| Nike Missile Site C-47 | |
| Nrhp Type: | hd |
| Nocat: | yes |
| Nearest City: | County Roads 600N and 700N, less than a mile north of Wheeler, Portage Township, Porter County, Indiana |
| Coordinates: | 41.5233°N -87.1778°W |
| Architect: | U.S. Army |
| Architecture: | Modern Movement |
| Added: | January 21, 2000 |
| Refnum: | 99001669 |
Nike Missile Site C-47 is a former missile site near Portage, Indiana. The Nike defense system was a Cold War-era missile system in the United States. Nike missiles were radar guided, supersonic antiaircraft missiles. The planners hoped that Nike would make a direct attack on the U.S. so costly as to be futile.[1]
Nike missile sites were constructed in defensive rings around major urban and industrial areas. Chicago was likely selected because of its population, the presence of several military bases, and the Gary, Indiana, steel industry.[1] Nike C-47 (Nike 1B, 1C/12H, 20A/12L-U, (8L-H)) near Portage was designed with two units nearly a mile apart. The first section was the Launcher Area located on the south side of County Road 700 North, approximately west of County Road 500 West, in Porter County, Indiana. The second area was the Control Area, also known as the Administration Area, located on the north side of County Road 600 North, near Wheeler. Construction of the base began in 1954 and it was operational by 1956.[1]
The Chicago defensive area, one of the larger in the nation, had about 20 bases ringing metropolitan Chicago. Due to the relatively short range of the first generation Nike missiles, bases had to be close to the area they protected.[1] The Army began to buy land and build sites in the early 1950s. The basic system was operational by 1954 using MIM-3 Nike Ajax missiles. Newer Nike missiles extended the capability of the rings. The "Nike-Hercules" were nuclear capable and could destroy fleets of Soviet bombers over a wide area. These were deployed at a few selected sites. The Hercules could reach Soviet airspace to intercept aircraft and had the potential to be used against ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles). C-47 was one of the first Nike sites to receive the Hercules missiles.[1]
The Nike system protected the United States until 1972. The bases were closed in accord with the SALT treaty limits, and the onset of "détente".[1]
To be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, Nike sites are required to be historically exceptional and retain a high degree of integrity, including all three major components: (1) administration, (2) radar, and (3) launch functions.[1] There are fifteen Nike sites in Illinois that are part of the Chicago-Gary Defense Area. Several have some buildings and launch areas. C-84 in Palatine, Illinois, was the last substantial site to be redeveloped.[1] Five of the bases in the Chicago ring were in Indiana. C-47 is the only site to retain all three functions. A few buildings remain at several of the bases in Indiana. The National Park Service uses several buildings from a base near the Chellberg Farm for offices and service buildings at Indiana Dunes National Park. As elsewhere, they are remnants of bases, not complete units. The early use of nuclear missiles on the site further makes C-47 a rare and exceptional site.[1]