Baldy Hughes Air Station

Baldy Hughes Air Station (1953-1988) - A Cold War U.S. Air Force Radar Station first established in 1953 near Prince George, British Columbia. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of C-20 and later a Sage ID of C-20. The site was transitioned to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) 1 Mar 1963 first as RCAF Baldy Hughes and later designated CFS Baldy Hughes. Named after the original homestead the site was built on. Closed in 1988. Radar Bubble at Baldy Hughes (probably weather radar) Baldy Hughes Repurposed Barracks Repurposed Baldy Hughes Lower Site History Part of the Pinetree Line radar chain and one of 21 USAF radar stations designated to be turned over to the Government of Canada. Gated Road to the Baldy Hughes Upper Site Established in 1953 with the relocation of the 918th AC&W Squadron to the newly constructed radar station. Initial equipment included the FPS-3C search radar and a TPS-502 height finder radar. The radar equipment evolved over time into an FPS-27 search radar with one FPS-6 and one FPS-26 height finder radar. SAGE System Transition The transition to the automated SAGE system began with instation of the FST-2 installation 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 site had began operation as a SAGE site on in March 1960 initially feeding manual data to the McChord SAGE Direction Center DC-12. Automatic operation with DC-12 began on 1 July 63. The search radar was then upgraded to an FPS-27. An FPS-26 height finder radar was installed to replace one of the FPS-6 height finders. With the closure of DC-12 in 1966, Baldy Hughes was connected to the North Bay SAGE Direction Center DC-31, the underground Canadian direction center at North Bay. In 1971 the obsolete FST-2 was replaced with an FYQ-47 data processor. In 1983 the station was connected to the Canada West ROCC. Closure CFS Baldy Hughes was deactivated in 1988 as the need for the SAGE system itself was reduced. Physical Plant The physical plant of the site was divided into a main site, a cantonment area and two radio sites. The main site housed the operations building, the radar towers, the backup generators and later the SAGE Annex. The cantonment area housed the enlisted barracks, the bachelor officer's quarters, the orderly room, the chow hall, the motor pool. Apart from the main site was a small housing area for critical married personnel. Two separate radio sites housed the radio equipment for directing aircraft intercepts (transmitter site and receiver site). Baldy Hughes AFS Major Equipment List Search Radar HF Radar Data Systems FPS-3C 1952 FPS-20A 1959 FPS-27 1963 TPS-502 1952 FPS-6 #1 1960 FPS-6 #2 1961 FPS-26 1963 FST-2/A/B 1962 FYQ-47 1971 Unit Designations 918th AC&W Squadron (1953-1963) 54 AC&W Squadron (1963-1963) 54 Radar Squadron (1963-1967) CFS Baldy Hughes (1967-1988) 917th Assignments 16 Apr 1952 - Activated at Geiger Field, WA, as the WADF. 16 Feb 1953 - Transferred to 25th Air Division. 1 Jun 1953 - Moved to Baldy Hughes, B.C., Canada. 1 Mar 1960 - Transferred to Seattle ADS. McChord SAGE Direction Center DC-12 1 Mar 1963 - USAF Squadron Discontinued, site transferred to RCAF. 1 Apr 1966 - Assigned to 25th AD. 1966 - RCAF Operations end. Current Status Repurposed near Prince George, British Columbia. {"selectable":false,"width":"500"} Location: At the end of Blackwater Road, 19 miles southwest of Prince George, British Columbia. Maps & Images Lat: 53.61833 Long: -122.93556 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: .....' See Also: Pinetree Line Permanent System Radar Sites McChord SAGE Direction Center DC-12 North Bay SAGE Direction Center DC-31 Links: North American Forts - Baldy Hughes Air Force Station Radomes - Baldy Hughes Air Force Station Wikipedia - Baldy Hughes Air Force Station Info List - Baldy Hughes 1959 USAF Historical Report - Baldy Hughes 1960 USAF Historical Report - Baldy Hughes 1962 USAF Historical Report - Baldy Hughes 1963 USAF Historical Report - Baldy Hughes 1963 CAN Historical Summary - Baldy Hughes General Info - Baldy Hughes Visited: 22 Jun 2014