After the establishment of the
Army Antiaircraft Artillery Command (ARAACOM) in 1950,
Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) battalions were slowly being
brought up to strength and assigned to the Pacific coast.
The 47th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade was re-activated at
Camp Stewart, Georgia, on 1 Apr. 1951 to oversee the
training of the new AAA battalions stationed there, before
being transferred on 10 Mar. 1952 to Fort Baker, California.
The Brigade assumed command of the AAA brigades stationed in
California at that time: the 466th (40 mm guns) at March
AFB, the 459th (40 mm guns) at Travis AFB, the 464th (40 mm
guns) at Castle AFB, the 718th (90 mm guns) and the 728th
(90 mm guns) at San Francisco.
On November 20, 1952 the 47th AAA Brigade established its
headquarters on the middle reservation of Fort MacArthur.
Additional 90 mm gun AAA battalions were activated in 1953:
the 77th, the 551st and the 554th all at Los Angeles. In
1954 the 47th Brigade was reorganized and commanded only the
units in Southern California: the 424th (now armed with 75
mm guns) at March AFB, the 77th (90 mm guns) as well as the
551st and 554th which were being converted to Nike units.
Additional Army 90 mm gun AAA brigades were activated in the
area in 1955: the 865th, the 933rd and the 720th, the latter
battalion being manned by men of the California National
Guard. In 1957 the 933rd was also converted to a Nike unit,
with the 77th and the 856th AAA Battalions eventually being
inactivated as AA guns were removed from the American CONUS
The first Los Angeles area Nike-Ajax battery was emplaced in
the mountains above Malibu in 1954. At the peak of the Nike
period, there were 16 missile launch sites guarding the
greater Los Angeles area, protecting an area of some 4,000
square miles with a "ring of supersonic steel." On September
27, 1955, Battery D 554th AAA missile battery at Site LA 55
Point Vicente became the first Nike site to be shown to the
public.
On June 1, 1957, the 720th AAA Battalion (90 mm gun) was
reorganized and redesigned as the 720th Missile Battalion
(Nike-Ajax). This was the first National Guard unit to be
designated as a missile unit. On September 14, 1958, the
47th Artillery Brigade turned over operational control of
four Nike-Ajax missile batteries to the California National
Guard. Battery A - Site LA 40 at Long Beach, Battery B -
Site LA 57 at Torrance, Battery C - Site LA 70 and Battery D
- Site LA 73 at the dual Playa Del Rey site. The
Headquarters and Headquarters Battery was established at
Site LA 40 at Long Beach. This was the first time a National
Guard unit assumed operational control of a Nike missile
battery, and was to serve as a model for the eventual
takeover of all Nike sites by the National Guard.
In November, 1958, the 47th Artillery Brigade scored another
first with the introduction of Army sentry dogs to guard
missile sites. Four specially trained sentry dogs and their
handlers were assigned to guarding the Chatsworth
Nike-Hercules site (LA 88). These men were members of the
first group of 28 dogs and handlers sent by the U.S. Army
Air Defense Command to Fort Benning for training in August
1958. Approximately 500 dogs and handlers were required to
put the sentry dog program into operation at the nation's
Nike-Hercules sites.
In 1958 the 47th AAA Brigade became the 47th Artillery
Brigade (Air Defense). Beginning that year the regimental
structure of the Artillery was reconstituted and the
battalions were also reorganized. Some 2,000 officers and
men made up the 47th Artillery Brigade which was eventually
comprised of the Brigade headquarters and, subordinate to
it, the 108th Artillery Group at Fort MacArthur and the 12th
Artillery Group at Pasadena. The 12th Group was composed of
two missile battalions, the 1st Missile Battalion, 56th
Artillery (ex-933rd), in Pasadena, and the 4th Missile
Battalion, 65th Artillery (ex-551st), located in Van Nuys.
There were two battalions under the command of the 108th
Group, the 3rd Missile Battalion, 57th Artillery (ex-554th),
and the 4th Missile Battalion, 251st Artillery, California
National Guard (ex-720th).
In May of 1959, the 720th ADA Battalion was redesigned as
the 4th Missile Battalion (Nike-Hercules) 251st Artillery,
California Army National Guard. Batteries B and C remained
Nike-Ajax batteries with no change in TOE. Batteries A and D
were reorganized, but remained at their original stations.
On March 6, 1963, Batteries A and D entered Nike-Hercules
training at USARADCEN, Fort Bliss, Texas. They returned on
the 29 of April, 1963.
On May 1, 1963, Batteries A and D closed their Nike-Ajax
sites (Site LA 40 Long Beach and Site LA 73 Playa Del Rey)
and moved to new stations. Battery A moved to Site LA 32
Stanton, and Battery D moved to Site LA 43 Fort MacArthur
for on-site training with active Army crews. On June 27,
1963, Batteries A and D assumed the Nike-Hercules
operational mission at Stanton and Fort MacArthur (Sites LA
32 and LA 43) On January 2, 1964, Batteries B and C began
Nike-Hercules training at Fort Bliss, Texas. On April 23,
1964, Batteries B and C left their stations at Sites LA 57
Torrance and LA 70 Playa Del Rey and assumed operational
control of the Nike-Hercules sites at LA 55 Point Vicente
(Battery B) and LA 29 Brea (Battery C).
As the Nike-Hercules missiles were larger, had a longer
range and were more powerful than the Nike-Ajax, less launch
sites were required and only 9 of the original 16 sites were
converted to fire the Nike-Hercules missiles. The other
sites were inactivated by 1964. The 12th ADA Group was
inactivated at Pasadena and the units were trimmed
accordingly.
By the late 1960s, the American missile defenses were
beginning to be cut back by the Army. The Nike Hercules was
designed for defense against attack by large formations of
bombers. As the perceived threat changed from bomber attack
to missile attack, the usefulness of the Nike Hercules
diminished. In 1969, the 47th ADA Brigade was transferred to
Homestead AFB, Florida, and the 19th ADA Group was activated
at Fort MacArthur. By 1971 three more Los Angeles launch
sites had been inactivated. On 4 February 1974, the Army
ordered all existing US Nike batteries inactivated,
resulting the closure of the remaining LA Nike sites. |
