Arlington Heights Army Air Defense Site
Missile installation in Northern Virginia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Arlington Heights Army Air Defense Site was a Project Nike Missile Master site near Chicago, Illinois. It operated from 1960 until 1968.
| Arlington Heights Army Air Defense Site | |
|---|---|
| 1211 S New Wilke Road, Arlington Heights, Illinois | |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | Army Air Defense Command |
| Location | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 42°3′50.54″N 87°59′54.52″W |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1959 |
| In use | 1960-1968 |
Installation started in late 1959[1] after the United States Army had purchased 44 acres (18 ha).[2][a] Adjacent to the Arlington Heights Air Force Station, the Arlington Heights Army Installation opened on October 28, 1960,[2] as the 8th of 10 Army Air Defense Command Posts (AADCP) to have a Martin AN/FSG-1 Antiaircraft Defense System installed for Nike-Hercules command and control. In addition to the Army's 2 AN/FPS-6 radars,[3] the radars of the co-located[specify] USAF station provided AADCP data for the 45th Artillery Brigade's control of the Chicago-Gary Defense Area[2] (10 missile batteries and their Integrated Fire Control sites). The vacuum tube AN/FSG-1 was replaced c. October 1967[4][b] with a solid-state Hughes AN/TSQ-51 Air Defense Command and Coordination System, which controlled the combined Chicago-Milwaukee Defense Area after the Milwaukee Defense Area merged with Chicago-Gary in 1968.[citation needed]
Project Concise ended the site's Nike operations in 1974, and 52 acres (21 ha) were transferred to the city parks district.[5] A May 1979 golf course was built[6] near the nuclear bunker[specify]—the Arlington Lakes Golf Club has 90 acres (36 ha) with 14 lakes.
Site locations
- Nuclear bunker[7]
- Co-located IFC site 42°3′11″N 87°59′40″W
- Co-located launch site 42°3′49″N 87°59′52″W
| External images | |
|---|---|
 Radomes.org images | |
| nuclear bunker | |
| Google overhead image of bunker |
Notes
- Before the 1960 Operation Skyshield and the Arlington Heights opening of a Missile Master, simulated Strategic Air Command bomber raids against the Chicago missile batteries indicated the Nike-Hercules was only 8% effective.[8]
- The 1968 McMaster map shows the Arlington AN/FSG-1 on July 1, and the last AN/FSG-1 was replaced on February 8, 1967, at the AADCP at Oakdale, Pennsylvania.