Malmstrom SAGE Direction Center DC-20
Malmstrom SAGE Direction Center DC-20 (1959-1966) - A Cold War SAGE Direction Center first established in 1959 on Malmstrom Air Force Base, Great Falls, Cascade County, Montana. Named Malmstrom SAGE Direction Center after the location. Assigned a Sage ID of DC-20. Deactivated as a SAGE Direction Center in 1983.
History of Malmstrom SAGE Direction Center
Established in 1959 and became operational on 15 Feb 1960 as Malmstrom SAGE Direction Center DC-20.
Equipment included the duplex FSQ-7 computer system and associated communication equipment. The FSQ-7 computer system assembled digitized inputs from USAF Radar Sites to provide tracking and identification of all aircraft within their sector of responsibility. The digitized radar inputs came from USAF Radar Sites, airborne radar pickets, Texas Towers, USAF Gap Filler Radar Sites and other radar sources. The total picture of aircraft in the sector was assembled and any unknown aircraft were checked out and hostile aircraft were engaged by USAF fighter aircraft. The primary defense was against the Soviet threat of mass bomber attack on the US. The system evolved before the advent of ICBMs and provided no missile defense against them.
The computer technology was first generation vacuum tube equipment and required significant power and air conditioning. The physical plant of the direction center was enclosed in a large multi-story concrete blockhouse that housed the duplex FSQ-7 computer, communications equipment, a power house, air conditioning systems and operational areas. The operational areas included radar mapping, air surveillance, identification, communications and weapons direction.
The enormous cost of the radar sites, direction centers, personnel and training caused an immediate reevaluation and almost as quickly as they were built some facilities were closed. The first mass closures began in the 1960s when many radar sites and virtually all the gap filler sites were closed. The first round of direction center closures came in 1963 when six were closed and the second round in 1966 when eleven were closed. The remaining six direction centers became SAGE Regional Control Centers (RCCs) still using the massive FSQ-7 vacuum tube computers. As the direction centers and radar sites closed the remaining sites were realigned into ever increasing sectors.
A new Joint Surveillance System (JSS) evolved as a partnership between the Air Force and the FAA to provide nationwide radar coverage. When completed in 1983 it consisted of only forty-six radar sites feeding into four new Region Operation Control Centers (ROCCs). With the activation of the four ROCCs the last six of the SAGE direction center were closed and this signaled the end of the SAGE system. Of the remaining forty-six radar sites, thirty one had FAA operated search radars and USAF operated height finders. Five sites just had FAA search radars and only ten sites were operated by the Military. With the deployment of forty FAA ASR-4 3D radar sets in the 1990s the earlier military and FAA radars were replaced.
The Malmstrom SAGE Direction Center was one of the six direction centers designated as a SAGE Regional Control Centers and it remained operational until March 1983.
| Location | Type | State | Unit | ADC | NORAD | JSS | From | To | GPS | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cut Bank | AFS | MT | 681st | P-24 | Z-24 | 1960-07-01 | 1965-06-25 | 48.94222, -112.80583 |
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| Lewistown | AFS | MT | 694th | TM-178 | Z-178 | 1960-07-01 | 1971-06-30 | 47.21754, -109.22194 |
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| Dickinson | AFS | ND | 706th | TM-177 | Z-177 | 1963-06-25 | 1965-06-25 | 46.92056, -102.73222 |
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| Kalispell | AFS | MT | 716th | TM-179 | Z-179 | J-78 | 1960-07-01 | 1978-04-01 | 48.01139, -114.36472 |
|
| Havre | AFS | MT | 778th | P-25 | Z-25 | 1960-07-01 | 1979-09-29 | 48.88083, -109.945 |
BUIC III | |
| Opheim | AFS | MT | 779th | P-26 | Z-26 | 1963-06-25 | 1979-09-29 | 48.86111, -106.47778 |
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| Fortuna | AFS | ND | 780th | P-27 | Z-27 | 1963-06-25 | 1979-09-29 | 48.90389, -103.86667 |
BUIC III | |
| Minot | AFB | ND | 786th | P-28 | Z-28 | 1963-06-25 | 1979-09-29 | 48.00361, -101.29444 |
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| Malmstrom | AFB | MT | 801st | SM-147 | Z-147 | J-77 | 1960-07-01 | 1969-12-31 | 47.50193, -111.20283 |
|
| Miles City | AFS | MT | 902nd | M-98 | Z-98 | 1963-06-25 | 1968-06-18 | 46.29694, -105.97833 |
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| Finley | AFS | ND | 785th | P-29 | Z-029 Z-303 |
J-75 | 1969-09-15 | 1979-12-30 | 47.51583, -97.86861 |
|
| Kamloops | AS | BC | 825th | SM-153 | C-153 | 1982 | 1983-03-01 | 50.80222, -120.12667 |
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| Beausejour | AS | MB | 916th 48 |
C-17 | C-17 | R-25 | 1969-11-14 | 1983-05 | 50.14806, -96.22333 |
Current Status
Deactivated in Great Falls, Cascade County, Montana.
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Location: Malmstrom AFB, Great Falls, Cascade County, Montana. Maps & Images Lat: 47.51639 Long: -111.18194 |
See Also:
Sources:
- 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
- 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
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