Oklahoma City Air Force Station

Oklahoma City Air Force Station (1951-1983) - A Cold War Air Force Station first established in 1951 near Tinker AFB, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma. Named Oklahoma City Air Force Station after the location. Several air defense facilities were built at the Air Force Station including radar site P-52 and a Manual Air-Defense Control Center P-86. The radar site was initially assigned a Permanent ID of P-52 and later a Sage ID of Z-52. The Manual Air-Defense Control Center was initially assigned a Permanent ID of P-86 and later MCC-11. A series of air defense sector headquarters occupied the air force station along with the Manual Air-Defense Control Center. The Air Force Station was merged into nearby Tinker Air Force Base in 1983 and the radar site became Oklahoma City FAA Radar Site with an FAA ID of OKC. Oklahoma City Air Force Station in 1995. History Established on 1 May 1951 at Oklahoma City Air Force Station manned by the 746th AC&W Squadron. The station initially had both a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and early warning radar mission. The early warning mission involved tracking and identifying all aircraft entering their airspace while the GCI mission involved guiding Air Force interceptors to any identified enemy aircraft. Controllers at the station vectored fighter aircraft at the correct course and speed to intercept enemy aircraft using voice commands via ground-to-air radio. Initial equipment included two FPS-10 search radars and added an FPS-6 height-finder radar in 1958. Oklahoma City Manual Direction Center P-86 The 33rd Air Division Headquarters moved to Oklahoma City AFS on 8 May 1956 and activated a Manual Air-Defense Control Center (ADCC), P-86. The ADCC controlled Air Defense Command (ADC) interceptor aircraft in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. The Oklahoma City Air Defense Sector (OCADS) was established on 1 Jan 1960 as a manual ADS, without a SAGE blockhouse. OCADS continued the Manual Air-Defense Control Center role and added additional AC&W radar sites as did the successor headquarters, all at Oklahoma City AFS. This operation of the P-52 radar site and the manual control center (P-86 and MCC-11) continued until discontinued in 1968. Headquarters at Oklahoma City Air Force Station 1 Feb 1953 - 33rd Air Division. 1 Jan 1960 - Oklahoma City ADS. 1 Sep 1961 - 4752nd Air Defense Wing. 25 Jun 1963 - Oklahoma City ADS. 1 Apr 1966 - 31st Air Division. 8 Sep 1968 - Discontinued. Oklahoma City Manual Direction Center (P-86 and MCC-11) Radar Sites (edit list) Location Type State Unit ADC NORAD JSS From To GPS Notes Oklahoma City AFS OK 646th P-52 1960-01-01 1968-09-08 35.4024, -97.35874 Eagle Pass AFS TX 733rd TM-188 1960-01-01 1963-08-01 28.86, -100.52694 Moriarty AFS NM 768th P-51 1960-09-05 1961-06-01 35.02917, -105.81667 Walker AFB NM 686th M-90 1960-09-15 1963-08-01 33.30919, -104.54809 Las Cruces AFS NM 685th M-95 1960-09-15 1963-08-01 32.25944, -106.97667 West Mesa AFS NM 687th M-94 1960-09-15 1968-09-08 35.0717, -106.86972 Ozona AFS TX 732nd TM-187 1960-09-15 1963-08-01 30.70417, -101.11667 Zapata AFS TX 742nd TM-189 1960-01-01 1961-06-01 26.95222, -99.27528 Pyote AFS TX 697th TM-186 1960-09-15 1963-08-01 31.47778, -103.16833 Lackland AFB TX 741st P-75 Z-75 1960-01-01 1969-12-31 29.38803, -98.63332 Sweetwater AFS TX 683rd M-89 Z-89 1960-09-15 1969-09-30 32.46333, -100.47333 Amarillo AFB TX 688th M-88 Z-88 1960-09-15 1968-09-08 35.24611, -101.65694 Duncanville AFS TX 745th P-78 1960-01-01 1964-00-00 32.64861, -96.90694 Transferred to Perrin 1962-1964 Perrin AFS TX 745th RP-78 Z-78 1962-00-00 1969-09-30 33.70472, -96.64833 Transferred from Duncanville 1962-1964 Continental Divide AFS NM 769th P-07 1960-09-15 1961-07-01 35.38917, -108.35333 Rockport AFS TX 813th TM-191 1960-01-01 1963-08-01 28.09167, -97.04583 Port Isabel AFS TX 811th TM-190 1960-01-01 1961-06-01 26.15556, -108.35333 Killeen AFS TX 814th TM-192 1958-11-01 1961-02-01 31.05111, -97.8625 Lufkin AFS TX 815th TM-193 1959-11 1961-06-01 31.42139, -94.80278 Texarkana AFS AR 703rd M-091 Z-091 1955 1968-09-08 33.45556, -93.99806 Lake Charles AFS LA 812th TM-194 1958 1961-09-01 30.18417, -93.17583 England AFB LA 653rd M-125 1955-12-00 1963-05-01 31.31442, -92.53069 Oklahoma City FAA Radar Site Oklahoma City FAA