Baker Air Force Station

Baker Air Force Station (1959-1968) - A Cold War Air Force Radar Station first established in 1959 near Baker City in Baker County, Oregon. Named Baker Air Force Station after the location. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of SM-149, later a Sage ID of Z-149. Abandoned in 1968. Former Baker AFS Cantonment Area, now in Private Hands. Former Baker AFS GATR Radio Site on Bald Ridge. Now a Commercial Radio Facility. Baker AFS FPS-35 Dome Construction. Baker AFS Remains of the FPS-35 on Beaver Mountain, Foundation (left), Antenna Support (center), Radome Support Pier (right). History Baker AFS Remains of Concrete FPS-3 Radar Tower. Established in 1959 and became fully operational in 1962 as Baker Air Force Station manned by the 821st AC&W Squadron. Initial equipment included the FPS-35 search radar and an FPS-6 height-finder radar. The site was equipped with a concrete tower to house an FPS-3 search radar but it was reportedly never installed. The FPS-35 search radar was not accepted until June 1962 with an expected operational date in October 1962. The FPS-35 had a 150' wide antenna "sail" that was not normally covered with a radome but it was decided to cover the Baker AFS FPS-35 with a massive radome. The Air Force let a $1,330,000 construction contract to the Sperry Corporation for construction of the Radome in June 1962. Baker AFS was to be the only site with an FPS-35 to have a radome covering it. SAGE Transition Baker AFS initially had an AC&W mission even though it was built during the SAGE System implementation years. The transition to SAGE System operation required the same construction as older AC&W sites including a SAGE Annex to the operations building and a GATR radio site. 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. As a part of the SAGE System transition, a Ground-Air Transmitter-Receiver (GATR) site was constructed on nearby Bald Ridge. The contract for the GATR site was awarded in August 1959 to the McCormack Construction Company of Pendleton, Oregon. The contract provided for a 26 by 113-foot masonry block GATR building and a mile long access road. The work was to be completed within 180 days of the award. SAGE System Operation Former Stead SAGE Direction Center DC-16 Front View, now Nevada Terawatt Facility. Baker AFS SAGE Direction Centers & Sectors Assigned Direction Center Sector 15 Sep 1960 - 1 Apr 1966 Stead SAGE Direction Center DC-16 Reno ADS 1 Apr 1966 - 18 Jun 1968 Adair SAGE Direction Center DC-13 26th AD The site began operation as a SAGE site in 1960 initially feeding the Stead SAGE Direction Center DC-16. It's unclear what data the site provided since the main search radar FPS-35 was not completed until 1962. A second FPS-6A height-finder radar was installed in 1964 and the original FPS-6 was removed in 1966. In 1966 the Stead SAGE Direction Center DC-16 closed and Baker AFS was switched to Adair SAGE Direction Center DC-13. Closure The public announcement of the closure of Baker Air Force Station came on 19 Nov 1964 stating that it would be closed by July 1967. The closure was part of a massive reduction in military facilities announced by then-Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. In January 1967 a delay in the closure of Baker AFS was announced that would keep it open until the end of FY 1969. Baker AFS and the 821st Radar Squadron (SAGE) were officially deactivated on 18 Jun 1968. Physical Plant Baker Air Force Station Upper Operations Site Composite Plan. Baker AFS Bachelor Airmen's Quarters (BAQ), now Apartments. Baker AFS Former Cantonment Dining Hall. Baker AFS Bachelor Officer's Quarters (BOQ), now Apartments. Baker AFS Former Cantonment Area Unit Supply/NCO Club. Baker AFS Former Cantonment Area Power Plant/Motor Pool. Baker AFS Former Cantonment Area Heating Plant, Ops Building on the Left. Entrance to the Former Base Housing on Riverpark Drive. Baker AFS Former Cantonment Area Operations Building. Baker AFS Gate Shack now at Ford Dealership (closed). The physical plant of the site was divided into an upper main site on Beaver Mountain, the GATR radio site on Bald Ridge and a cantonment area, and a separate housing area in Baker City. The upper main site housed the operations buildings, the radar towers, a crew barracks, a full dining hall, and the backup generators. The separate Ground to Air Transmitter/Receiver (GATR) radio site housed the radio equipment for directing aircraft intercepts. Crews were shuttled from the cantonment area in town up the mountain by bus. The cantonment area was initially planned to be adjacent to the upper operations area but when engineers discovered it would cost $100,000 to run a water pipeline up the mountain that plan changed. The main cantonment area was built in downtown Baker City although there were some facilities on the original upper cantonment area. The cantonment area in town housed the enlisted barracks, the bachelor officer's quarters, the orderly room, the dining hall, the motor pool, and other support