ARMY BALLISTIC MISSILE AGENCY

As activities at Redstone Arsenal continued to expand, the Ordnance Corps upgraded the cognizant organization and its level of command to Agency status. The Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) was formed on 1 February 1956, taking over from Redstone Arsenal all the facilities and personnel involved in missile development and production. MG John B. Medaris was assigned as the Commanding Officer, and Wernher von Braun was the Director of the ABMA Development Operations Division. Later commanders of ABMA were BG John A. Barclay (March 1958-April 1960), and BG Richard M. May (1960-December 1961.

In October 1957, ABMA opened a staff-level Redstone Anti-Missile Missile Systems Office (RAMMSO). Led by COL Mathew R. Collins, Director of the R&D Division in ABMA’s Ordnance Research Laboratories (ORL), the office had five military and 19 civilians, all from the ORL. Although formed on an interim basis, RAMMSO was the first antimissile organization at Redstone Arsenal specifically dedicated to ballistic missile defense.

When ABMA was formed, Redstone Arsenal then became an Army post or support activity; commonly called RSA, it supporting the ABMA and, in the future, other resident organizations. RSA was also under the command of MG Medaris, and BG Toftoy was his RSA deputy. The Ordnance Missile Laboratories, now a part of ABMA, still reported to BG Toftoy.

In only two years after ABMA was opened, there was another major reorganization. The Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC) was formed on 31 March 1958; headquartered at Redstone Arsenal, it was commanded by MG Medaris. Initially, BG Toftoy was deputy commander, but in July he was named the Commanding General of Aberdeen Proving Ground. AOMC had three major subordinate elements: ABMA, JPL, and White Sands Missile Range (WSMR – formerly WSPG).

The latter years of the 1950s was one of the most nationally publicized times in Redstone Arsenal’s history. General Medaris could frequently be seen on national television or testifying before Congress urging funding for his programs. The magnitude of the operations is reflected in his command’s budget; this approached $2 billion ($16 billion in today’s dollars) in Fiscal Years 1959 and 1960, about 25 percent of the Army’s budget for those years. Medaris remained the Commander of AOMC until he retired on 31 January 1960. Following Medaris, AOMC Commanders were MG August Schomburg (February 1960 - May 1962), then MG Francis J. McMorrow (May 1962 – August 1962).

On July 1, 1960, about $100 million worth of buildings and equipment and 4,670 civilian employees were transferred from AOMC / ABMA to form NASA’s George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Wernher von Braun was appointed the MSFC director.

The Army Rocket and Guided Missile Agency (ARGMA) was formed and added to AOMC in June 1958. BG John G. Shinkle was the Commanding Officer, and Nils L. Muench was the Chief Scientist. Shinkle served April 1958 - June 1960, and was followed by BG John G. Zierdt (June 1960 - December 1961). ARGMA had the responsibility for shorter range, tactical missiles. While the longer-range missiles remained in AOMC. Defense against aircraft was a new category of short-range missiles in Army activities and was a new activity for the Army in Huntsville and management responsibility was assigned to ARGMA.

In 1944, the U.S. Army Ground Forces had requested that research be started on an “antiaircraft rocket torpedo” – a ground-to-air missile. In January 1945, the Army gave a contract to Bell Telephone Laboratories (BTL) to research such missile systems – BTL had been a leader in WWII radar development. Called Project Nike, the missile itself was called NIKE. Progress in the early years was slow, but picked up with the start of the Korean War in 1950.