more at http://scitech.quickfound.net Overview of the Army Air Defense Command and their Nike-Hercules air defense missiles. Public domain film from the Prelinger Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied. The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIM-14_Nike_Hercules The Nike Hercules (initially designated SAM-A-25, and later MIM-14), was a solid fuel propelled two-stage surface-to-air missile, used by U.S. and NATO armed forces for medium- and high-altitude long-range air defense. It could also be employed in a surface-to-surface role, and demonstrated its ability to hit other short-range missiles. Hercules was developed as the successor to the earlier MIM-3 Nike Ajax, with the ability to attack high-flying supersonic targets and carrying a small nuclear warhead to attack formations of aircraft. It was initially deployed starting in 1959 in new bases, but eventually took over many existing Ajax bases as well. Hercules remained in service far longer than Ajax, with the last units in Europe only being deactivated in 1988. Study into an expanded version of the Hercules for the anti-ballistic missile role was carried out, but this later evolved into the considerably different LIM-49 Nike Zeus design... Hercules was designed from the start to operate from Ajax bases. However, as it protected a much greater area, not as many sites were needed to provide coverage of potential targets. Early deployments starting in 1958 were on new sites, but Ajax units started converting as well. Conversions were largely complete by 1960, leaving only a few Ajax sites in use. The last active Nike Ajax batteries were relieved of their mission in December 1961, followed by the last Army National Guard unit in May 1964. In spite of using the same launchers and most of the same equipment, the Hercules offered so much more range than the Ajax that a new radar system was generally added in order to give the operators more warning between detection and the first opportunity to launch against the target. This was handled by the new HIPAR radar, the smaller Ajax search radar retroactively becoming known as LOPAR. HIPAR was a large system and generally deployed under a dome on top of a concrete platform that raised it above any local obstructions. To provide the same range of view, the tracking radars were also often placed on concrete platforms of their own, although these were much smaller. Nuclear-armed Nike Hercules missiles were deployed in the United States, Greece, Italy, Korea and Turkey, and with Belgian, Dutch, and U.S. forces in West Germany. Conventionally armed Nike Hercules missiles also served in the United States, Germany, Denmark, Japan, Norway, and Taiwan. The first deployments in Europe began in 1959 and the last nuclear-armed Nike Hercules missiles in Europe were deactivated in 1988. The Hercules missile systems sold to Japan (Nike J) were subsequently fitted with upgraded internal guidance systems, the original vacuum tube systems being replaced with transistorized ones...

• published: 20 Nov 2013
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