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 Hadley (, ) is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,325 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The area around the Hampshire and Mountain Farms ...

. The facility was known by many different names:

8th Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...

Combat Operations Center (COC), "The Notch", and "Westover Communications Annex" since it was related to nearby

Westover Air Force Base Westover may refer to: People *Al Westover (born 1954), American professional basketball player in Australia *Arthur Westover (1864–1935), Canadian sport shooter and 1908 Olympian *Charles Westover (1934–1990), better known as Del Shannon, Amer ...

, and nicknamed The Bunker. The facility has been described as having two underground stories amounting to . It was designed to house 135 people.

History

In 1957, Strategic Air Command began construction for a hardened bunker to contain the command post for the

, which was located at nearby

Chicopee, Massachusetts Chicopee ( ) is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 55,560, making it the second-largest city in western Massachuset ...

. 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 Nuclear Blast Records is a German record label with subsidiary, subsidiaries located in Germany, the United States and Brazil. It was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Donzdorf. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on ...

and designed so that the senior military staff could facilitate further military operations. It was connected to ATT Blackstone, ATT Chesterfield, and ATT Peru via microwave transmissions during its operation.

Reuse

The facility was shut down in 1970, when the

was relocated to Guam. After the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

abandoned the site in 1970, the

Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...

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 Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a War, military conflict or prepared Policy, political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are Weapon of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conven ...

. Today, the bunker is used as a library storage facility for the Five Colleges.Smith College News and Events: "Library Holdings Moving Underground"
/ref> The facility was used in the 2010

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...

movie ''

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''. 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

(1958–1970) * 814th Combat Defense Squadron (1958–1968) * 99th Security Police Squadron (1968–1970)

References

External links

"The Notch" PACCS installation, with photos of the facility when it was active

GlobalSecurity.org

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

news
814th Combat Defense Squadron - Air Police squadron that guarded "The Notch"

A 1990s era photo of the entrance

{{DEFAULTSORT:Post-Attack Command And Control System Facility, Hadley Amherst College buildings and structures Buildings and structures in Hadley, Massachusetts Installations of the United States Air Force in Massachusetts Continuity of government in the United States Nuclear bunkers in the United States United States nuclear command and control 1958 establishments in Massachusetts 1970 disestablishments in Massachusetts

History

Reuse

Units based there

See also

References

External links