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You are standing on the sidewalk of a former military base put here to defend
Puget Sound from air attack. In 1953, this site was occupied by anti-aircraft
guns. Then, from 1957 to 1967, it served as the "radar" portion of a
Nike Missile Defense System. (Hence the names, "radar park", and
"anti-aircraft peak"). When more advanced missiles and jets made the
Nike System obsolete, King County acquired the grounds for a park. This 17 acre
site was the first "cornerstone" of what is now a 3,000+ acre regional
park.
The large meadow in front of you was originally created for a ring of 90mm
"Skymaster" anti-aircraft guns, and rubber-skinned "Butler
Buildings" for the troops. Puget Sound was a center of commerce and
population, and also home to important shipyards and aircraft industries, making
it a strategic target. With the development of long range bombers there was a
real need to protect this area, and the guns were the best thing available. The
two photographs at left were provided by Peter Watrey, who was sent here as a
raw recruit. (Perhaps as a security measure, most of the enlisted men came from
east coast cities like New York, and had never seen the northwest before. Peter
says that apart from the secrecy and the boring guard duty, it was "like
being stationed in heaven").
The "Cold War", which followed Word War II, was dominated by fears
of a surprise attack by high speed bombers, and this led the army to seek a new
king of air defense system. The problem was that planes were becoming so
maneuverable, and flying so high and fast, that the ground based guns could not
keep up. The solution called for a supersonic missile which could be controlled
from take-off to target by radar. In 1945, the Bell Telephone Laboratories were
recruited for the design/development job because of their extensive prior work
with radar and computers. Douglas Aircraft, Western Electric and hundreds of
subcontractors labored for the next eight years to produce the missiles and
construct the total system.
Each Nike installation consisted of two separate areas: A radar control site,
(where you are now standing – "radar park"): and a launch site where
the missiles were actually kept. (Cougar Mountain's launch site is nearly a mile
downhill to the southeast on 166th Way S.E. It is known as the "Nike
Missile Site" on the park maps, and will eventually have its own parking
lots and interpretive signs).
The Nike system required three separate radars all interlinked by a central
computer. First was the Acquisition Radar which located enemy aircraft at long
distance. Next was the Target Tracking Radar which locked-on to the attacker,
despite any evasive maneuvers. Last was the Missile Tracking Radar, used to
alter the course of the missile in flight and direct it to the attacker. (Our
present day personal computers are said to have evolved directly from the
interlink and control computers first made for missile systems like this). The
adjacent map will help you locate the radar pads and other "Nike"
remnants.
The large hill to your left is actually a man-made structure atop which an
antenna tower was mounted. (Look for mysterious cement pads and a picnic table
there today). Other concrete pads to the west of the antenna-mound are where
Quonset Huts were located for living and working quarters. (It took 125 men to
staff the radar and launch sites on a day and night year-round schedule).
"Safe" housing for military families was located down the mountain to
the north near 164th Ave. S.E. and S.E. 46th Street. The new radio tower near
the cement radar pads at the top of the park is still run by the Army Corps of
Engineers, but it is shared with the State Department of Transportation and
services primarily peaceful purposes now.
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