Texas Tower 4, radar station of the United States Air Force
Texas Tower 4 was a radar station built by the US Air Force, located about 60 miles off the coast of Long Island, New York, in the Atlantic Ocean. The steel platform resembled an oil rig and was equipped with search radars and height-finder radars to detect aircraft up to 500 miles away.
Construction began in December 1956, and the station was towed to its position in 1957, sustaining storm damage to its support legs that were repaired later. In January 1961, a winter storm destroyed the already-weakened platform, killing all 28 crew members and leading to the closure of the entire Texas Tower system.
The wreckage rests about 185 feet deep on the ocean floor and is accessible only to experienced divers with proper deep-diving equipment and training. A buoy from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration marks the exact location for diving operations.
The platform earned the nickname 'Old Shaky' because rotating antennas and generators caused constant vibrations that made the steel legs sway. During its 1957 tow to position, it lost two support legs in a storm, and after Hurricane Donna in 1960, it was so structurally weakened that collapse became inevitable.
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