A major defense protecting multiple military installations as well as a substantial metropolitan,  government and industrial region, Philadelphia was within the operations area of the 52nd Brigade in New York City. The AADCP was located at Pedricktown, New Jersey AADB, an old Army depot site on the Delaware River that was updated to house a Missile Master blockhouse. After the merger with New York in 1966, command post operations shifted to Highlands AADB, NJ in the New York Defense Area. |
Nearby Air Force radar sites included Gibbsboro and Moorestown AFS's. SAGE tracking information was transmitted to Pedricktown from a command post at McGuire AFB, New Jersey. McGuire also hosted a BOMARC site under the 46th Air Defense Missile Squadron from June 1961 through July 1972. The transfer of the 24th Artillery Group out of the Philadelphia area in September 1966 resulted in the merger of the New York and Philadelphia defenses. Philadelphia's 3rd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery was the last regular Army Nike Missile battalion in the combined defense. Philadelphia operated a total of 12 batteries, plus a temporary site at Fort Mott
. | PH-99 was a "double site," originally constructed with a total of six magazines and 22 launchers of the "UU"or Double  Universal design. Total magazine capacity for the site was 60 Ajax or 36 Hercules missiles. Notably, when the site was converted to Hercules, from April 1958 to June 1959, all 22 launchers were converted for Hercules firing. Nationally, most double sites had only half of their launchers converted.
| Site 99 was also significant for its service as the battalion command post for the Nike batteries covering Philadelphia's north.gif) side. The units were: HHB/506th (12/54 to 5/58) and B-506th (55-9/58)
HHB/3/60th (9/58 to 9/61) and B-3-60th (9/58 to 9/61)
A/2/59th (9/61 to 10/64)
PARNG's HHB/2/166th (10/64 to 6/71)
A/2/166th (10/64 to 11/68)
B/2/166th (10/64 to 7/71) Again, it is significant that the site was inactivated in two portions roughly three years apart.
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| The above Site99 historical information was used with permission from "Rings of Supersonic Steel - Air Defenses of the United States Army 1950-1979" by Mark L. Morgan and Mark W. Berhow. Second edition is now available at $19.95 per copy plus $5.00 for shipping and handling from: Hole in the Head Press, P. O. Box 807, Bogeda Bay, CA 94923
"I highly recommend this book to you. It is outstanding." Jim Buffington
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