided you in this email.
Sincerely,
Walter F. Skerrett
1LT
Skerrett also shared some material including lists of 4-61st members who
attended marksmanship training in July 1960 (page 1 and 2)
SP4 James Earnhardt (USA RET), a battery control and
security specialist at R-88, writes on 20 May 01 about the diagram above:
"Building number 1: Was the administrative building. Facing
the building from the parking lot. the flag pole was to the immidiate
left the building its self first left was the day room (complete
with tv and pool table we also view the latest movies in there) the second room
was the administrative offices or hq if you will there we had the First Sergant
(the one that was there when I was name was Schultz) The Commanding officer
(while I was there The first was Captain McKinney Probable the best liked of
the three....), the battery line land switch board and the xo's office
The xo's name was 1st Lt John Haywood. My Platoon leader Was 2nd Lt
Boucious belive that to be spelled right. The third and fourth rooms
first the barber shop and through the barber shop to the rear was the PX. Then
on the far right was the supply room and around the corner in the same
bldg was the hobby shop.
Building Number 2: was what we called the launging barracks this is
where the crews for the launching area billited.
Building number three was the IFC (Integrated Fire Control) Barracks To
the back and on the side was the BOQ and NCO Club and Medic station.
Building Number 4: Was the mess Hall. in 1961-1964 there was no
basement it must have been doug later
Buildging Number 5: was the paint shed may have been more ther I don't remember
believe the water tank was there just don't remember it.
Tower Number 6: Was the Target Tracking Radar 40 ft high.
Tower Number 7: was the aqusition radar.
Building Number 8: Was the Generator Arear for emergency
power all missions was run on emergency power.
Building Number 9: Was the IFC Vans the heart of operations on the front
end or toward the mess hall was the target and missle tracking radar
operations on the other end away from the mess hall was the
acqusition, BCO, switchboard, and target plotting this is where the
computer that did the number crunching for operations lived. Just out
side and to the right was the FUF Radar don't ask I don't know what it
stood for.
between tower number 6 and tower number 7 and toward the front toward building
number 8 was a shorter tower this is where the FUF Radar lived desiginate
that as tower number 12 (Behind building number two straight back about
half way of the building and half way between the building and the fence on the
noarth was the RF Test Station. We used this to test the signals to the
radars.
Tower number 10: was the Missle Tracking Radar.
Building Number 11: Was the Main Guard House Spent many a night and
day in that building.
Thanks for the ear and website am looking forward to visiting it again
SP 4 James M Earnhardt
B Battery 4th Missle Batallion
61st Artillery
Byron Ga."
May
1960 Macon Telegraph Article
The
Nike bases near Robins AFB closed in January 1966.
Then R-88 became home to a metal plating firm, a tree farm for Armstrong World
Industries, a propane tank farm, and Pyrotechnics, Inc. (who makes explosive
devices for the military). The
IFC area was contaminated by hazardous chemicals and remediation efforts took
place in the 1990s. A restaurant equipment firm opened on the site
and partially demolished some buildings by 2008.
The
base can be seen just outside Byron on Boy Scout Road . Visitors can take the
Hartley Bridge Road exit off 1-75, go west , and keep going until a mile from
the Crawford County line. Once past the gas station, they can go up Boy Scout
Road and will approach Juniper Creek Road a mile before coming to the rundown
neighborhood near Byron's city limits.
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Turning onto Juniper Creek Road you will
come to a forested area that reveals three towers. One squatty, big tower is
the target ranging radar (10) and the other two slender concrete towers are
missile tracking and target
tracking radar towers. A mile down the road reveals Pyrotechnics, Inc, where
various mounds are seen.
This
was for the protection of the surrounding area in case the missiles blew up.
1.5 foot-thick concrete pads nestled between the mounds housed the missiles.
Byron
is located near the Robins Air Force Base Museum of Aviation and Macon. There
is an outlet mall near Byron as well as motels and restaurants.
The Jeffersonville site (R-28)
Picture
of R-28 IFC in Operation Courtesy Mr. Charles Carter
Picture
of R-28 launchers in Operation Courtesy Mr. Charles Carter
Its
sister site, R-28, housed Battery A. The site became operational in February
1961. It was likewise closed in January 1966 and was used by the the Twiggs
County Board of Education and later the Twiggs County Rescue Squad, . It was
located off the Georgia 96 exit off Interstate 16. In 2005 the
control area was demolished for an industrial park, where the Academy Sports
stores distribution center is located..
