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Homestead - Miami (after Cuban Missile Crisis)
from Charles Carter Facts, 1962 from Charles Carter Last Active U.S. Nike sites from Charles Carter More information and pictures July 2015 Designation
| General Location
| Detailed Location (Current Status)
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HM-01 HM-03 | Opa Locka/ Carol City | (HM-01 was re-designated HM03) C - 2 WNW Carol City Red Ave at Miami Gardens Dr. Charles Carter's South Florida Web Site Sept 2009 - C Battery [{Strickland, C} (July 2001) My site was very near a dairy and a trailer park and the American School that was nearby. I was on or near 103rd Street in Hialeah. [{Alvarez, L} GPS - 25N 56' 23", 80W 17' 56" - The facility was located on the northwest side of the intersection of NW 183 St and NW 57th Ave. The structures were intact until the late 70's.]
L - NW 202 Rd (NW 55th Ave), off of Red Rd (Honey Hill Dr.)
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HM-01DC | Richmond AFS | Coral Reef Dr. (FAA JSS facility J-06 MIAMI) |
HM-40 | Key Largo |
North Key Largo Nike site from Jerry Wilkinson Charles Carter's South Florida Web Site Sept 2009 -
C - FL 905 & Old Card Sound Road (USN, NAVFACENGCOM)
L - (USN, NAVFACENGCOM)
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HM-65
redesignated HM-66 HM-66 | Florida City | Site located 8 miles SW of Florida City (used from 10/62-6/65)
Charles Carter's South Florida Web Site Sept 2009 - B Battery [{Gatto, T} in the Everglades (Phased out early on) ] [{Morgan, M} B/2/52nd initially manned site HM-66 Florida City before relocating to their permanent site at HM-40 Key Largo in June 1965. ] [{Whitaker, J} Constructed during the Cuban Missile Crisis [October 1962]. In a two week period, 24 hours a day, the Army Corps of Engineers literally built an island for us in the swamp by bringing in thousands of truck loads of earthfill to build an elevated land surface for our missiles and radars which would keep the equipment elevated above the Everglades water level. [{Coogan, J} Battery B, 2nd/52nd started out as Jim Whittaker has said, at the entrance to Everglades National Park...south and west of Homestead. We moved to permanent buildings on Key Largo, just south of Ocean Reef, in mid '65. Hurricane Betsy wiped out Key Largo and Homestead that fall...I have some interesting recollections of that. ] |
HM-69 | Florida City | - in Everglades National Park
- (official web site), Open for visitors (2009 and continuing) (web site pointed out by Keith C Howard [ZOOM tour, 1.2 hrs, added Mar 20, 2021 [{Swanson, Ted} (Dec 2016) Nike Hercules HM-69 in Everglades National Park (Homestead, FL) winter tours season is here starting 10 December. 305-242-7700 or www.nps.gov/ever https://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/historyculture/hm69.htm Open house at the launch area 1000 to 1400 (2 pm) staffed by Volunteers Tue through Thurs. (closed Sunday – Monday – Friday until more Volunteers) Ranger lead tours (1 1/2 hour long) starting at 1400 (2 pm) from the IFC – Administration area (Daniel Beard Center) [[ leave the Ernest Coe Visitor center by at least 1:45 pm to allow time to get to the Daniel Beard Center for start of tour ]] [[ own transportation from their to launch area ]] [[ No Water – No Shade – No Bathroom Facilities ]] Two nice pictures and some text (April 2015) spotted by Larsen, David A (Army Corps of Engineers, New England) Mar 3, 2015 NYTimes article - link from Robert Garner [{Carter, C} (Jan 2011) A Hercules missile is scheduled to transfer from Anniston Army Depot to HM-69 for restoration and display [{Page, T} (Jan 2010) Everglades National Park To Offer Second Season of Nike Missile Base Tours - seen here and here ] Newspaper article of site open, via {Page, T} Mar 8, 2009, 450 K Bytes - the reporter didn't bother to find much info - nice picture of above ground magazine An introductory newspaper article. YouTube videos - Missile Barns, More general & background
C - 12 WSW Florida City - National Park Srvice; Everglades National Park
L - [{Fornash, J} suggests this 80W 41' 09", 25N 22' 13" ] from David Larsen - Jan 2018 Pics from 12-28-17 visit to HM-69C. My wife and I took the NPS tour. Ed Thelen is including this sample as the area is open for visiting. Introduction
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HM-85 | 10 SW Miami | Headquarter, no missile equipment or radars |
HM-95 | Southwest Miami
[{Rivenbark, B} Temp launcher area during/after Cuban Missile Crisis was what is now Tamiami Executive Airport] | C - 12 W Miami (DOD communications facility)
Charles Carter's South Florida Web Site Sept 2009 - D Battery [{Murdock, S} 25-44-15 80-28-55 ]
L - Tamiami Trail
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HM-97 | West Homestead | Homestead AFB, AFRES 482nd Fighter Wing., 301 st Rescue Squadron, FLANG, Det 1, 125th Fighter Group alert detachment |
HM-99 | West Homestead | Homestead AFB, |
NIKE HERCULES SITES - 1962-1965
With the crisis diffused, the temporary batteries remained and on April 1, 1963, these units were permanently assigned to the U.S. Army Air Defense Command (ARADCOM). Once it became evident that the missile deployment would be long-term, the batteries were repositioned and permanent structures were built. The initial cost of the southern Florida construction program eventually topped $17 million.
