Nike Battery NY-29/30 Lido Beach, NY

Nike Battery NY-29/30
Lido Beach, NY

Nike Battery NY-29/30 was constructed on the sands of a barrier island on the south shore of Long Island, roughly 20 miles from Manhattan. The Nike installation was the largest building project seen in this peaceful seaside community since the construction of the Moorish style Lido Beach Hotel during the late 1920s. During the construction process, it was revealed that an alleged "waterfront racketeer" had been involved in the work, creating concerns about the security of the Army's new missile installation.

Site NY-29/30 was a "double" Nike Ajax battery with six underground missile magazines. Each magazine was capable of storing as many as ten Nike Ajax missiles. The site was never upgraded to fire the more advanced Nike Hercules missiles and remained a double Nike Ajax site throughout its eight years of air defense activity. National Guard units operated site NY-29/30 from 1960 until its closure during 1963.

Location
Launcher Area:
Lido Beach,
(Nassau County), NY
Control Area:
Lido Beach,
(Nassau County), NY
Dates of Operation
1955-1963
Weapons Systems
& Missile Load
Nike Ajax / 60
Nike Hercules / 0
Missile Magazines
6 Magazines (double site).
2 type "B" and 4 type "C".

Radar Types
ACQR
Unit Information
Army -
C/505th (1955-1958)
C/3/51st (1958-1960)

National Guard -
C/1/244th (1960-1963)
D/1/244th (1960-1963)

Present Status
A few remnants of this site remain. The Long Beach School District acquired a portion of the former site and another part was turned into a park with nature trails.