Tonopah Air Force Station: Difference between revisions
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'''{{PAGENAME}}''' (1957-1970) - A [[Cold War]] Air Force Radar Station first established in 1957 near Tonopah in Nye County, Nevada. Named Tonopah Air Force Station after the location. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of SM-164, later a Sage ID of Z-164. Abandoned in 1970. | '''{{PAGENAME}}''' (1957-1970) - A [[Cold War]] Air Force Radar Station first established in 1957 on Brock Mountain near Tonopah in Nye County, Nevada. Named Tonopah Air Force Station after the location. The site was moved in 1961 from Brock Mountain to an unnamed peak north of Tonopah and established as SAGE site. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of SM-164, later a Sage ID of Z-164. Abandoned as U.S. Air Force Station in 1970. | ||
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Initial equipment included the [[MPS-7]] search radar and a [[FPS-6]] height finder radar. | Initial equipment included the [[MPS-7]] search radar and a [[FPS-6]] height finder radar. | ||
In June 1961 the site moved a | In June 1961 the site was moved from Brock Mountain to a new location north of Tonopah. At the new location, the 866th operated a pair of [[FPS-6]] height-finders and a [[FPS-7|FPS-7C]] search radar as part of the SAGE system. In 1963 the two [[FPS-6]] height finder radars were converted to [[FPS-90]] sets. One of the FPS-90 radars was removed in 1969. | ||
== SAGE Transition == | == SAGE Transition == | ||
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== Closure == | == Closure == | ||
Tonopah AFS and the 866th were deactivated on 1 Jul 1970. | Tonopah AFS and the 866th were deactivated on 1 Jul 1970. | ||
== Physical Plant == | == Physical Plant == | ||
The 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 | The 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 and the housing area were located at the edge of the town of Tonopah. When the site moved in 1961, only the main site relocated. 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 married personnel. A separate Ground to Air Transmitter/Receiver (GATR) radio site was located north of the second location and housed the radio equipment for directing aircraft intercepts. | ||
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== Current Status == | == Current Status == | ||
Site #1 is now the site of a commercial transmitter site. Site # 2 houses an FAA secondary radar (FFF/SIF) in the old search-radar tower. The Cantonment area and the housing area have been repurposed for civilian use. | Site #1 is now the site of a commercial transmitter site. Site # 2 houses an FAA secondary radar (FFF/SIF) in the old search-radar tower. The Cantonment area and the housing area are in civilian hands and have been repurposed for civilian use. The GATR Site became the site of a Soviet era BARLOCK radar that was used during the U.S. Air Force Red Flag exercises to simulate battlefield conditions. | ||
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Revision as of 08:17, 9 November 2015
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Tonopah Air Force Station (1957-1970) - A Cold War Air Force Radar Station first established in 1957 on Brock Mountain near Tonopah in Nye County, Nevada. Named Tonopah Air Force Station after the location. The site was moved in 1961 from Brock Mountain to an unnamed peak north of Tonopah and established as SAGE site. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of SM-164, later a Sage ID of Z-164. Abandoned as U.S. Air Force Station in 1970. History of Tonopah Air Force StationEstablished in 1956 and became operational in February 1957 as Tonopah Air Force Station manned by the 866th 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 the MPS-7 search radar and a FPS-6 height finder radar. In June 1961 the site was moved from Brock Mountain to a new location north of Tonopah. At the new location, the 866th operated a pair of FPS-6 height-finders and a FPS-7C search radar as part of the SAGE system. In 1963 the two FPS-6 height finder radars were converted to FPS-90 sets. One of the FPS-90 radars was removed in 1969. 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 June 1961 initially feeding the Stead SAGE Direction Center DC-16. On 1 Apr 1966 Tonopah was connected to the Adair SAGE Direction Center DC-13. When Adair shut down in 1969 Tonopah was connected the Luke SAGE Direction Center DC-21 on 15 Sep 1969 and remained connected to Luke until it closed. ClosureTonopah AFS and the 866th were deactivated on 1 Jul 1970. 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 and the housing area were located at the edge of the town of Tonopah. When the site moved in 1961, only the main site relocated. 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 married personnel. A separate Ground to Air Transmitter/Receiver (GATR) radio site was located north of the second location and housed the radio equipment for directing aircraft intercepts.
Current StatusSite #1 is now the site of a commercial transmitter site. Site # 2 houses an FAA secondary radar (FFF/SIF) in the old search-radar tower. The Cantonment area and the housing area are in civilian hands and have been repurposed for civilian use. The GATR Site became the site of a Soviet era BARLOCK radar that was used during the U.S. Air Force Red Flag exercises to simulate battlefield conditions.
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