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Post-Attack Command and Control System Facility, Hadley

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Coordinates: 42°18′15.13″N 72°32′6.37″W / 42.3042028°N 72.5351028°W / 42.3042028; -72.5351028
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Post-Attack Command and Control System Facility, Hadley
Part of Strategic Air Command
Hadley, Massachusetts
Old command room computer area
Coordinates42°18′15.13″N 72°32′6.37″W / 42.3042028°N 72.5351028°W / 42.3042028; -72.5351028
TypeHardened underground facility
Site history
Built1957–1958
Built byU.S. Air Force
In use1958–1970
EventsCuban Missile Crisis
Garrison information
GarrisonHadley, Massachusetts
Occupants8th Air Force

Post-Attack Command and Control System Facility, Hadley is a defunct Post-Attack Command and Control System facility that operated from June 2, 1958 until 1970. It is located on and under Bare Mountain in Hadley, Massachusetts. The facility was known by many different names: 8th Air Force Combat Operations Center (COC), "The Notch", and "Westover Communications Annex" since it was related to nearby Westover Air Force Base, and nicknamed The Bunker.[1]

The facility has been described as having two underground stories amounting to 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2). It was designed to house 135 people.[2]

History

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In 1957, Strategic Air Command began construction for a hardened bunker to contain the command post for the 8th Air Force, which was located at nearby Westover Air Force Base, Chicopee, Massachusetts. The facility was located inside Bare Mountain, off Route 116, and was nicknamed "The Notch", after the adjacent pass. The underground facility, built into the side of Bare Mountain, was hardened to protect it from the effects of a nearby nuclear blast and designed so that the senior military staff could facilitate further military operations.[3]

It was connected to ATT Blackstone, ATT Chesterfield, and ATT Peru via microwave transmissions during its operation.[4][5][6]

Reuse

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The facility was shut down in 1970, when the 8th Air Force was relocated to Guam. After the U.S. Air Force abandoned the site in 1970, the Federal Reserve took over and used it as a secure storage facility for their records. Allegedly they stored large sums of money there as well, to be used to restart the economy after a nuclear war.[7]

Today, the bunker is used as a library storage facility for the Five Colleges.[8]

The facility was used in the 2010 Mel Gibson movie Edge of Darkness. The front entrance of the facility stood in for the main entrance of the Northmoor Facility in the movie and the access road, Military Road, was used in the beginning of the pursuit scene where Gibson's character begins his chase of the facility director.

Units based there

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Merwin, Laura (May 21, 2013). "Bare Mountain: Go Inside Amherst College's Bunker (Photos)". MassLive. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  2. ^ Graff, Garrett M. (2017). Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government's Secret Plan to Save Itself—While the Rest of Us Die. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781476735405. OCLC 971248821.
  3. ^ "The Notch and Grayson: Eighth Air Force's alternative command posts". WestoverYesterday.com. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  4. ^ "ATT Blackstone". Coldwar-Ma.com. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  5. ^ "ATT Chesterfield". Coldwar-Ma.com. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  6. ^ "ATT Peru". Coldwar-Ma.com. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  7. ^ Mt. Holyoke Timeline 1950–1974, Mt. Holyoke Historical Timelines
  8. ^ Smith College News and Events: "Library Holdings Moving Underground"
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Five Colleges Library Depository.
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