| Arlington Heights Army Air Defense Site | |
|---|---|
| 1211 S New Wilke Road, Arlington Heights, Illinois | |
| Coordinates | 42°3′50.54″N87°59′54.52″W / 42.0640389°N 87.9984778°W |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | Army Air Defense Command |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1959 |
| In use | 1960-1968 |
The Arlington Heights Army Air Defense Site was a Project Nike Missile Master site near Chicago, Illinois. It operated from 1960 until 1968.
Installation started in late 1959 [1] after the United States Army had purchased 44 acres (18 ha). [2] [lower-alpha 1] 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] [lower-alpha 2] 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.
| External images | |
|---|---|
 Radomes.org images | |
| nuclear bunker | |
| Google overhead image of bunker |
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On April 6, 1959, BG Peter Schmick, Brigade CG, announced the purchase of the land,along with plans for the construction of the [Army] Command Post, 5 radar towers and supporting buildings ... The official dedication…was made on October 28, 1960.