North Head WWII Radar Site (2)
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North Head WWII Radar Site (2) (1944-1946) - A World War II U.S. Army Radar Site established in 1944. Used to provide fire control information to large caliber (6" and above) coastal gun batteries in the Harbor Defense of the Columbia River against enemy warships. Located on Fort Canby near Cape Disapointment, Pacific County, Washington. Closed in 1946.
HistoryPart of the Harbor Defense of the Columbia.
 Constructed under project No. RAD 9-1014 and transferred for use on 17 May 1944 as North Head Radar Site. Construction costs to date of transfer were $10,652.62. The physical plant consisted of a transmitter building, two power houses each with a 1000 gallon fuel tank, a 100' steel tower and a antenna housing disguised as a water tank atop the tower. The three buildings and the tower were prefabricated steel units furnished by the Signal Corps. The buildings and the tower were placed on concrete pads and footings installed by the Corps of Engineers who erected all of the structures. Access to the antenna on top of the tower was by a small elevator operated by a 4 hp electric motor. The engineering construction work was done by government forces who started on 26 Nov 1943 and finished on 29 Apr 1944. A small barracks was located at the north end of the compound not furnished under this project. The radar equipment was installed by the Signal Corps. It required 16.3kW of 120/240 AC, 1 phase, 60 cycle power furnished by commercial power backed up by the two on-site generators. The two 25 kW generators were furnished and installed by the Signal Corps.
Site Operation  In operation, the SCR-296A radar could only track one target at a time. Target assignments were made from the harbor HECP/HDCP command posts by telephone, citing the approximate range and azimuth of the target. The SCR-296A radar operators would then find the target and pass the precise range and azimuth to the plotting room at the gun battery by phone. Two operators were required, one for the range position and one for the azimuth position. The radar operators would continue to track the target and update the plotting room as the range and azimuth changed. The Radar track data was provided by telephone to Battery 246 as the primary battery and to secondary batteries including Battery 245 and Battery 247. Battery 246 was a 6" gun battery located on Fort Canby. The SCR-296A Radar equipment was declared obsolete by AG letter on 17 Jan 1946. The Tower and radar equipment were to be disposed of while the buildings were retained.
ClosureClosed in 1946. Current StatusNo remains.
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Links: Visited: No
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