Autoatlas: Pics and Stories

Mace TM-76A Missile Site - Site III 887th TMS

I was stationed at the 887th Tac Missile Squadron, Grunstadt, Germany from March, 1962 until de-activation of the Mace A missile system September 30th, 1966. I was an Enlisted Airman, launch crew member; my position on the launch crew was as Guidance Tech, on a 4 man launch crew. The rest of the crew was comprised of a Launch Officer-in-Charge, Launch NCO and the two enlisted Techs. The other Tech on the crew was a nuclear qualified airman. This site, we call the Hill or Grunstadt was AKA Combat Site III, it was one of 8 Mace A, TM76A launch sites or squadrons out of the 38th Tac Missile Wing. The Wing's HQ was located at Sembach AB, Sembach Germany. There were three sites near Sembach, the 822nd, 823rd and my site the 887th. The 823rd and the 887th each had 12 launchers while the 822nd had 8 launchers. The five other Mace squadron sites were scattered around Hahn AB and Bitburg AB both these bases were locate some 50 miles to the northwest of Sembach AB.
The 887th at Grunstadt was considered an isolated site because of it being about 25 miles away from Sembach AB. Thus, Grunstadt was the only Mace Missile site in Germany to be a fully self-supporting launch facility with its own administrative staff, launch crews, firemen, cooks, security police and missile maintenance crews living in barracks located at the site. The other 38th Tac Missile Wing Mace sites were near enough to their respective host bases that the launch crews, security and maintenance airmen were billeted at the main base nearby. When the 887th site was in operation there were soft shelters for the 12 ready-to-launch missiles plus 2 maintenance shelters. That is why you can count 14 places for missiles but as mentioned only 12 were launch ready at one time. The barracks, dinning hall, rec building, maintenance and fire station, heating plant and other support buildings were located to the left side of the launch complex in the picture. When in operation there were three flights of 4 missiles each and one launch crew was responsible for the 4 missiles of its particular flight. We maintained 24-7 alert in block houses and could launch the 4 missiles of our respective flight in 15 minutes of getting and confirming the launch order. I last visited the site in 2005 and there is still the double security fence around the old launch complex but, the buildings and other structures have long been gone. The old dinning hall burned down in 1976 and the remaining buildings were removed in the 80's. The area out site the launch complex was being utilized by the US military as a paint ball arena until recently. At various times after 1966 the site has seen both Army and Air Force communications units in temporary residence and the Army also has deployed a sensitive command and control facility there for a short time.