I'm going to cover a lot of ground in this article. It begins on June 16, 1961, when the main body of Battery A stepped off the train that brought us from Bremerhaven. It was an all night train ride and we were met by members of our advance party with a couple of busses and a truck for our luggage. It was about 10:00AM.
When we got to Emery Kaserne we saw all of our equipment packed tightly together in the parking lot in front of Battalion Headquarters. It was surrounded by triple strand concertina wire. It had been there for a few days. We could not occupy our site at the top of the hill because the Engineers and Explosive Ordnance Disposal were still trying to make it habitable. The Engineers had set up a small bivouac in the open field on the right as you approached the site. The EOD guys stayed in a hotel in Wurzburg and did all of their work with a jeep and trailer. They pulled literally hundreds of pounds of unexploded ammo from World War II off of the site. Years later a piece or two would still appear.
Lots of us went up to the site often to check on the progress. As EOD proclaimed a section "OK", the heavy equipment, graders, backhoes, and front-end loaders, as well as individual soldiers with shovels, went to work. The berms took shape and the drainage was evident but we were not going to emplace the equipment until after August 13, 1961, the day the Berlin Wall went up. There were a couple of concrete pads laid down, one for the ready shack and one for the latrine (a first class Three-holer). Then the road network was established.
Finally, around the first of September, all of our XLWB M-36 2 1/2 ton trucks were dispatched to Pirmasens to gather up our basic load of 36 HAWK missiles. Two men to a truck. By the time they got back all of the radar complex was being emplaced, as well as the launchers. All of the cables were connected. But before detailed electronic tests could be performed, we had to "peel off" the dark OD colored rubbery preservative that had been sprayed on all the equipment to protect it from sea spray on the way over. Most of our equipment was deck cargo. That was a nasty task that took some time.
I can still remember the first trucks with the missiles coming on site. Lights flashing and horns blowing. It was kind of a festive occasion. Even before a truck was unloaded we started bleeding off the pressure in the cans. The 2 1/2 ton wrecker was the hardest working piece of equipment for the next few days. We set up a system with a ground mounted pallet adjacent to the Missile Assembly area (Test Shop) and the missiles were brought straight to the test stand, one at a time and when checked out, they went straight to the pallet. Once the first three birds were ready the Alpha Section Loader took them to Launcher A-1.
It really didn't take long and everybody was busting his butt. Nothing but assholes and elbows. That first night the Mess Sergeant showed up at midnight with a load of steaming hot pizza and gallons of a beverage that tasted like watered down cherry jello. We called it "rotgut". He did that every night for a while. The Battalion EMMO Section was nowhere to be seen (smart move) until we declared ourselves "Operational". Then they were right at the gate calling "Blazing Skies" and we underwent our first Operational Readiness Evaluation - a precursor to being integrated into the defense. We could tell that the Battalion EMMO team was rooting for us and we did well.
Just as soon as all of the missiles were checked out we received a bulletin to check the EPU fuel sticks in each missile. That required breaking the missile down to include separating the guidance package from the warhead. Time consuming. We had one missile with the serial number 8026. Its EPU fuel stick was oraange in color. They were all supposed to be OD in color. The remaining 35 missiles, all with serial numbers in the 15000 range had the correct fuel stick. Lot's of work to find one whose shelf life had expired. By that time we were into November and the weather was getting nasty. The missiles did not take to wet weather very well. The HAWK Acceptance Program was conducted in the sunny, dry southwest desert. So something had to be done to protect the missiles from rain, snow and ice. Enter Operation CLAYBAR.
From the 69th Group we were provided with a Major named Cordero, a Cuban who spoke with a thick accent. He worked with our Assembly crew just like one of the guys. The only problem was, Major Cordero didn't have any fatigue uniforms. He was always in Greens and left the site every afternoon muddy and with hydraulic oil all over him. He had an interesting theory, which proved to be correct. With changes in the ambient temperature the missile would "breathe" in the moisture-laden air, which then condensed into droplets of water and just fouled up every circuit. As the air temperature warmed up during the day, the missile would "exhale" setting the stage for the next evening's cooler air to be "inhaled" into the missile. Major Cordero came up with a procedure that would insure the missiles would not become victims of the weather. And that was the placement of green tape on certain parts of the missile. Many rolls of two inch green tape were acquired, issued only to HAWK units, and the taping of a missile became an art form. Tape was run along the tops of the tunnel covers on both sides, completely around the gimbal ring, over the S&A Device Cover and the Initiator Cover. A really sloppy job was easily noticed and reflected poorly on the entire unit. A good job, on the other hand, showed the pride that a unit had in their ability to do a good job.
There were two types of two inch green tape. One had a gray colored adhesive and that was no good when cold. Also, some of the adhesive would stick to the skin of the missile and make a mess. It could only be cleaned off with toluene, a highly flammable liquid. The tape with a white adhesive was the best and highly sought after. Lots of this tape ended up in the quarters of the missile men and was used on packages that were mailed back to the States. The APO would only let members of missile units mail packages wrapped with that tape. This tape was also used to repair seat covers in various automobiles. It could be used to patch canvas tents, as well as laundry bags. There was no end to the applications that the green tape could be used for.
Finally, there was one other unexpected defect of those first HAWKs in the field. There were three "Fuse antennas" located approximately 120º apart around the guidance section of the missile. These fuse antennas were covered with some sort of plastic strips about 18 inches long. The plastic strips would come loose. Someone went to the PX and found a brand new product that claimed to be better than any original seal. It was epoxy cement. Most of us had never seen it. It had to be mixed with equal parts of two different tubes and, although it hardened well in fair weather, it was worthless below 45º. It was really messy.
Eventually all of these weather related problems were solved. Take a look at the picture page on the Early HAWK page to see some of the other fixes that were applied. There is an old adage of the Artilleryman. It is French - Cache la Poudre - and it means "Keep your Powder Dry". Well, that's what took up most of our time.
Al Garrett
