Highlands Army Air Defense Site
Template:Geobox The Highlands Army Air Defense Site[1] (HAADS) was the Army Air Defense Command Post (AADCP) of the Cold War for the Nike fire units in the New York Defense Area, replacing the Nike missile "manual operations center" at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island.[2] The Missile Master Army Installation was built adjacent to Highlands Air Force Station and cost ~$2 million for the new equipment (Martin AN/FSG-1 CCCS and AN/FPS-6 & -90[citation needed] height-finders) and ~$2 million for additional structures such as the 170 ft × 90 ft (52 m × 27 m) nuclear bunker, 4[specify] radar towers, diesel power plant,[3][verification needed] and 25 ft × 17 ft (7.6 m × 5.2 m) cinderblock electrical switch building.[4] Isaac Degeneers Construction Co. was the general contractor for the $1.71M construction[5] (C. W. Regan was the lowest bidder at $1.5M.)[1] The 1957 site plan was for 45–50 acres (18–20 ha);[6] construction began July 10, 1958; the Missile Master was accepted in May 1960;[4] and the dedication was on June 5.[2]
The Army assumed control[when?] of the USAF site after the DoD had announced its closure for July 1966[7] (the USAF squadron deactivated on July 1, 1966.) The AADCP became the direction center for the combined New York-Philadelphia Defense Area when the AADCP near Philadelphia was closed in September 1966.[8] AADCP operations ended in 1974 under Project Concise[1] in conjunction with the region's 7 remaining Nike fire units closing in April at Orangeburg/Mount Nebo, New York (NY-03/04), Amityville/Farmingdale, New York (NY-24), Fort Tilden (NY-49), Livingston, New Jersey (NY-79/80), Lumberton, New Jersey (PH-23/25), Erial, New Jersey (PH-41/43), and Woolwich Township, New Jersey (PH-58).
USAF structures were demolished in the early 1990s,[2] the Missile Master nuclear bunker was razed in 2008, and a few building foundations remain in a small clearing within the site's overgrowth of vegetation.
 1958 Nike explosion memorial at Highlands (p. 11) | |
| empty Missile Master bunker in 2008 | |
| map of current site with park trails |
References
- ^ a b "Chapter IX Logistics". Department of the Army Historical Summary: Fiscal Year 1974. Center of Military History. 1978. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
{{cite book}}: External link in|chapterurl=|chapterurl=ignored (|chapter-url=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Base is Dedicated: 'Blue Room' at Missile Master Gives Eerie But Secure Feeling" (PDF). Red Bank Register. Red Bank, New Jersey. June 7, 1960. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
RADAR SCANNER at Missile Master atop Highlands hills tells the height of aircraft or other flying objects. It is one of the smaller pieces of radar equipment. …replaces a manuel operations center at Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, where Gen.Hewitt's headquarters, the 52d Artillery Brigade Air Defense
- ^ "Missile Master Defense System to Cost Millions: Army Opens Bids" (PDF). Red Bank Register. Red Bank, New Jersey. June 12, 1958. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
- ^ a b (Court case).
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help);|format=requires|url=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help); Unknown parameter|agency=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|decided=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|litigants=ignored (help) "in a 25' x 17' cinderblock building, designated on the plans as “Switch Gear Room Bldg. 118.” The equipment in this small building permits the missile site to switch back and forth from external commercial power to its own internal power from diesel generators. …van housing the computer … report entitled “Department 834 Missile Master/Birdie Field Activation”…document entitled “Activation Division” with… Exhibit 2, which on Page 4 thereof shows that the New York Site was accepted by the Government in May, 1960." - ^ "Location of the Missile Master" (PDF). Red Bank Register. Red Bank, New Jersey. August 7, 1958. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
- ^ "title tbd" (PDF). Red Bank Register. Red Bank, New Jersey. April 25, 1957. Retrieved date tbd.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Highlands Radar Site Closing" (PDF). The Daily Register. Red Bank, New Jersey. November 20, 1964. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
McNamara Firm on Base Shutdowns …two naval shipyards, six bomber bases,…in 33 states and the District … 80 bases in the United States and 15 overseas … Portsmouth…Navy Yard … Brooklyn Navy Yard and the Brooklyn Army Terminal. … Springfield Armory … Temporary Team … Highlands Air Force Station … personnel will be inactivated by July, 1966, leaving Army radar unit at base intact … What's Behind Decision … Over the past four years 574 U.S. military bases around the world ... McNamara struck 16 more Air Defense Command radar stations
- ^ "Nike Site PH-64DC Army Air Defense Command Post Pedricktown, NJ". Practice safe lunch…. LiveJournal.com. November 29, 2005. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
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