Waverly Air Force Station

Waverly Air Force Station (1952-1969) - A Cold War U.S. Air Force Radar Station established during the Korean War. Located near Waverly, Bremer County, Iowa. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of P-81 and a Sage ID of Z-81. Closed in 1969. History Established in 1952 and became operational in 1952 as Waverly Air Force Station manned by the 788th Aircraft Control & Warning (AC&W) Squadron. Initial equipment included two FPS-10 radars, one used as a search set and one used as a height finder. In 1959, a FPS-6 and a FPS-6A replaced the FPS-10 height-finder. This configuration (a long range search radar and two SAGE qualified height finders) just met the requirements for transition to SAGE System operation. SAGE System Transition 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. SAGE System Operation File:.jpg Former Truax SAGE Direction Center DC-07 Waverly SAGE Direction Centers & Sectors Assigned Direction Center Sector 1 Jun 1959 - 1 Apr 1966 Truax SAGE Direction Center DC-07 Chicago Air Defense Sector 1 Apr 1966 - 1 Dec 1967 Truax SAGE Direction Center DC-07 20th Air Division 1 Dec 1967 - 1 Jul 1968 Sioux City SAGE Direction Center DC-22 30th Air Division 1 Jul 1968 - 30 Sep 1969 Duluth SAGE Direction Center DC-10 29th Air Division The site began operation as a SAGE site in 1959 initially feeding the Truax SAGE Direction Center DC-07. On 1 Nov 1959 the squadron designation was changed from the 788th AC&W Squadron to 788th Radar Squadron (SAGE) indicating the new SAGE System role. The remaining FPS-10 was replaced with an FPS-27 in the 1960s. By 1963 one of the FPS-6 height-finder radars was replaced by an FPS-90 and the second was replaced by a FPS-26A. On 1 Jul 1968 SAGE control of Waverly AFS shifted to Sioux City SAGE Direction Center DC-22 and on 1 Jul 1968 it shifted again to the Duluth SAGE Direction Center DC-10 as the SAGE System underwent reconfiguration. Closure Waverly AFS and the 788th were deactivated 30 Sept 1969. Waverly AFS Major Equipment List Search Radar HF Radar Data Systems Comm FPS-10 FPS-27 FPS-14 GF FPS-18 GF FPS-6 FPS-6A FPS-90 FPS-26A FST-2/A/B FST-1 GF GKA-5 Unit Designations 788th Aircraft Control & Warning (AC&W) Squadron (1952-1959) 788th Radar Squadron (SAGE) (1959-1969) 788th Assignments 10 Apr 1951 - Activated at Waverley AFS, IA, assigned to 543rd AC&W Gp. 6 Feb 1952 - Transferred to 31st AD. 1 Mar 1956 - Transferred to 20th AD. 15 Oct 1958 - Transferred to 37th AD ca. 1 Apr 1959 - Transferred to 50th AD. 1 Jun 1959 - Transferred to Chicago ADS. Truax SAGE System Direction Center 1 Nov 1959 - Redesignated from AC&W Sq to 788th Radar Sq (SAGE). 1 Apr 1966 - Transferred to 20th AD. Truax SAGE System Direction Center 1 Dec 1967 - Reassigned to 30th AD. 1 Jul 1968 - Reassigned to 29th AD. 30 Sep 1969 - Inactivated. Current Status Private hands. {"selectable":false,"width":"500"} Location: Waverly in Bremer County, Iowa. Maps & Images Lat: 42.69 Long: -92.48444 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 1007' See Also: SAGE System Permanent System Radar Sites US Radar Sets Truax SAGE Direction Center DC-07 Sioux City SAGE Direction Center DC-22 Duluth SAGE Direction Center DC-10 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 169. 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 115. USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 2090223 Links: Radomes - Waverly Air Force Station Wikipedia - Waverly Air Force Station Visited: No