Originally posted by tce2506
If the plane didn't hit the pentagon, where DID it go?
Yesterday I was reading the book by Ian Hogg "Twentieth Century Artillery"(Barnes&Noble Books, New York, 2000) and on page 215 there was the description of "Nike Ajax" Air Defence Missile with the following opening sentence: (quote)
Nike Ajax has the distinction of being the first surface-to-air guided missile to enter regular service with a military force when it was deployed to protect Washington DC in December 1953. (end of quote)
And on the next page of the same book one can find the following lines describing "Nike Hercules" Air Defence Missile: (quote)
Nike Hercules was the second generation of Nike and it was an attempt to produce a system which was more efficient, but at the same time simpler to use. It also had to be compatible with Nike Ajax and use as much of that expensive system as possible. .... The system was deployed in the US by late 1958 and in subsequent years it was supplied to several countries in order to upgrade their earlier Nike Ajax batteries). (end of quote)
The gist of these two pages:
Expensive air defence system of Nike Ajax batteries was first deployed in December 1953 in order to protect Washington DC. Starting in late 1958 the Nike Ajax air defence missiles were replaced with the Nike Hercules system.
This is all that I know.