Long Island During the Cold War

Long Island During the Cold War. . , With its close proximity to New York City, and home to such strategic defense plants as Republic Aviation and Grumman Engineering, Long Island found itself on the front lines throughout the Cold War…an era of nuclear brinksmanship that lasted some four decades., At the dawn of the 1950s, the Pentagon became deeply concerned about the Soviet ability to combine long-range bombers with new hydrogen nuclear weapons. One response was to begin to circle population centers with a variety of defensive radars and weapon systems designed to track and knock down approaching enemy aircraft., Long Island would see a broad range of installations created to protect the region, including massive long-range radars installed on our furthest eastern shore, Montauk Point. Additional Cold War installations included Westhampton Air Force Base, where fighters armed with missiles and cannons could be launched within minutes of an alarm klaxon sounding. Coupled with air bases in New Jersey and New England, they were meant to be an effective shield against any surprise air attack. The resulting complex of antiaircraft ground-to-air missile sites had their largest presence on Long Island. By the time construction was completed in the New York metro area would have some 20 such installations., The United States had ample motivation. Shortly after the Russians exploded their first atomic bomb in 1949, feverish work began on the technology of air interception. With the start of the Korean War, development of air-to-ground missiles was accelerated even further, and deployment of the new systems was underway by 1951, with a missile system dubbed Nike Ajax (the smaller missile on display)., Building a Better Nike , If the mission of these missiles was to provide a last line of defense against Soviet bombers, some analysts said the nation deserved something better. As a result, the Nike Hercules was developed. It featured a longer range, faster speeds, higher intercept altitudes, and a far more powerful warhead: a small atomic weapon. In the event of war, these nuclear-armed Nike Hercules would have been launched from Long Island with the purpose of destroying an entire squadron of Soviet bombers within hundreds of miles of the coast of America., There were other, more subtle improvements in the weapon. With speeds of over 3,200 miles per hour, it could reach Russian bomber targets at altitudes over 100,000 feet (where no Soviet bomber ever routinely flew). Designers also did away with World War II-era vacuum tube technology, while adding “solid fuel motors” to ensure rapid launches, without the need for dangerous liquid fuels., About that Warhead , Most Long Islanders still have no idea that batteries of nuclear-armed missiles were stationed among them during the height of the Cold War, although it can be safely assumed that Soviet air commanders certainly knew. , Reports suggest that the Hercules carried a nuclear warhead designated “W-31.” Based on need, the battery commander of such a missile could set the warhead for one of three explosive yields: low (2-Kilotons); medium (20-Kilotons); and high (30-Kilotons). To put the explosive power of these Long Island based ground-to-air nuclear warheads in perspective, the atomic bomb called “Little Boy” dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, to help end the Second World War, had an explosive yield of approximately 12 Kilotons of TNT., If, during the Cold War, Long Islanders ever saw the flash of a 20 Kiloton nuclear warhead far off to the east, it would have been because a locally based Nike Hercules missiles had been commanded to fire, in a last-ditch effort to prevent Soviet bombers from getting through to attack New York. Thankfully, that day never came., The “Headwaters” of Long Island’s Cold War Heritage Trail , As noted, Long Island has a number of historic Cold War sites that include Montauk Point, Rocky Point, Calverton, Gabreski Airport, Brookhaven Atomic Labs, Republic Aviation, Grumman, Mitchel Field (now home to the Cradle of Aviation), Point Lookout, and others. , They include not just Nike missile sites, but defense plants, radar facilities, command posts, barracks for troops, missile and radar maintenance shops, weapons bunkers, and more. Far more than a collection of some of abandoned defense installations, they represent the state of alert that Americans endured for decades, and the vigilance of those who manned these posts., By basing this Nike missile site, it is the shared intent of the Museum of American Armor, the Nassau County Department of Parks, Recreation and Museums, and the Cradle of Aviation to pay a permanent tribute to all American Cold War veterans who helped defend our freedoms and ensure our future. From “Checkpoint Charlie” in Berlin, SAC bomber bases in the Midwest, submarines beneath the Arctic, to the Nike bases here on Long Island, our fellow Americans protected the peace through strength., To all of them, we say, thank you., Acknowledgments , This presentation was made possible through the cooperation, encouragement, and assistance of Josh Stoff, Curator of the Cradle of Aviation; John Duffy of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 138; and Atlantic Crane., Additional acknowledgements are gratefully offered to Armor Museum founder Lawrence Kadish, Squad Security, PSEG, Polimeni International, and Bethpage Federal Credit Union for their sustained philanthropic support of the Museum of American Armor.