Ellsworth Air Force Station

Ellsworth Air Force Station (1954-1962) - A Cold War U.S. Air Force Radar Station established in 1954. Located on Ellsworth Air Force Base in Meade County, South Dakota. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of M-97. Closed in 1962.

History

Established late in 1954 and became operational in 1955 as the Ellsworth Air Force Base Radar Site manned by the 740th Aircraft Control & Warning (AC&W) Squadron.

Initial equipment included the MPS-7 search radar (mobile FPS-3) and an MPS-14 height-finder radar (mobile FPS-6). In 1959 a FPS-20A search radar replaced the MPS-7 set. This configuration (a SAGE qualified long-range search radar and two SAGE qualified height-finders) met the requirements for transition to SAGE System operation.

SAGE System Transition

The transition of the manual GCI system to the automated SAGE system began with the installation of the FST-2 coordinate data transmitter and search radar upgrades. The FST-2 equipment digitized the radar returns and transmitted the digital returns to the SAGE direction center. Under the SAGE System, interceptor aircraft were directed to their targets by the direction center computers and controllers, greatly reducing the need for local controllers and equipment at every radar station.

The FST-2 was a very large digital system using vacuum tube technology. Over 6900 vacuum tubes were used in each FST-2 requiring 21 air-conditioned cabinets, 40 tons of air conditioning, 43.5 kva of prime power, and usually a large new addition to the operations building. The FST-2B modification added two more cabinets but with newer solid-state (transistor) technology to process coded responses from aircraft transponders.

SAGE System Operation

Ellsworth AFS Direction Centers & Sectors
Assigned	Direction Center	Sector
2 Feb 1953 - 1 Jan 1961	Malmstrom Manual Direction Center P-83	29 Air Division
1 Jan 1961 - 15 Aug 1962	Minot SAGE Direction Center DC-19	Minot Air Defense Sector

Period pictures appear to show the FPS-20 tower and the SAGE Annex simultaneously under construction but it is not clear if the SAGE Annex was completed or if FST-2 was installed and became operational. The site did come under the control of Minot ADS, feeding data to the Minot SAGE Direction Center DC-19 but it is unclear if this was in the manual mode or the automated mode using the FST-2.

Closure

The public announcement of the site closure came in December 1961 indicating that coverage would be assumed by Sundance Air Force Station. The Ellsworth radar site and the 740th were deactivated on 15 Aug 1962.

Ellsworth AFS Major Equipment List
Search Radar	HF Radar	Data Systems	Comm
MPS-7 FPS-20	MPS-14	FST-2/A/B ?

Unit Designations
740th Aircraft Control & Warning (AC&W) Squadron (1953-1962)

740th AC&W Assignments
1 Feb 1953 - Activated at Rapid City AFB, as the 31st Air Division. 16 Feb 1953 - Transferred to 29th Air Division. Malmstrom Manual Direction Center P-83 1 Jun 1953 - Location redesignation to Ellsworth AFB, SD. 1 Jan 1961 - Transferred to Minot ADS. Minot SAGE Direction Center DC-19 15 Aug 1962 - Discontinued.

**Ellsworth Air Force Station Partial Commanders List** (edit list)
Assumed	Relieved	Rank	Name	Cullum
1954~	1956~	Major	Randall, Ray E.	N/A
1956~	1962~	Lt Colonel	Price, Herbert H.	N/A
1962~		Lt Colonel	Brannon, Raymond T.	N/A

Current Status

No remains.

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Location: Ellsworth in Meade County, South Dakota.

Maps & Images

Lat: 44.15542 Long: -103.08489

Multi Maps from ACME
Maps from Bing
Maps from Google
Elevation: 3,280'

See Also:

Sources:

Cornett, Lloyd H. & Johnson, Mildred W., A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization (1946-1980), Office of History ADC, Peterson AFB, Colorado, 31 Dec 1980, 179 pages, Pdf, page 100.
Winkler, David F., Searching the Skies: the Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program, USAF Hq Air Combat Command, 1997, 192 pages, Pdf, page 154.

Links:

Wikipedia - Ellsworth Air Force Base Radar Site

Visited: 7 Jun 2021 Area