buildings. A $99,736 contract was awarded in April 1958 to the McCormack Construction Company to build the multipurpose recreation building in the cantonment area. Apart from the cantonment area were enlisted and officer housing areas for married personnel, 27 units total. Baker Air Force Station Cantonment Area Composite Plan. Baker AFS Partial Construction Contract List (edit list) Date Contract Company Location Area Amount Notes 1958-04-00 Multipurpose Recreation Facility McCormack Construction Pendleton OR Cantonment $99,736 Awarded 1958-04-00 Operations Building Addition J.W. Hannaman Portland OR Cantonment? $59,767 Awarded 1961-06-08 Airman's Dormitory The Timber Company Hermiston OR Operations $108,000 Awarded 1961-06-08 Sewage Treatment Plant Mann Construction Redmond OR Operations $54,517 Awarded 1959-06-26 Power Building George A. Moore & Associates Portland OR Operations $563,500 Low Bid 1962-06-02 Radome Fabrication & Installation Sperry Gyroscope Operations $1,330,000 Awarded 1959-08-00 Ground-Air Transmitter-Receiver Building McCormack Construction Pendleton OR GATR Site $184,032 Awarded 1960-08-00 Operations Building Sam Bergeson Tacoma WA Operations $226,855 Low Bid Baker AFS Major Equipment List Search Radar HF Radar Data Systems Comm FPS-35 FPS-6 FPS-6A FST-2/A/B GKA-5 Unit Designations 821st Aircraft Control & Warning (AC&W) Squadron (1959-1960) 821st Radar Squadron (SAGE) (1960-1968) 821st Assignments ca Sep 1957 - Activated at Geiger Field, WA, assigned to 9th AD 15 Aug 1958 - Transferred to 25th AD. 1 Sep 1958 - Transferred to 4700th AB Wg. ca Jul 1959 - Moved to Baker AFS, OR. 15 May 1960 - Transferred to 25th AD. 1 Jul 1960 - Transferred to San Francisco ADS. 15 Sep 1960 - Transferred to Reno ADS. Stead SAGE Direction Center DC-16 15 Oct 1960 - Redesignated from AC&W Sq to 821st Radar Sq (SAGE). 1 Apr 1966 - Transferred to 26th AD. Adair SAGE Direction Center DC-13 18 Jun 1968 - Discontinued. Baker Air Force Station Partial Commanders List (edit list) Assumed Relieved Rank Name Cullum Notes ~1962 Capt Falk, Walter N/A Ltc Clarke (2), Robert E. N/A ~1964 Ltc Hardcastle, Frank L. N/A Current Status Baker AFS FPS-35 Antenna Support Structure on Beaver Mountain. Baker AFS FPS-35 Radome Repurposed as a Gym in Payette High School, Payette, ID. BLM Complex in the southeast corner of the old Cantonment Area. The upper main site is mostly abandoned with only exposed foundations of the original buildings and some newer commercial radio facilities around the edges. Two large artifacts remain, the concrete FPS-3 tower structure and the concrete FPS-35 antenna support structure The upper GATR building appears to be intact and is now used for commercial radio facilities. The $1.3 million dollar radome was repurposed as the Payette High School Gym in Payette, Idaho. The lower cantonment area and the housing area in Baker City are in civilian hands and repurposed as private housing with some portions of the cantonment area appearing to be unused. The tribal training center that once used the cantonment area is gone. A recently constructed Bureau of Land Management (BLM) complex in the southeast corner of the former cantonment area removed the headquarters building, the bachelor NCO quarters, and the large recreation building. The new BLM building is on the site of the old recreation building and retains some of the footprints of the old building including some of the foundation and the flooring of the gym. The new building is reportedly off-gassing and now presents a hazard to workers and visitors. The old headquarters building is completely gone except for the parking spaces that were in front of the building. The bachelor NCO quarters are gone and replaced with a large parking lot. All three sites are accessible by automobile. The road up to the Beaver Mountain site is unpaved for the last five miles or so and is a bit challenging with steep drop-offs and no guard rails. The road is good but I did the last stretch in 2nd gear and it probably should not be traveled in bad weather by regular automobiles. We did not travel to the GATR site. The cantonment area and the housing area are on normal city streets in Baker City. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: In and around Baker City, Baker County, Oregon. Maps & Images Lat: 44.58694 Long: -117.78833 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 6,316' GPS Locations: 44.58694, -117.78833 Main Opeations Site 44.78833, -117.83334 Housing Area 44.78963, -117.84401 Cantonment Area 44.59929, -117.7839 GATR Radio Site See Also: SAGE System Permanent System Radar Sites US Radar Sets Stead SAGE Direction Center DC-16 Adair SAGE Direction Center DC-13 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 171. 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 150. USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 2086834 Links: Wikipedia - Baker Air Force Station Oregon DEQ - Baker Air Force Station Report Fortification ID: OR0019 - Baker Air Force Station Visited: 21 Jul 2017