Nike Missile Providence Defense Area
Site designation and locations of the five Nike batteries guarding Providence are as follows: (PR-38) Bristol, (PR-58) North Kingston, (PR-69) Coventry, (PR-79) Foster, and (PR-99) North Smithfield.
Two additional sites in Massachusetts contributed to the defense of Rhode Islands capital city. The five batteries became operational between 1956 and 1958. From 1959 through 1960, sites PR-38 and PR-99 were upgraded to launch Nike Hercules missiles. Site PR-79 at Foster was preserved, to be used as a State Police facility.
Command and Control was handled from a BIRDIE/Missile Mentor facility located in PR-69 Coventry. This facility assumed the target designation role for all batteries in New England after the four New England defense areas were consolidated in the late 1960s.
Site PR-99 at North Smithfield stayed in operation until 1971 while PR-38 at Bristol held on until 1974.