Evening star., 1953-05-24
Army Details Plan
To Guard Cities With
Guided Missiles
By the ASsoeiofsd Press

By the ASsoeiofsd Press
Details of the Army's program
to spot guided missile antiaircraft
units around Washington and
other major U. S. cities came to
light yesterday, including the fact
that some batteries will be located
underground.
Inform a ion which became
available for the first time
showed the Army will require
an average Of So acres for a
battalion using the Nike missile
to protect industrial, port and
Government centers against any
swift. high-flying enemy bomb
ers.
Here are some Of the other
hitherto secret details:
Twelve launchers will be used
In above-ground installations to
fire the 1,000-mile-an-hour mis-
Siles which, the Army claims,
have an uncanny accuracy
against even other guided mis-
sizes or Supersonic aircraft. For
above-ground bases, the Army
will need 96 acres to deploy the
weapons in proper firing position.
Sites Are Described.
Nine launcherS will be In un-
derground installations. The
acreage specified in these in
stallations is "a, but this is as
sumed to refer only to the sur
face area, not implying that the
actual bomb-proof dugouts would
involve that acreage.
Above-ground launcherS will
be placed in revetments (earth-
works. to help protect them
against straf1ng attacks.
Specifications for sites requil
that they be adaptable to radar
use for detection and tracking of
enemy bombers, be clear of OBJ
Structions for the take-of of the
missiles and, if possible, have
natural features to aid in camou-
f1age of the sites. The sites also
will include underground storage
facilities. magazines and housing
for troops.
Except for details made avail
able yesterday and two previous
announcements. the Army has
been officially silent about
guided missile defenseS.
Capital Area Mentioned.
nike batteries will be set up
primarily around principal popu-
lation and industrial centers."
one previous announcement said.
The other was that battalions
have been in training at Fort
Bliss. Tex, and White Sands,
N. NJ.
However. there have been
other indications that units are
being installed at such places as
New York City, where the Army
announced several days ago it
intended to retain the old Sandy
Hook defensive area, and Wash
ington, D. c. Because of the
Mixes long range, it was under
stood that one unit might be
used to protect metropolitan
areas that are close together,
such as Washington and Balti-
more.
The Nike is in volume pro-
duction at a Western Electric
Co. plant in North Carolina.
Weapon Is Described.
The weapon is generally sup
posed to have these features:
An overall length of about 20
feet. a body diameter of ap-
proximately 18 inches. Fins
which control it's fight, similar
to those of an airplane, are about
three feet in span. Total weight
is about 1000 pounds.
The guidance system repeatedly
is in three phases-a preset,
initial guidance, like aiming a
gun in the general direction of
the target; a command" mid
course guidance which uses ra-
dio and radar to steer the mis-
Sile toward the approximate area
to which an enemy bomber is
approaching; a terminal" phase
system in which the missile
strikes home by following radar
signals bounced off the target.
Launched by Booster.
The missile itself presumably
is driven by the thrust generated
from the burning of two types
of liquid fuel. A 1,000-pound
charge of solid fuel booster"
also is used to start the missile
from it's launching rack.
The Army last winter said,
without specifying the Nike, that
enemy planes can dive. climb,
bank, side-slip or turn tail, but
the Army's new weapons still will
knock them out of the Skies"
When the first anti-aircraft
missiles were being developed
several years ago. experts thought
the probability Of a single-shot
kill on plane at $4,000 feet
would be about one out of four.