Object Details
- Manufacturer
- Douglas Aircraft Company
- Summary
- This is the Nike-Ajax, the U.S.'s first operational surface-to-air missile. Nike batteries were stationed at many major cities throughout the country, and it was the U.S.'s primary defensive weapon throughout the early Cold War. The radar-guided Nike-Ajax could range up to 25 miles. The missile had an operational altitude of 10-12 miles and reached a speed of 1,500 miles per hour.
- Development of the Nike-Ajax began in 1945 and it became operational in 1953. Production ceased in 1958 for the transition to the newer, more powerful all-solid-fuel Nike-Hercules missile. This object was transferred to the Smithsonian in 1974 from the National Armed Forces Museum Advisory Board.
- Alternate Name
- Nike-Ajax Missile
- Credit Line
- Transferred from the National Armed Forces Museum Advisory Board (NAFMB).
- Inventory Number
- A19740620000
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- CRAFT-Missiles & Rockets
- Materials
- Bottom section, magnesium; nozzle protective retainer, steel; lower tank, steel; two upper tanks, probably aluminum; overall, aluminum; propellant and other piping along much of length of this section of missile, aluminum; fins, non-ferrous, possibly magnesium or aluminum; fin corner protectors, red plastic.
- Dimensions
- Overall: 20 ft. 1 in. long x 5 ft. 3 in. wing span (612.14 x 160.02cm)
- Country of Origin
- United States of America
- See more items in
- National Air and Space Museum Collection
- Location
- Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA
- Exhibit Station
- Rockets & Missiles
- National Air and Space Museum
- Record ID
- nasm_A19740620000
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv9d0c4b082-c9d6-4f24-80a8-164198216e43
