Cherry Point MCAS Radar Site

Cherry Point MCAS Radar Site (1957-1963) - A Cold War U.S. Air Force Radar Station established in 1957. Located on Cherry Point Marine Coprs Air Station (MCAS), Craven County, North Carolina. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of M-116 and later, a Sage ID of Z-116. Closed in 1963. Cherry Point MCAS Radar Site Colocated with Base Operations. FPS-8 Tower on the Left History Established in 1957 and became operational in 1958 as Cherry Point MCAS Radar Site manned by the 614th Radar Squadron (SAGE). The Main site was located next to Base Operations. Initial equipment included the [FPS-8]] search radar and one FPS-6 height-finder radar. A second FPS-8 was installed, belonging to the Marine Corps but maintained by the Air Force. On 11 Sep 1960, Hurricane Donna blew down the Air Force FPS-8 antenna onto a car below. The antenna was replaced. 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 Former Fort Lee SAGE Direction Center DC-04 Cherry Point MCAS SAGE Direction Centers & Sectors Assigned Direction Center Sector Summer 1957 - 1 Sep 1958 Andrews Manual Direction Center SM-171 85th Air Division 1 Sep 1958 - 15 Nov 1958 Dobbins Manual Direction Center M-87 35th Air Division 15 Nov 1958 - 1 Jul 1961 Syracuse Manual Direction Center P-05 32nd Air Division 1 Jul 1961 - 1 Aug 1963 Fort Lee SAGE Direction Center DC-04 Washington Air Defense Sector The site began operation as a SAGE site on 1 Jul 1961 initially feeding the Fort Lee SAGE Direction Center DC-04. On 1 Mar 1963 the squadron designation was changed from the 614th AC&W Squadron to 614th Radar Squadron (SAGE) indicating the new SAGE System role. Closure The Cherry Point MCAS Radar Site and the 614th were deactivated on 1 Aug 1963. Gap Fillers Cherry Point MCAS AFS was responsible for the maintenance of two remote unattended gap-filler radar sites. The unattended gap filler sites were placed in locations where the main search radar lacked coverage. These sites were equipped with short range FPS-14 or FPS-18 search radars and FST-1 Coordinate Data transmitters that sent digitized radar target data to a SAGE direction center and to the main radar site. Both the radar set and the FST-1 were dual channel to increase site up time. Maintenance teams were dispatched for regularly scheduled maintenance or when fault indicators on the FSW-1 remote monitoring equipment suggested the site had problems. The FSW-1 also allowed remote operation of specific functions such as channel changes for the radar and for the FST-1, it also allowed remote operation of the diesel generators at the gap filler site. The Cherry Point MCAS AFS gap-filler radars were located at Engelhard NC and Holly Ridge NC. Cherry Point MCAS AFS Gap Filler Radar Sites (edit list) ADC NORAD Location State Type From To GPS Notes M-116B Z-116B Engelhard NC FPS-18 replaced FPS-14, FST-1 1959-02 1968-04 35.49709, -76.00946 Building exists Tower gone M-116C Z-116C Holly Ridge NC FPS-14, FST-1 1959-02 1968-06 34.51407, -77.53566 Building exists Orig Tower gone Physical Plant Radar site was located adjacent to Base Flight Operations. A separate radio site housed the radio equipment for directing aircraft intercepts. Like most early radar stations, Cherry Point MCAS originally had a radio transmitter site and a separate radio receiver site used by local controllers for voice direction of fighter interceptors to their targets. With the SAGE System, the SAGE Direction centers had the primary task of directing intercepts and the local radio sites were reconfigured, usually into a single site that was known as the Ground to Air Transmitter Receiver (GATR) site. The GATR site communicated with the interceptors from either the local site or the SAGE direction center via voice commands and/or a digital data link. The GATR site is now used by the Carteret County fire department as a training site. Cherry Point MCAS Radar Site Major Equipment List Search Radar HF Radar Data Systems Radio FPS-8 FPS-14 GF FPS-18 GF FPS-6 FST-2/A/B FST-1 GF GKA-5 Unit Designations 614th Aircraft Control & Warning (AC&W) Squadron (1957-1963) 614th Radar Squadron (SAGE) (1963-1963) 614th Assignments 1 Jul 1952 - Assigned at Grenier AFB, NH, assigned to the EADF. 1 Dec 1952 - Transferred to 32nd AD. 16 Feb 1953 - Transferred to the 4707th Def Wg. 24 Dec 1953 - Moved to Dobbins AFB, GA and transferred to 35th AD. by Jul 1956 - Moved to Andrews AFB, MD and transferred to the 85th AD. (Andrews Manual Direction Center SM-171) Summer 1957 - Moved to Cherry Point MCAS, NC. 85th AD (Andrews Manual Direction Center SM-171) 1 Sep 1958 - Transferred to the 35th AD. 35th AD (Dobbins Manual Direction Center M-87) 15 Nov 1958 - Transferred to 32nd AD. (Syracuse Manual Direction Center P-05) 1 Jul 1961 - Transferred to Washington ADS. (Fort Lee SAGE Direction Center DC-04) 1 Mar 1963 - Redesignated from AC&W Sq to 614th Radar Sq (SAGE). 1 Aug 1963 - Discontinued. Cherry Point MCAS Radar Site Partial Commanders List (edit list) Assumed Relieved Rank Name Cullum Notes 1957~ Major McElroy, Wilson F. N/A 1960~ Major Anderson, W.W. N/A 1960~ Major Cox, Oscar T. N/A Note: Reported dates overlap and may be incorrect or reflect periods of intermittant temporary command. Current Status Two unused towers still exist next to Base Operations other areas repurposed. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: Cherry Point MCAS Radar Site in Craven County, North Carolina. Zoom way out to see GATR Site location. Maps & Images Lat: 34.90278 Long: -76.88611 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 26' See Also: SAGE System Permanent System Radar Sites US Radar Sets Permanent Radar System Direction Centers Fort Lee SAGE Direction Center DC-04 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 154. 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 144. Links: Bad Links Cherry+Point+MCAS%2C+NC Cherry Point MCAS Radar Site] Wikipedia - Cherry Point MCAS Radar Site Visited: No