Long Island has plenty of things hidden in the woods.
Old foundations. Forgotten roads. The occasional shopping cart that seems to have wandered very far from home.
But during the Cold War, Long Island was hiding something a lot more serious: Nike missile bases.
These were part of the United States’ air defense network, built to protect major population centers and other important targets from a possible attack by long-range Soviet bombers. For two decades, missile sites formed a defensive ring around the New York metropolitan area, and that ring included sites in both Nassau and Suffolk counties.
In other words, while Long Islanders were mowing lawns, going to Little League, and talking about the weather, there were missiles nearby designed to go from underground storage to launch in a hurry if the Cold War ever turned hot.
Here are some crazy facts about Long Island’s Nike missile history.
• During the Cold War, the New York metropolitan area was defended by a series of U.S. Army Nike surface-to-air missile batteries. According to Donald E. Bender’s historical overview, these sites operated from 1954 to 1974.
• The Nike system was created as part of a nationwide air defense program meant to protect major cities, industrial areas, and other strategic targets from long-range Soviet bombers armed with nuclear bombs.
• Long Island was not just near that defense network. It was part of it. Historical listings of former Nike sites in the New York metro area include Long Island locations in Lloyd Harbor, Oyster Bay, Amityville/Farmingdale, Rocky Point/Brookhaven, and Lido Beach.
• One of the best documented Long Island sites was NY-25 at Rocky Point/Brookhaven, which became the easternmost Nike installation in the former New York Defense Area.
• According to the NY-25 historical material, the Rocky Point site helped defend not just the broader New York metro area, but also Brookhaven National Laboratory, Grumman’s Calverton test facility, and Suffolk County Air Force Base.
• The Rocky Point site remained in operation until 1974, which means it lasted until the final years of the Nike era in the continental United States.
• A typical Nike site had two separate areas. One was the Integrated Fire Control area, which housed radar and computer systems used to detect and track hostile aircraft. The other was the launcher area, where missiles were stored underground and raised to the surface when needed.
• Those underground launcher areas were no joke. An overview explains that the missiles were stored horizontally inside heavily built underground magazines, then lifted to the surface by a large missile elevator and moved along rails to launchers.
• The first Nike missile was the Nike Ajax. It became operational in the early 1950s and had a range of about 25 miles, speeds of over 1,600 miles per hour, and could reach targets at altitudes up to 70,000 feet.
• The Ajax was later followed by the more powerful Nike Hercules, which had a much longer range. An overview says Hercules had a maximum range of about 90 miles, could reach speeds above 2,700 miles per hour, and could hit targets at altitudes up to 150,000 feet.
• The Hercules missile was designed from the start to carry a nuclear warhead. Data lists the W-31 warhead in different yields, while the National Park Service notes that the Hercules was designed to carry a nuclear warhead and replaced the Ajax beginning in 1958.
• The National Park Service says that 19 Nike missile sites ringed New York City from 1954 until 1974 during the height of the Cold War.
• Long Island’s role in that ring was significant enough that local communities lived with these sites in their backyards, often without fully realizing what was there. A history of Rocky Point notes that this North Shore site was one of 19 bases meant to protect New York City.
• The Rocky Point missile site sat within what is now the Rocky Point Natural Resource Management Area, meaning a place now used for hiking and biking was once part of the Cold War defense system.
• One account says people can still find evidence of the old site, including older military roads, cement, brick gate pillars, and barbed wire fencing, and can still see the old silo area from the trails.
• The Rocky Point site was once described as highly secure. According to an article, the base was top secret, surrounded by two fences, including one electric fence, and protected by guard dogs.
• The site also operated under strict military procedures. The same article says launch codes were kept in safes and that two military officials had to concur regarding code status and firing procedures.
• Soldiers assigned to Nike sites often lived and worked under constant readiness. The National Park Service says personnel worked either in the launch area or radar area and lived in ready barracks during 24-hour duty shifts.
• Suffolk County also had another Cold War missile installation in Westhampton. Reporting identifies it as a former BOMARC missile base, where 56 missiles were housed in individual buildings with roofs that opened for launch.
• The Rocky Point base deployed Nike Hercules missiles, while the former BOMARC base in Westhampton used nuclear-tipped missiles intended to destroy attacking bomber formations before they reached their targets.
• According to reports, the Rocky Point Nike Hercules base was operational from 1957 to 1974.
• The broader Nike system eventually became obsolete. A historical overview explains that as Soviet strategy shifted toward intercontinental ballistic missiles, the original air defense role of Nike sites became less important.
• The National Park Service says that by 1974 all remaining Nike batteries were disarmed, and the missiles had essentially been overtaken by the rise of the ICBM.
• So yes, Long Island really did have missile bases tied to the Cold War defense of New York City.
Which is a pretty wild thing to remember the next time you’re walking a trail in Rocky Point and wondering why there’s old concrete in the woods.
Sometimes Long Island history is a little more intense than a lost duck farm or a haunted road.
Sometimes it involves nuclear-era missiles hidden in plain sight.
Sources
North Shore’s Nuclear Missile Silo: A History
https://tbrnewsmedia.com/north-shores-nuclear-missile-silo-a-history/
Former US Army Nike Missile Sites in the NYC Metro Area
https://coldwarpreservation.com/nyc-nike-sites/
Suffolk Closeup: Former missile base may be designated a Superfund site
https://shelterislandreporter.archive.timesreview.com/2020/02/suffolk-closeup-former-missile-base-may-be-designated-a-superfund-site/
NY-25 historical site material
https://ed-thelen.org/Bender/NY-25.pdf
National Park Service: Nike Missiles
https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/historyculture/nike-missile.htm
Project Nike: Nuclear Missiles in the New York Suburbs, 1955–1974
https://restorationobscura.substack.com/p/project-nike
Donald E. Bender historical overview and site materials
https://ed-thelen.org/Bender/BenderIntro150.pdf
