Nike-Hercules Missile (Buffalo, New York)

 military, nikemissile, United States Air Force, missile on display

The Nike-Hercules Missile was a solid fuel propelled surface-to-air missile, used by US and NATO armed forces for high & medium altitude air defense developed during the Cold War.

The primary mission of the Nike-Hercules was to be the last line of defense against formations of Soviet bombers, and were placed in rings around major US population centers and strategic installations. The advent of Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM's) made the threat posed by Soviet bombers moot, and all US Nike-Hercules batteries were deactivated by 1979.

Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park's Nike-Hercules is displayed on its 'mobile' launcher and was formerly emplaced around the Robert Moses Hydroelectric Plant in Niagara Falls.

www.buffalonavalpark.org/index.html