The Nike Hercules missile could be armed with three type of warheads...
HE - High Explosive, T-45 warhead, filled with 625pound (280kg) explosive, and containing 20'000pcs 140grain (~9.1g) fragments.
XS - W-31 M-22 nuclear warhead with 2kt boosted fission charge
XL - W-31 M-23 nuclear warhead with 40kt boosted fission charge, these were replaced during the 70's to W-31 M-97 nuclear warhead with 20kt boosted fission charge.
The launchers were located ~1km from the radars, allowing the MTR to track the launched missile.
In Europe, usually 3 rails were deployed per battery, with 3 launchers per rail.
In the US, as a consequence of the astronomical land prices around the cities, smaller underground launchers were built, 3 rails per battery, with 4 launchers per rail.
At the AFB's, simple revetments were installed, having 3 rail per battery, 2 launcher per rail.
Here is a usual European Improved Nike Hercules site, without HIPAR.
And the firing area, where two rail handled the nuclear capable missiles (
in blue).
The Firing Officer workplace...
And the famous selector switch.
In Europe, the mix usually was one rail handling 5~6 HE equipped missile, and two rail handling 2x 1~2 XL (40kt/20kt) and 2x 4~6 XS (2kt) missiles. In the US, the missiles almost exclusively carried a nuclear warhead, more XL than XS.
HE was against slow single targets.
XS was against fast single targets, and small formations.
XL was against large formations, and ground targets.
