Description
TM 9-1430-250-15P/5/1 Nike-Hercules AN/MPA-5, AN/MPA-6, AN/MPA-6A, and AN/MPA-7 Guided Missile Tracking Station Technical Manual – December 1967
Item Overview
This U.S. Army Technical Manual, TM 9-1430-250-15P/5/1, provides repair-parts and special-tools information for the AN/MPA-5, AN/MPA-6, AN/MPA-6A, and AN/MPA-7 guided missile tracking station groups. These trailer-mounted stations formed part of the Radar Course Directing Central used with the Nike-Hercules Air Defense Guided Missile System. This December 1967 manual is a valuable reference for collectors, museums, restoration projects, and researchers studying Cold War radar and guided-missile equipment.
Identification and Features
This manual was prepared for Army maintenance and supply personnel responsible for keeping Nike-Hercules tracking-station equipment ready for service. It supported organizational, direct-support, and general-support maintenance. The publication helped personnel identify authorized repair parts and special tools for the different tracking-station models and their installed equipment.
- Manual Number: TM 9-1430-250-15P/5/1
- Date: December 1967
- Publication Type: Repair Parts and Special Tools Lists
- Maintenance Levels: Organizational, Direct Support, and General Support
- Official Equipment Type: Tracking Station, Guided Missile, Trailer Mounted
- Models Covered: AN/MPA-5, AN/MPA-6, AN/MPA-6A, and AN/MPA-7
- Major Assembly: Radar Course Directing Central
- Parent Weapons System: Nike-Hercules Air Defense Guided Missile System
- Primary Functions: Target tracking, target ranging, and missile tracking
- Related Equipment: Radar-control consoles, radar coder equipment, power supplies, interconnecting equipment, utility cabinets, and cooling equipment
- Companion Publication: TM 9-1430-250-15P/5/2 Illustration Supplement
What This Manual Covers
TM 9-1430-250-15P/5/1 is the written repair-parts volume for the listed AN/MPA tracking stations. It provides the maintenance and supply information needed to identify replacement components and authorized special tools. The manual covers equipment installed throughout the trailer-mounted tracking station, including radar-control, electrical, power-supply, cooling, utility, and interconnecting components. It was intended to be used with TM 9-1430-250-15P/5/2, the separately published illustration supplement containing the related parts diagrams.
The Nike-Hercules Air Defense Guided Missile System
Nike-Hercules was the second operational missile developed under the U.S. Army’s Project Nike air-defense program. It replaced the smaller Nike-Ajax and entered operational service in 1958. The larger Hercules missile offered greater range, improved high-altitude performance, and more power against formations of enemy aircraft. It could carry either a conventional or nuclear warhead, depending on the mission. Nike-Hercules batteries were placed near major cities, military bases, industrial centers, and other important locations during the Cold War.
How the Tracking Station Worked
The trailer-mounted tracking station helped the Nike-Hercules battery follow both the target and the missile during an engagement. Operators used separate positions and radar consoles to measure the target’s azimuth, elevation, and range while another radar followed the missile after launch. This information was sent to the director station, where the battery’s computer calculated a predicted intercept point and the required flight corrections. Guidance commands were then transmitted through the missile-tracking radar to steer the missile toward its target. The tracking station also contained radar coder equipment, power supplies, cooling equipment, utility cabinets, and electrical connections needed to support continuous operation.
History of Use
Nike-Hercules batteries served with both Regular Army and Army National Guard air-defense units. At the system’s 1963 peak, Army Air Defense Command operated 134 Nike-Hercules batteries. Crews regularly trained to detect, identify, track, and engage hostile aircraft under strict operating procedures. The AN/MPA-5, AN/MPA-6, AN/MPA-6A, and AN/MPA-7 represented different tracking-station configurations used as Nike-Hercules equipment was updated. American sites were gradually closed during the 1970s as newer air-defense systems entered service, while several allied countries continued operating Nike-Hercules for additional years.
Historical Significance
This manual documents the parts and maintenance support behind one of America’s most important Cold War air-defense systems. The Nike-Hercules tracking station combined radar equipment, trained operators, electrical systems, and early electronic computing to guide a missile toward a distant target. Manuals like this were essential working publications that helped Army personnel maintain complex equipment in operational condition. Today, the manual provides useful information about military radar technology, guided-missile development, Army supply practices, and the nationwide Nike defense network.
Condition
This listing is for the December 1967 technical manual only. Please check the pictures for the general condition of the item. No tracking-station trailer, radar equipment, consoles, missiles, loose repair parts, special tools, illustration supplement, or additional publications are included unless specifically shown and stated.
Ideal For
This military technical manual is well suited for collectors and organizations interested in Nike missile equipment, Cold War air defense, military radar systems, guided-missile technology, and historic Army maintenance publications.
- U.S. military technical-manual collectors
- Nike missile and Cold War historians
- Museums and restoration projects
- Military radar and electronics researchers
- Veterans and former air-defense personnel
- Educational and historical reference collections
Approx length 8", Approx width 10", Approx height 1", Approx weight 2lbs.
Pictures are stock images of our inventory. Unless otherwise noted, you will not be receiving the exact item shown in the pictures. The pictures are representative of the item’s general condition. The item you receive might be slightly better, or worse, condition than was shown in the pictures.
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