Hastings Air Force Station

Hastings Air Force Station (1962-1968) - A Cold War U.S. Air Force Radar Station established in 1962 at Hastings Naval Ammunition Depot in Hastings, Adams County, Nebraska. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of SM-133 and a Sage ID of Z-133. Closed in 1968. History Activated on 1 Jan 1962 and became operational on 1 Nov 1962 as Hastings Air Force Station manned by the 625th Radar Squadron (SAGE). Initial equipment included the FPS-67 search radar, two FPS-6 height-finder radars and the FST-2 Coordinate Data Transmitter. SAGE System Operation Hastings SAGE Direction Centers & Sectors Assigned Direction Center Sector 1 Jan 1962 - 1 Apr 1966 Sioux City SAGE Direction Center DC-22 Sioux City Air Defense Sector 1 Apr 1966 - 8 Sep 1968 Sioux City SAGE Direction Center DC-22 30th Air Division The site became operational as a SAGE site on 1 Nov 1962 feeding the Sioux City SAGE Direction Center DC-22. Closure Hastings AFS and the 625th were deactivated on 8 Sep 1968. Physical Plant The physical plant of the site was divided into the 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 27 unit housing area for married personnel. A separate radio site housed the radio equipment for directing aircraft intercepts. Like most early radar stations, Hastings 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. Hastings AFS Major Equipment List Search Radar HF Radar Data Systems Comm FPS-67B FPS-6 FST-2/A/B GKA-5 Unit Designations 625th Radar Squadron (SAGE) (1962-1968) 625th Assignments 1 Jan 1962 - Activated at Hastings AFS, NE, assigned to the Sioux City ADS. 1 Apr 1966 - Transferred to the 30th AD. 8 Sep 1968 - Discontinued. Current Status {"selectable":false,"width":"500"} Location: Hastings in Adams County, Nebraska. Maps & Images Lat: 40.58 Long: -98.29 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 1,900' See Also: SAGE System Permanent System Radar Sites US Radar Sets Sioux City SAGE Direction Center DC-22 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 133. USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 2087683 Links: Radomes - Hastings Air Force Station Wikipedia - Hastings Air Force Station Visited: No