 Our first home back in the States in the 1950's. The base is still used as a test range for missiles, but is best remembered for its blowing sand, as the place we first saw fireworks on July 4th, and where I broke my first pair of glasses. |
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Ajax Missiles were fully operational by the early 1950's. Designed to destroy high-flying aircraft, the first test-launch occurred at White Sands Proving Ground, NM in 1946. The first Nike Ajax Unit was in place in March, 1954 in Fort Meade, MD, with fully operational 24-hour, combat-ready status. By 1958 almost 200 batteries were built around the majority of the United States' major coastal cities, and at Sandy Hook.