Former NIke Missle Battery D-97 Site (Auburn Hills, Michigan) | military, surface-to-air missile site / sam, Cold War 1947-1991, nikemissile

 military, surface-to-air missile site / sam, Cold War 1947-1991, nikemissile, historical layer / disappeared object

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ARADCOM Detroit - Cleavland Defense Area
Site D-97 - Auburn Hills
Units:
1955 - 1958, Battery D, 516th USA
1958 - 9/58, Battery D, 18th USA
9/58 - 11/59, Battery D, 4th Battalion, 3rd USA
11/1959 - 2/63, Battery C, 2nd Battalion, 177th MIARNG
Activation Date: 1955
De-activation Date: February 1963
IFC Area: West of Squirrel Road North of M-59|
GPS: +42° 38' 47", -83° 13' 15"
Launch Area: North of M-59 East of I-75
GPS: +42° 38' 35", -83° 14' 01"
Radar(s): LOPAR
Missiles: 30 Ajax
Magazine(s): 1 type B, 2 type C
Launchers: 12
Current Status: The IFC is gone. All that remains is a road, one small foundation under some trees and a lot of rubble sticking out of the ground. At the Launcher Area, the pits have either been capped or filled in at the elevators. The blast deflection plates still remain along with the mounting points for the rails. All access hatches have been removed and capped with concrete. The Fueling berm is still there along with the fueling pit and winch boom.
Each launch site had three parts, separated by at least 1,000 yards (914 m). One part (designated C) of about six acres (24,000 m²) contained the IFC (Integrated Fire Control) radar systems to detect incoming targets (acquisition and target tracking) and direct the missiles (missile tracking), along with the computer systems to plot and direct the intercept. The second part (designated L), around forty acres (160,000 m²), held 1-3 underground missile magazines each serving a group of four launch assemblies and included a safety zone. The site had a crew of 109 officers and men who ran the site continuously. One launcher would be on 15 minutes alert, two on 30 minutes and one on two hour alert. The third part was the administrative area (designated A), which was usually co-located with the IFC and contained the battery headquarters, barracks, mess, recreation hall, and motor pool. The actual configuration of the Nike sites differed depending on geography. Whenever possible the sites were placed on existing military bases or National Guard armories, otherwise land had to be purchased.