John Byrns wrote:
In article , wrote:


Trying to identify a vacuum tube based missle seeker head.



Can anyone ID this? The box said "NIKE AJAX."



I would
love to hear more about it if anyone knows? With all those "submini"
tubes, it looks a little like one of Robert's "Engineering what ifs" gone
awry. Did the "NIKE AJAX" actually use a "seeker head", or was it steered
to the target by control signals from the ground? I know there were
several very different incarnations of the "NIKE" missile, but I have no
idea what the operational differences were?

Three - Ajax, Hercules and Zeus. All were ground directed (by RADAR) to
target. The electronics on board received the radio control signals and
used that to actuate the control surfaces as directed. The various
versions were all similar - with improving speed, range, accuracy, etc.


Brings back memories of the 1950s, when "NIKE" missile bases ringed many
of our larger cities. I wonder when they were decommissioned, seems like
they were gone by the mid 1960s at the latest?

More like mid 70's. Here is a picture of one (Hercules version) from
Lynwood, CA - Memorial Day 1963 (right in your back yard, Jeff!). A
friend of mine (still living) was in the parade - as he was in the
National Guard at the time - and his unit was one of the units in the
parade that day. A few years later he took us to Camp Roberts - where
we got to ride in jeeps, tanks, and all manner of neat stuff- neat guy!

Link: http://www.mississippi.net/~comcents/nike.jpg

best regards...
--
randy guttery

A Tender Tale - a page dedicated to those Ships and Crews
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