Important Announcement

We would like to thank our loyal fellow members of the Nike Historical Society for your continued support over the years. We will be closing the Society, including the store, as of March 31, 2024. We have acquired a large repository of Nike technical information. The web site will continue to be available. It has been our pleasure to keep the legacy of the Nike missile's contribution of the successful conclusion to the Cold War.

the Board of Directors
Nike Historical Society

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BASE TUONO

Also in Italy in the ex-66th Nike SQN call-sign TUONO (logistic location TONEZZA del CIMONE-Vicenza (ITALY), lauching area location PASSO COE-FOLGARIA (Trento-Italy) we have re-built a Launching Area Section with 3 Hercules.
1 file is the announcement of the opening-day, another one is the indications BASE TUONO (in english THUNDER BASE) and the last one is a picture of the section in a foggy-day.
It is a initiative not big as the NIKE HISTORICAL Society or THE COLD WAR MUSEUM, but in any case we are very proud of that.
Take care and “NIKE FOREVER”
Nicola

Amateur Radio at Thunder Base June 18 and 19, 2011

The "Radio Club Valsugana-Valsugana Servizio Radio Onlus" organize on

Saturday and Sunday, June 18 and 19, 2011 a special event station with ham radio callsign II3NKE in the ex NATO base named "Thunder Base",

near Folgaria (TN, Italy). At this site, recently restored by the municipal administration of Folgaria and Autonomous Province of Trento as a memorial park, has been recreated a section of surface-to-air missiles "NIKE Hercules", supplied to NATO during the Cold War and located in eleven others Italian Air Force missile bases present in northern Italy and operational until the end of the sixties, under the NATO air defense system of southern Europe. At "Thunder Base" are three of these missiles, the last remaining in Europe, positioned on the launch pads, while a fourth missile to be dissected and placed in the building for educational purposes. The special radio station II3NKE will be managed by amateur radio operators of the "Radio Club Valsugana - Valsugana Servizio Radio Onluss" and will operate on all amateur bands HF / VHF / UHF / SHF on Voice, CW, PSK31, RTTY, APRS and wi-fi. A special QSL card created for the event, will be sent via bureau to all amateurs who will contact the station, all the info about the QSL manager will be available online. The activation of the special name II3NKE is queued to the "3rd Reunion" of ex soldiers who served at the "Thunder Base" and other Italian Nike missile bases during the Cold War period. The II3NKE amateur radio station will operate from control area IFC, on the summit of Mount Toraro, about 3 km from the launch site, where in the cold war period was installed the antenna for radio communications and the three radar for the control of the air space.

Base Tuono museum inauguration

Thunder Base Sign

Thunder Base in Fog

Hercules on launcher at 45 degree angle

3 hercules

3 erect hercules

Base Tuono covered in snow

Overall view of Base Tuono

Italian Air Force Nikes Base Tuono web site