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One of the Texas Towers. Credit: Mark Farmer
An artificial reef sits on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean southeast of New York City -- a twisted Cold War artifact of steel and concrete. A few anglers and divers occasionally visit, but otherwise it sits quietly -- a memorial to the men who perished there, and to failed technology.
The structure was one of five “Texas Towers” -- named for their resemblance to offshore oil platforms -- that were planned to warn of Russian bomber attacks on the Northeast. Three were built, in the 1950s.
Each of the triangular radar platforms measured more than 200 feet on each side, and two stories tall. They were anchored about a hundred miles offshore, from New Jersey to Cape Cod.
Life aboard the towers wasn’t fun. Machinery made them vibrate, and they swayed during storms.
Tower Number 4 was in deeper water than the others, and it was severely damaged by Hurricane Donna in 1960.
The Air Force scheduled repairs for early 1961. But on January 15th, another storm hit the tower, which was nicknamed “Old Shaky.” It tilted and rolled as the storm grew stronger. Finally, one of its legs snapped, and it plunged into the ocean, killing all 28 men aboard.
The remaining Texas Towers were soon dismantled. The silent sentinels were silenced for good -- victims of changing technology and the relentless pounding of the North Atlantic Ocean.
