Nike Missile Site HM-69

Nike Missile Site HM-69
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Nearest city:	Homestead, Florida
Coordinates:	25°22′25″N 80°41′4″W / 25.37361°N 80.68444°W / 25.37361; -80.68444Coordinates: 25°22′25″N 80°41′4″W / 25.37361°N 80.68444°W / 25.37361; -80.68444
Architect:	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Governing body:	National Park Service
NRHP Reference#:	04000758[1]
Designated NRHP:	July 27, 2004

The Nike Missile Site HM-69 (also known as Hole in the Donut or Everglades Nike Site or Missile Base) is a historic site in Homestead, Florida, United States. It is located on Long Pine Key Road in the Everglades National Park. The site with 22 buildings opened in 1964 and closed in 1979 when it was turned over to the National Park Service.^[2] On July 27, 2004, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. In March 2009, it briefly opened to public for guided tours.^[2]

On November 26, 1962, President John F. Kennedy traveled to Homestead AFB to personally award the men of the U.S. Army’s 2nd Missile Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade, with a Presidential Unit Citation for their actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Missiles and airplanes have pitot tubes, named after French inventor Henri Pitot. On December 5, 1973, Second Lieutenant James A. Bevacqua reported that all of the pitot tubes on the stabilizing fins of the Nike Hercules Missiles under his HM 69 command were contaminated by specs of white paint. These pencil-size hollow tubes measured air pressure, which in turn indicated altitude, and altitude determined when the missile was detonated. While on the ground, each pitot tube was protected by a cover which was removed every day for inspection. These covers were painted white. The process of removing and replacing these covers wore away the paint, which ended up as specs and small chips inside the pitot tube. Bevacqua’s recommendation that the pitot tube covers no longer be painted was approved by Brigadier General Hirsch, the 52nd ADA Brigade commander.

Jeff Klinkenberg of the St. Petersburg Times writes, “The tour guide greeted us outside what the U.S. Army called Nike Hercules Missile Base HM-69. The 40-acre site near Homestead was probably the most seriously deadly place in South Florida. Hercules missiles, 41 feet long and capable of traveling at nearly 3,000 mph, carried nuclear warheads. Military policemen, armed to the teeth, stood guard along multiple fences, with orders to shoot intruders on sight. Beyond the first fences were secondary barriers, including one patrolled by attack dogs. Our tour guide said, “These weren’t dogs that lived with the soldiers. These were dangerous dogs that would attack any human, in uniform or not, on sight no matter the circumstances. They were serious dogs.” 

References

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Cohen, Howard (March 24, 2009). "Everglades missile base tour is a trip through the Cold War". Miami Herald. http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/964583.html. Retrieved 2009-03-26. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Dade County listings at National Register of Historic Places
• Locations of Former NIKE MISSILE SITES

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