Medford mail tribune., December 01, 1957, Image 54

Missileers race to stations in practice run as
Nikes are raised into position to pierce sky.
New and better missiles are oh the way, but here's a look at the best one we have right now.
When Russia launched its earth satellite recently, military ex
perts were less concerned about the satellite itself than they were
about the power that sent it aloft. If the Reds had a missile that
could reach outer space, then they surely had one that could reach
the United States with an atomic warhead instead of a harmless
satellite. Are we vulnerable to an intercontinental attack? This
article explains how our chief defense against such attack would
work. The Nike which can track down and destroy anything that
flies was ready long before the Reds launched their history-making
flight, but it may soon be replaced by newer, deadlier watchdogs.
Th,
I he group of visitors gazed in awe at the gigantic underground
missile storage depot. "You can see why we need plenty of
land for these Nike bases," explained a young Army sergeant
to the civilians touring a Nike missile base near a large Eastern city.
"The storage areas alone need several acres."
"But why do the Nike bases have to be here?" asked a woman in
the group. "I don't want you shooting off those rockets near my
house and scaring us out of our wits."
"The missiles won't be fired unless an enemy is trying to drop a
bomb on your house, lady," the sergeant answered patiently.
"We hope," muttered a visitor in the background.
Both reactions are typical of the public's attitude toward the Nike
bases springing up across the country. At the latest count, 22 major
industrial areas vital centers that must survive if war comes have
been ringed by the Army's anti-aircraft missile batteries. Although
most residents of those cities realize the need for Nike, they wish
the bases weren't so near their homes.
But the intrusive Nike is becoming the nation's top air-defense
weapon in this Cold War era. Already supplanting ack-ack ar
tillery, it soon may replace fighter-interceptor planes in guarding
the skies against attack.
Just what is Nike? Named for the Greek goddess of victory, it's a
rocket that thinks a guided missile that can track and hunt down
attacking atomic bombers, then pulverize them.
Nike's deadly knockout punch is compressed in a slender cylinder
20 feet long and about a foot in diameter. Chasing its target at
supersonic speeds, the missile is expected to score kills on two out
of every three shots. At that rate, the $20,000 price tag on each
missile represents a great bargain.
The present Nike the Ajax model with a warhead of high ex
plosives has a killing range beyond the minimum safety radius of
any major city. Nike Hercules missiles, scheduled for use within a
year, will travel twice as far and carry atomic warheads capable of
wiping out entire fleets of attacking bombers, and are reputed to be
100 effective. Still in the top-secret development stage is Nike
Zeus, planned to intercept intercontinental missiles, the dread ICBM.
iiow does Nike work? Actually, the missiles are but one part of
our over-all air-defense system, which includes radar
warning stations in the Arctic and out at sea, as well as jet
fighter planes and anti-aircraft artillery. Should atomic bombers
penetrate these defenses they will find every inch of air space over
and around the nation's vital cities guarded by Nike batteries on
24-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year alert. '
The "brains" of a Nike battery is the computer, an electro
mechanical unit capable of determining that point where the target
and missile will meet. Nike technicians constantly scan the scopes
of the first radar unit the acquisition radar for signs of air in
truders, news of which will come from the distant warning stations.
If an intruding plane is identified as hostile, the target tracking
radar begins tracking the plane automatically and relays its altitude,
speed, present position, and course to the computer which deter
mines the intercept point.
When the target is within range, the battery control officer
presses the fire button which sends the missile on its way. The
missile tracking radar now takes over and tracks the missile while
it is in flight and send commands to it which guide it on its way.
The entire operation of detecting, identifying, tracking, and
obliterating a target takes but one minute. Even so, the new Russian
intercontinental bombers can travel 10 miles in that minute.
No matter how slender the time margin, Nike missiles are helping
Continued on page 22
Ffuly VMIf, Decim 1, J57
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