The Operations Room within a Missile Master blockhouse. Photo: U.S. Army
During 1948, the fledgling United States Air Force established a long range air defense radar site atop a hill in Highlands, New Jersey. The Army had previously used this location as a Coast Artillery site during the Second World War, constructing massive bunkers protecting 16-inch caliber guns.
The Army returned to the site during 1960, with a new air defense related mission. In that year the Army activated its Missile Master facility, a complex electronic system capable of tracking and identifying multiple hostile aircraft and assigning individual Nike missile batteries to engage them. The complex FSG-1 Missile Master was later replaced by a similar system known as the TSQ-51 Missile Mentor.
The Highlands base also served as the headquarters for various Nike-related units in the region. It remained in service through 1974.
Location
Highlands (Monmouth County), NJ
Dates of Operation
1960-1974
Radar Systems & Equipment
ABAR-69 with FPA-15
FSG-1 Missile Master
TSQ-51 Missile Monitor
Unit Information
Army –
HQ 19th Artillery Group (1961-1968)
HHB/3/51st (1964-1968)
HQ 52nd Artillery Brigade (1968-1971)
HQ 16th ADA Group (1971-1974)
HHB/1/51st (1972-1973)
Current Status
The former HAADS installation, including the Missile Master blockhouse was demolished in 1995. The site is now a part of the Hartshorne Woods Park, operated by the Monmouth County Park System.
Nearly all traces of the adjacent, historic Highlands Air Force Station were similarly obliterated. Regrettably, no attempt was made to document this historic Cold War site prior to its demolition. The Monmouth County Park System has partially restored one of the impressive World War Two era coastal fortifications and it can be visited by the public.