These are photos of a Nike missile launch site in Sandy Hook, NJ. It was part of New York’s last line of defense against potential Soviet nuclear attack. I also have photos of the missile control/radar site, which can be found here.
Here is some site information, quoted from the source below: “The original Fort Hancock was improved upon during the Civil War, and in the 1890s vast concrete gun batteries and mortar pits were built to protect Manhattan. At one point over 7,000 soldiers lived here in an army town that included rows of grand yellow brick homes, officer’s quarters, a theatre and ball fields. The full-scale camp was largely vacated after World War II and given over to a Nike launch site given the code name NY-56.”
“Named for the Greek winged goddess of victory, and developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories, the Nike missile was a surface-to-air missile, guided by radar and a tracking computer. The program started in 1945, spurred by two cataclysmic events: the first successful atomic bomb test by the Soviet Union and their development of a long range bomber capable of 10,000-mile distances. The threat of Soviet aircraft carrying atomic weapons suddenly became very real. The Nike missiles were a solution to prevent another Pearl Harbor from happening.”
More information: http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-rusted-rotting-remains-of-a-new-jersey-missile-base
Location: Google Maps (40.433846, -73.986059)
