Post-Attack Command and Control System Facility, Hadley is a defunct

Post-Attack Command and Control System The Post Attack Command and Control System (PACCS) was a network of communication sites (both ground and airborne) for use before, during and after a nuclear attack on the United States. PACCS was designed to ensure that National Command Authority ...

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 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 ...

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, ...

. 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. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 55,560, making it the second-largest city in Western Massachusetts after Springfield. ...

. The facility was located inside Bare Mountain, off Route 116, and was nicknamed "The Notch." 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 is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...

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 Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

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 of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...

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. 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, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apoca ...

movie ''

Edge of Darkness ''Edge of Darkness'' is a British television drama serial produced by BBC Television in association with Lionheart Television International and originally broadcast in six 55-minute episodes in late 1985. A mixture of crime drama and politica ...

''. 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 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 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