Missile base designed to shoot down Soviet nuclear warheads goes on sale

Nike Control Site DY-10 in Abilene, Texas, has been put up for sale
Missiles housed there were designed to shoot down Soviet ICBMs
Site is not far from air force base which housed U.S. warheads
Owners say the base is dilapidated but has development potential
Suggested it could be turned into off-the-grid family compound

Kieran Corcoran For Dailymail.com

Published:
01:18 GMT, 28 June 2015

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Updated:
14:29 GMT, 28 June 2015

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A Cold War-era missile base which defended the United States from nuclear attack during the Cuban Missile Crisis has gone on sale for $500,000.

The Nike Control Site DY-10, in Abilene, Texas, was used in the 1960s to defend against potential Soviet strikes against the United States, when it was feared the USSR would try to launch short-range missiles from Cuba.

The base was home to Nike surface-to-air missile designed to shoot nuclear warheads out of the sky, and consists of a ten-building complex.

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Missile defense: This unassuming collection of buildings once house Nike surface-to-air missiles which were designed to shoot ICBMs targeting the U.S. out of the sky

Self-sufficient: The property in Abilene, Texas, has buildings, such as the above, for generating electricity, as well as a septic tank for sewage. It is on sale for just over $500,000

Surface-to-air: The base would have house Nike missiles, designed to shoot down bomber planes and ICBMs. Pictured is an array of them in 1958

Map: The site, complete with 10 buildings, is pictured here from above. The red line represents a chain-link security fence. The number 11 marks tennis and basketball courts for the facility

It has its own tennis and basketball courts, two barracks buildings and officer quarters, as well as a room which can house a generator.

The compound is ringed by a chain-link fence, and also has a private septic lake for disposing of sewage.

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Today, the site has fallen into disrepair and is being sold by its current owners, who have listed it on eBay for $503,500.

They suggests, among other uses, that it could be converted into an off-the-grid family compound.

The Nike missiles, which were active from 1960 to 1966, would have been able to defend key targets in the area, including a battery of American nuclear warheads at Dyess Air Force Base near Abilene.

Defending: The site is not far from Dyess Air Force Base, which housed Atlas-F ICBMs (right). The Nike missiles (such as the one shown left) would have tried to defend the large warheads so counter-strikes could be made

Spacious: Pictured above is a barracks building, which could hold dozens of people. The whole site, however, is in need of repair

Missile control: Pictured is the building from which the site’s missiles would be controlled – and launched in the event of an attempt strike on the U.S.

Living space: Pictured above are the mess hall and administration buildings of the base

Defense site: Pictured above is the bunker’s location. It was designed to defend an area of Texas which house some of the country’s own nuclear arsenal, which could have been hit by strikes from Cuba

DY-10’s Nike rockets would have attempted to stop strikes on U.S. warheads to keep them active for retaliatory strikes.

As of Saturday night 63 people had expressed an interest in the purchase, but nobody had made an offer.

In the online listing, its current owners say they have lived there for eight years, but want to pass it on so it can be developed more fully.

The current owners said many of the concrete buildings now leak, and some roofs have caved in and need to be restored. It comes with 12 acres of land.