Radar Site in 2019. With the deactivation of the 746th in 1968, the FAA assumed operation of the radar site within a small compound. The initial FAA FPS-67B search radar remained in operation until it was modified to become a CARSR radar with a 1561 Antenna. The FAA ID for this site is OKC. A FYQ-47 Common Digitizer was probably placed in service by February 1973 when the USAF/FAA FST-2 to FYQ-47 replacement program was completed. By 1990 the site was equipped with a Common Digitizer CD-2A and an FPS-67B search radar. The Oklahoma City CD-2A was scheduled to receive an upgrade kit to implement three level weather data processing on 27 Jul 1990. CARSR Radar The nationwide replacement program converting FAA legacy radar systems to the CARSR radar configuration was completed by 17 Aug 2015 and Oklahoma City FAA Radar Site was a part of that program. Legacy FAA radars underwent a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) that replaced key components in the vintage ARSR-1, ARSR-2, FPS-20, FPS-66 and FPS-67 radars. The CARSR program replaced legacy klystron radar transmitters with a solid-state transmitter as well as renovating the radar receiver and signal processor. The CARSR modification also included common digitizer functionality making a separate common digitizer unnecessary. The Oklahoma City FAA Radar Site is now operating with the CARSR radar. At the time of the CARSR changeout, the legacy radar in place was an FPS-67B and the CARSR conversion included a 1561 Antenna. The secondary radar for this site is the ATCBI-6 Beacon set. The radar site data is now available to the USAF/NORAD Battle Control System-Fixed (BCS-F) operations centers (EADS & WADS) as well as the FAA Fort Worth ARTCC (ZFW) and adjacent ARTCCs. Other federal agencies have access to the data under the Homeland Security umbrella. Physical Plant The physical plant of the Air Force station was divided into the main site and a cantonment area. The main site housed the operations buildings, the radar towers, and the backup generators. The cantonment area housed the enlisted barracks, the bachelor officer's quarters, the orderly room, the dining hall, the motor pool, and other support buildings. Oklahoma City AFS Major Equipment List Search Radar HF Radar Data Systems IFF/SIF/Beacon FPS-10 (2) FPS-67 FPS-67B FAA CARSR FAA FPS-6 FYQ-47 FAA CD-2A FAA ATCBI-6 FAA Unit Designations 746th Aircraft Control & Warning (AC&W) Squadron (1951-1968) 746th Assignments 1 Feb 1953 - Activated at Tinker AFB, OK, as the 33rd Air Division. Summer 1956 - Moved to Oklahoma City AFS, OK. 1 Jan 1960 - Transferred to Oklahoma City ADS. 1 Sep 1961 - Transferred to 4752nd Air Defense Wing. 25 Jun 1963 - Transferred to Oklahoma City ADS. 1 Apr 1966 - Reassigned to 31st Air Division. 8 Sep 1968 - Discontinued. Current Status Active military installation now part of Tinker AFB, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma. The FAA still operates a Common Air-Route Surveillance Radar (CARSR) radar at this location data tied to the JSS system. Other tenant organizations occupy parts of the site. Most, if not all, the cantonment buildings appear to have been removed. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: Tinker AFB in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma. Maps & Images Lat: 35.40333 Long: -97.35778 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 1,322' GPS Locations: 35.40213, -97.35933 Oklahoma City Air Force Station 35.40240, -97.35874 P-52 Operations 35.40259, -97.35762 P-86 Manual Direction Center 35.40358, -97.35834 Oklahoma City AFS Cantonment Area See Also: SAGE System BUIC System JSS System Permanent System Radar Sites Fort Worth ARTCC FAA Air Route Traffic Control Centers US Radar Sets 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 98. 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 148. USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 2089738 FAA - Site Listing of Legacy Radars as of 23 Dec 2016. U.S. DoT - Recommendation on Transition from Primary/Secondary Radar to Secondary-Only Radar Capability 1994. FAA - Three Level Weather For ARTCC Displays - Project Implementation Plan, FAA Order 7110.14A, 14 Feb 1990. FAA - SSR/DMTI Modification - Project Implementation Plan, FAA Order 6340.20, 6 Jul 1988. Links: Wikipedia - Oklahoma City Air Force Station Visited: 7 Sep 2019