Thomasville Air Force Station: Difference between revisions
John Stanton (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
John Stanton (talk | contribs) m Text replace - " {| style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto" width="800px" |- | <seo metadescription="Historic US and Canadian fortifications" /> " to "<seo metadescription="Historic US and Canadian fortifications" /> {| style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto" width=" |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{SocialNetworks}} | |||
{{PageHeader}} | {{PageHeader}} | ||
'''{{PAGENAME}}''' (1959-1969) - A [[Cold War]] Air Force Radar Station first established in 1959 near Thomasville, Clarke County, Alabama. Named Thomasville Air Force Station after the location. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of TM-197, later a Sage ID of Z-197. Abandoned in 1969. | '''{{PAGENAME}}''' (1959-1969) - A [[Cold War]] Air Force Radar Station first established in 1959 near Thomasville, Clarke County, Alabama. Named Thomasville Air Force Station after the location. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of TM-197, later a Sage ID of Z-197. Abandoned in 1969. | ||
<!-- | <!-- | ||
Revision as of 08:57, 2 March 2016
|
Thomasville Air Force Station (1959-1969) - A Cold War Air Force Radar Station first established in 1959 near Thomasville, Clarke County, Alabama. Named Thomasville Air Force Station after the location. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of TM-197, later a Sage ID of Z-197. Abandoned in 1969. History of Thomasville Air Force StationEstablished in 1959 and became operational in 1959 as Thomasville Air Force Station manned by the 698th AC&W Squadron. The station initially had both a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and early warning misssion. The early warning mission involved tracking and identifing 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 a prototype model of the FPS-35 search radar and two FPS-90 height finder radar sets. SAGE TransitionThe 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. The site began operation as a SAGE site in late 1959, initially feeding the Gunter SAGE Direction Center DC-09.
ClosureThomasville AFS was inactivated on 30 Sep 1969 and the 698th Radar Squadron was deactivated 31 Dec 1969. Physical PlantThe physical plant of the site was divided into a main site, a cantonment area, a housing area and a radio site. 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. Apart from the main site was a small housing area for critical married personnel. A separate Ground to Air Transmitter/Receiver (GATR) radio site housed the radio equipment for directing aircraft intercepts.
Current StatusNow LifeTech Transition Center, operated by the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. Some of the former Air Force buildings including the FPS-35 radar tower remain.
See Also: Sources:
Visited: No
|