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Tonopah Air Force Station

Tonopah Air Force Station (ADC ID: SM-164, NORAD ID: Z-164) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 1.1 miles (1.8 km) south of Tonopah, Nevada. It was closed in 1970.

Tonopah Air Force Station
Part of Air Defense Command (ADC)
Tonopah AFS
Location of Tonopah AFS, Nevada
Coordinates38°03′06″N 117°13′32″W / 38.05167°N 117.22556°W / 38.05167; -117.22556 (Tonopah AFS SM-164)Coordinates: 38°03′06″N 117°13′32″W / 38.05167°N 117.22556°W / 38.05167; -117.22556 (Tonopah AFS SM-164)
TypeAir Force Station
Site information
Controlled by United States Air Force
Site history
Built1956
In use1956-1970
Garrison information
Garrison866th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap 
Download coordinates as: KML
Emblem of the 866th Radar Squadron

History

Tonopah Air Force Station was initially part of Phase II of the Air Defense Command Mobile Radar program. The Air Force approved this expansion of the Mobile Radar program on October 23, 1952. Radars in this network were designated “SM.”

The station became operational on 1 October 1956 when the 866th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was moved to the new station, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and warning station. As a GCI station, the squadron's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. In 1957 the 866th AC&W Squadron activated an AN/MPS-7 radar and operated manually.

In June 1961 the site was moved to another peak and joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, initially feeding data to DC-21 at Stead AFB, Nevada. After joining, the squadron was re-designated as the 866th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 July 1961. The radar squadron provided information 24/7 the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine range, direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile. In addition, the 866th Radar Squadron operated a pair of AN/FPS-6 height-finder and AN/FPS-7C search radars. In 1963 the height-finder radars were converted to AN/FPS-90 sets, and on 31 July 1963, the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z-164.

One AN/FPS-90 was retired in 1969. The Air Force inactivated the 866th Radar Squadron 1 July 1970 as a result of budget restrictions, and the general phase-down of air defense radar stations.

However, during the 1970s, a site near the former radar station was used by the Air Force as part of the Foreign Technology Evaluation program being conducted at nearby Tonopah Test Range Airport. A "Bar Lock" search radar from the Soviet Union was installed at the former Tonopah AFS GATR site 38°08′37″N 117°11′57″W / 38.14361°N 117.19917°W / 38.14361; -117.19917 (Tonopah Barlock Radar Site) to evaluate the Soviet Air Defense System. It was a very valuable tool use for many things. The Air Force needed to develop all the interfacing equipment in order to use the data in remote locations. Great care was taken not do anything to change the characteristics of the radar itself. Much equipment was duplicated and placed in different locations to complete the ground environment, which turned out to be a great training facility.[citation needed]

Today, the former Tonopah AFS is a commercial transmitter site. A few old Air Force buildings are still in use for other uses. The FAA radar uses two out of the three former USAF RADAR platforms.

Air Force units and assignments

Units

  • Constituted as the 866th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
Activated at Hamilton AFB, California on 8 November 1954
Inactivated on 15 December 1954
Activated at Hamilton AFB, CA on 9 October 1955
Moved to Tonopah AFS on 1 October 1956
Redesignated 866th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 July 1961
Inactivated on 1 July 1970

Assignments

See also

References

  This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

  • Cornett, Lloyd H. and Johnson, Mildred W., A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson AFB, CO (1980).
  • Winkler, David F. & Webster, Julie L., Searching the Skies[dead link], The Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program, US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories, Champaign, IL (1997).
  • Information for Tonopah AFS, NV

tonopah, force, station, confused, with, tonopah, force, base, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, because, lacks, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, p. Not to be confused with Tonopah Air Force Base This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations December 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message Tonopah Air Force Station ADC ID SM 164 NORAD ID Z 164 is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station It is located 1 1 miles 1 8 km south of Tonopah Nevada It was closed in 1970 Tonopah Air Force StationPart of Air Defense Command ADC Tonopah AFSLocation of Tonopah AFS NevadaCoordinates38 03 06 N 117 13 32 W 38 05167 N 117 22556 W 38 05167 117 22556 Tonopah AFS SM 164 Coordinates 38 03 06 N 117 13 32 W 38 05167 N 117 22556 W 38 05167 117 22556 Tonopah AFS SM 164 TypeAir Force StationSite informationControlled by United States Air ForceSite historyBuilt1956In use1956 1970Garrison informationGarrison866th Aircraft Control and Warning SquadronMap all coordinates using OpenStreetMap Download coordinates as KMLEmblem of the 866th Radar Squadron Contents 1 History 2 Air Force units and assignments 2 1 Units 2 2 Assignments 3 See also 4 ReferencesHistory EditTonopah Air Force Station was initially part of Phase II of the Air Defense Command Mobile Radar program The Air Force approved this expansion of the Mobile Radar program on October 23 1952 Radars in this network were designated SM The station became operational on 1 October 1956 when the 866th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was moved to the new station and initially the station functioned as a Ground Control Intercept GCI and warning station As a GCI station the squadron s role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit s radar scopes In 1957 the 866th AC amp W Squadron activated an AN MPS 7 radar and operated manually In June 1961 the site was moved to another peak and joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment SAGE system initially feeding data to DC 21 at Stead AFB Nevada After joining the squadron was re designated as the 866th Radar Squadron SAGE on 1 July 1961 The radar squadron provided information 24 7 the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine range direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile In addition the 866th Radar Squadron operated a pair of AN FPS 6 height finder and AN FPS 7C search radars In 1963 the height finder radars were converted to AN FPS 90 sets and on 31 July 1963 the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z 164 One AN FPS 90 was retired in 1969 The Air Force inactivated the 866th Radar Squadron 1 July 1970 as a result of budget restrictions and the general phase down of air defense radar stations However during the 1970s a site near the former radar station was used by the Air Force as part of the Foreign Technology Evaluation program being conducted at nearby Tonopah Test Range Airport A Bar Lock search radar from the Soviet Union was installed at the former Tonopah AFS GATR site 38 08 37 N 117 11 57 W 38 14361 N 117 19917 W 38 14361 117 19917 Tonopah Barlock Radar Site to evaluate the Soviet Air Defense System It was a very valuable tool use for many things The Air Force needed to develop all the interfacing equipment in order to use the data in remote locations Great care was taken not do anything to change the characteristics of the radar itself Much equipment was duplicated and placed in different locations to complete the ground environment which turned out to be a great training facility citation needed Today the former Tonopah AFS is a commercial transmitter site A few old Air Force buildings are still in use for other uses The FAA radar uses two out of the three former USAF RADAR platforms Air Force units and assignments EditUnits Edit Constituted as the 866th Aircraft Control and Warning SquadronActivated at Hamilton AFB California on 8 November 1954 Inactivated on 15 December 1954 Activated at Hamilton AFB CA on 9 October 1955 Moved to Tonopah AFS on 1 October 1956 Redesignated 866th Radar Squadron SAGE on 1 July 1961 Inactivated on 1 July 1970Assignments Edit 28th Air Division 1 October 1956 San Francisco Air Defense Sector 1 July 1960 Reno Air Defense Sector 15 September 1960 26th Air Division 1 April 1966 27th Air Division 15 September 1969 26th Air Division 19 November 1969 1 July 1970See also EditList of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar StationsReferences Edit This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency Cornett Lloyd H and Johnson Mildred W A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 1980 Office of History Aerospace Defense Center Peterson AFB CO 1980 Winkler David F amp Webster Julie L Searching the Skies dead link The Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories Champaign IL 1997 Information for Tonopah AFS NV Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tonopah Air Force Station amp oldid 1127609875, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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