The buildings and radar towers surrounded by framework for
years pointed it out to passers-by. From left to right are the MTR tower,
TRR tower, the HIPAR tower site, and the TTR tower.
Click
here for an article on the site's 1961 dedication with a photo of the entire base.
Enhanced
version of construction aerial picture from 1961. Courtesy
Gates Scoville, who was a 1LT at the base.
He
notes on 07 June 01 in an email:
As
to the MTR and TTR towers, what determined their height was the lay of the
land. If the launchers were visible from the IFC at close to ground
level,
the towers were short, squatty foundations. If not, then they went up as
high as needed to get line of sight, so there was no set configuration.
Most
were rather short.
The
building on the forward left inside the front gate was the Administrative
building. To the right was a barracks. Behind the Admin building was a barracks
with bachelor officers' quarters. The mess hall was across from this building.
The Battery Control trailers lay behind these near the generator
building.
These
pictures of the IFC were taken between 1998 and 2005 prior to demolition of the
complex.
The
launch area is reached by going down the frontage road to the command center,
going two miles and making two rights. A private resident lived in the building
near the guard shack with his doggie.
2005 Picture of R-28's IFC
during landscaping for an industrial park.
The
launcher area in 1998 and in 2010. It still has a road going through it.
Someone lived in one of the old buildings near the gate until a few years ago.
It is off Hamlin Floyd Road which intersects with Prospect Church Road off
GA96.
Incidentally,
a Gap Filler military radar site is listed for Jeffersonville.
Here
is the Gap Filler Site as of February 19, 2003
This
is a front view of the control center. For more see Radomes.org. These Gap Filler sites,
well, filled in the gaps of conventional warning radars. The base functioned
from 1962-1967. It was off GA 96 on Walters Road between US 23 and
Interstate 16.
Battery
C: Headquarters and AADCP, Robins AFB
The headquarters of the 4th Battalion was at Robins Air Force Base. It operated both batteries and assigned targets as the AADCP (Army Air Defense Command Post). AADCP received targets from the SAGE facility at Gunter AFB in Montgomery, Alabama and coordinated battery firings through the BIRDIE system according to Nike252.org.
photo courtesy Jim
Williamson, who was stationed at the HQ battery.
Old
News
Explosion
of 3500lb of ordnance at Byron launch site shakes R-88 for miles around! Also a
controlled explosion destroys 65lbs of unstable explosives
WMAZ-TV's Controlled Explosion
story from 2008
Photo
courtesy WMAZ-TV
Webmaster
sends Letter to the Editor
Letter to the Editor-Response from Editor and Former
Robins Nike missileer
Click for Page 1 of 24 APR 05 Macon Telegraph article and
Page 2
" Nike Bases Going Up" The Macon Telegraph,
11/22/59
" Byron Nike Missile Base Designated As
Operational" The Macon
Telegraph, 12/17/60
"Missile Pads Recall Era of Cold War" The Macon Telegraph 2/26/84,
p. 1B and 2B
Thanks
to SP4 James Earnhardt of R-88, Gates Scoville (1LT at R-28 when it opened),
Charles Carter (also of R-28), Mr. Dick Sanders, COL George Finley, and
"THE MAN"- Ed Thelen and "The Professor" -Don Bender and
tons of others for their valuable contributions.
Links
NEW! Georgia
Nike Hercules Sites- Mr. Jim Earnhardt
Charles Carter's Homestead
AFB Nike Page. A Must-See!
History of the Nike
system. The videos are great!. Another Must-See!
Ed Thelen's Nike Hercules Page (Don Bender
and Mr. Thelen have been very helpful.)
Nike Missiles and
Missile Sites Don Bender has done much research into the Nike
programs, especially in New Jersey.
Donations
are needed for our fighting people; visit USO
The ABM Page.
Has info on what came (or is to come) after Nike Hercules. From Zeus to
"Star Wars"
Radomes.Org for all relating to radar early
warning history.
Nike Historical Society. Includes technical
information on the Nike Hercules system
Turner
AFB and Nike Sites in Albany, GA
Turner Field (now a Miller brewery)
in Albany, GA had two Nike sites.
Here
are some pictures from January 2004 of Turner Air Force Base
The intown area and Sylvester areas had
Nike Hercules missile sites. I took some pictures of the IFC and launcher
area in Sylvester. The IFC is now a nursing facility (first two photos)
and the launchers now house a junkyard.
