Fort Sill in Comanche County, Oklahoma — The American South (West South Central)
MIM-3 Nike Ajax
The system replaced the 75mm Skysweeper and 120mm Stratosphere anti aircraft gun systems that defended American cities from air attack. The missile was capable of carrying three different types of high explosive warheads. It had an overall length of 34 feet, a maximum speed of Mach 2.3 or 1,679 miles per hour and an effective ceiling of 65,000 feet. Soviet doctrine of the day intended to use atomic bomb-armed formations of bombers to attack US cities, a threat that could overwhelm the precision Ajax, which was intended to shoot down single aircraft. a result, the Nike program redesigned the missile and in 1958 introduced the nuclear-armed Nike Hercules. The last operational Nike Ajax site in the United States ceased operations in 1964.
Length: - 32 ft 8 in - 9.98 m
Wingspan: - 6 ft 4 in - 1.9 m
Weight: - 2,455 lb - 1,115 kg
Speed: - Mach 2.25
Range: - 30 miles - 48 km
Ceiling: - 70,000 ft - 21,000 m
Warhead: - Three High Explosive fragmentation warheads at the front, center and rear of the warhead section.
Erected by U.S. Army Field Artillery Museum. (Marker Number 321.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, Cold. A significant historical month for this entry is December 1953.
Location. 34° 39.878′ N, 98° 23.106′ W. Marker is in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in Comanche County. Marker is at the intersection of Harry Road and Randolph Road, on the right when traveling east on Harry Road. The marker is located in the southeast section of Missile Park at the U.S. Army Field Artillery Museum. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Fort Sill OK 73503, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. M51 Skysweeper 75mm Anti Aircraft Gun (a few steps from this marker); Lockheed X-7A1 Target Drone (a few steps from this marker); MIM-14 Nike Hercules (a few steps from this marker); Iraqi SZ-60 57mm Anti Aircraft Gun (a few steps from this marker); Nike Hercules HIPAR Radar AN/FPS-71 Antenna (within shouting distance of this marker); Sprint Missile (within shouting distance of this marker); MIM-23 Hawk (within shouting distance of this marker); Soviet M1939 52-K 85mm Anti Aircraft Gun (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fort Sill.
More about this marker. The marker and museum are located on Fort Sill, an active military installation. The museum is open to the public, but appropriate photo identification is required for access to the post.
Also see . . . U.S. Army Field Artillery Museum. (Submitted on September 24, 2021, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)
Credits. This page was last revised on September 24, 2021. It was originally submitted on September 24, 2021, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 3,057 times since then and 2,894 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 24, 2021, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.