That is when HM040 was relocated from the entrance of Everglades National Park in Florida City to Key Largo. I was there and drove a 5-ton and pulled a Nike on Ready Round Transporter to the new site. NIKE HERCULES SITES – 1965 – 1979
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from Charles Carter Last Active U.S. Nike sites march 2011
According to Rings of Supersonic Steel III, Morgan & Berhew, 2010,:
Even though the last Nike Hercules unit to serve as an operation air defense unit “anywhere” was in Germany, the last operation Nike Hercules air defense installation to defend the continental United States was the units in south Florida, the 2nd Missile Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery (ADA). This is not to “put down” anyone and their claims to bragging rights but to ensure the record is accurate. ... Kindest regards,
Charles D. Carter
cdc112745@gmail.com
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{Murdock, S} wishes to add the following HAWK sites
Key West Hawk Site KW-24 FL 24-34-32 81-39-35 Key West Hawk Site KW-10 FL 24-35-54 81-42-10 Key West Hawk Site KW-65 FL 24-33-35 81-45-39 ] |
Charlotte Sun; Date:Mar 8, 2009; Section:Front; Page Number:FR9 Deep in the Everglades, a Cold War relic is revisited EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK (AP) — At the height of the Cold War, anti-aircraft missiles stood at the ready here in Florida’s swamplands, protecting the South from a potential Soviet nuclear bomber attack launched from Cuba. For almost two decades, beginning shortly after the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, the HM-69 Nike Hercules Missile Site was manned by about 100 military personnel, one of the last lines of defense if the unthinkable happened. When it closed in 1979, the park took control of the site. Now the site is undergoing a rebirth of sorts as a public exhibit, drawing the curious who want to see the Cold War relic along with those who stumble upon it while visiting Everglades National Park. With a $10 Everglades admission fee and a phone call to park officials, tourists can join the hourlong driving tour of the Nike site, which was included on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. Although the missiles were dismantled and removed, visitors can see the site’s administration building, the tiny missile assembly shed, the missile barns and protective berms. Tours continue through March, during the park’s peak season.
Sites like this sprung up during the Cold War to defend U.S. cities from attack and send the Soviets a message of strength. The missiles in South Florida were certainly not hidden — at 41 feet tall, anyone could see them. While some Nike missiles were nuclear-tipped, Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Tadd Sholtis said the weapons at the Everglades site probably weren’t.
“You could just drive down the road and see them setting out there,” said Bobby Jones, who was transferred to the site in 1965, when it was still a temporary operation. “The missiles were setting on trailers. ... everything was mobile. We could move within an hour. The radar and everything.” Jones repaired diesel generators used to power the site, including its radar system and missile launchers. He remembers the wild birds and alligators that he shared the land with, and the porous ground that the site was built upon. “I had never seen anything like South Florida before in my life,” said Jones, who was from Missouri. “It was all really new to me. And I was fascinated with the wildlife there.” Park officials said interest has been high in the landmark, which takes on a greater relevance this year, the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. They have already added an extra day to the tour schedule. “I think certainly in this community, what people focus on is how things were doing the Cuban Missile Crisis. And a lot of our demographics are interested in the history of our dealings with Cuba,” said Melissa Memory, chief of cultural resources at the park. “But I think in the broader preservation community, Cold War historic assets, our appreciation for them is evolving.” Because the site was placed inside a national park, it has survived urban expansion and is now well preserved, said volunteer tour guide Gregg Halpin. Other Nike sites scattered around the United States, strategically placed near cities, have disappeared. As the threat of a Soviet attack faded, many of the sites (after the missiles were removed) were integrated into urban communities as parks or business centers. In Arlington Heights, Ill., a former Nike base is now an 18-hole golf course. A New Jersey town proposed converting its former base into a commuter parking lot in December. And part of an old site in Gardner, Kan., has been converted into Nike Elementary School. The school’s nickname: the Missiles. The Nike site tucked away in the Everglades was not the only one in Florida. The former launch area of the Nike Hercules Site HM in Opa-Locka, just north of Miami, is now a National Guard reservation. Another site in Miami has become an Immigration and Naturalization Service facility. The Everglades site is now searching for information, historic replicas and artifacts used at the facility during the Cold War to include in the tour. Park officials are also working to spruce up areas that have not yet been open to the public because of health and safety concerns, and are conducting interviews with former military personnel who were stationed here. “We can go on the Internet and other research is available to us, so we know who built (it) and when it was built,” Halpin said. “But we need those personal stories to make it a connection with the people, so the people will want to come here and see what it was all about.” If you go Nike missile site tours: Everglades National Park: www.nps.gov/ever. Tours are offered Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. through the end of March. The tours depart from the Ernest Coe Visitor Center, 9 miles southwest of Homestead, Fla., on State Road 9336. Reservations are taken at the center up to 30 minutes before each tour or by calling 305-242-7700. |
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Updated marh, 2021