Cape Lisburne Air Force Station

Cape Lisburne Air Force Station (1953-1983, 1985-Present) - A Cold War U.S. Air Force Station, part of the Alaska AC&W Radar Network. Initially functioned as an Early Warning radar site, with a Permanent System ID of F-07. Later redesignated a surveillance site feeding manual track data to the Campion Direction Center. Became a minimally attended radar site in 1985 and was redesignated as Cape Lisburne Long-Range Radar Site with a JSS ID of A-13. Now feeds radar track data to the FAA Anchorage ARTCC (ZAN) and to the Elmendorf NORAD Regional Air Operations Center (RAOC). Active Long-Range Radar Site (LRRS) with an FAA ID of ZLUR..

Cape Lisburne Air Force Station (1953-1983)

The site for Cape Lisburne Air Force Station (AFS) was surveyed in 1949 by the AAC and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In June 1950, a construction contract was awarded to Gaasland & Company Cape for Lisburne Air Force Station. Construction started on 21 Jun 1951. The company completed both the upper and lower camps and a connecting aerial tramway in August 1952 at a cost of $4,468,751. The site became operational on 11 Feb 1953 as Cape Lisburne Air Force Station manned by the 711th AC&W Squadron which had been activated on 8 Dec 1952 to operate and maintain the site. The site had been built without weatherproof connecting walkways between buildings and those were added in 1954. The site was designed for 89 personnel with a standard 21 wood frame building plan, each building designed for a 15-year life expectancy.

Initial equipment on 11 Feb 1953 included an FPS-3 search radar. The FPS-3 radar was upgraded with a GPA-27 modification kit to an FPS-20A search radar during the summer of 1958. Also in 1958, the far more capable UPA-35 radar scopes were installed. Later in the 1960s, the FPS-20A was upgraded to a FPS-93A search radar.

Aircraft track data from these radars was manually plotted on plotting boards and passed to the Murphy Dome Manual Direction Center on voice circuits. In 1965 the FYQ-9 Semiautomatic Data Processing and Display System was implemented on Alaska AC&W radar sites automating the passing of track data to the direction centers. The result was reduced manpower requirements and increased efficiency.

Further reductions came on 1 Oct 1977 when the Alaska Air Command (ACC) contracted with RCA Services for site support services. This was a part of an Air Force effort to reduce remote tours. Some 94 military positions were originally authorized and that was reduced to 15 military positions that were primarily in operations.

JSS FYQ-47 common digitizers were installed on the AC&W radars sites, including Cape Lisburne, by 1982. This upgrade enabled transmission of radar track data via satellite to the new Elmendorf JSS Regional Operations Control Center (ROCC) near Anchorage. The Elmendorf ROCC was activated on 14 Jun 1983 and that event triggered a series of events that included the closure of the AC&W sites, the disbandment of the AC&W Squadrons, and the creation of Long-Range Radar Sites (LRRS) with full contractor operation and maintenance and new FPS-117 3D radars. The Cape Lisburne AFS was deactivated on 1 Nov l983 even before the FPS-117 radars were installed.

Cape Lisburne Long-Range Radar Site (1985-Present)

A new FPS-117 Minimally Attended Radar (MAR) was installed was installed between May-July 1985. The site was operational on 3 Jul 1985 and re-designated as Cape Lisburne Long-Range Radar Site (LRRS) operated and maintained by contractors. The Long-Range radar site was connected to the Elmendorf JSS Regional Operations Control Center (ROCC) which was activated on 14 Jun 1983. The FPS-117 radar fed data to the ROCC FYQ-93 computers via satellite.

The Elmendorf ROCC evolved into a Regional Air Operations Center (RAOC) which now operates with the Battle Control System-Fixed (BCS-F) FYQ-156 computer system. The RAOC is currently a component of the Alaska NORAD Region (ANR) and is operated by active Alaska Air National Guard members, Canadian servicemembers, and active duty augmentees. Elmendorf AFB is now a part of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

By 2011 the MAR FPS-117 radars were outdated and increasingly unsupportable because parts and components were no longer available. In 2011 the U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin $46.8 million in contract options to begin modernization of 29 long-range radars. Under the EPRP contract, Lockheed Martin was to modernize 15 radars in Alaska including Cape Lisburne. The last FPS-117 site was upgraded in June 2015.

The EPRP program replaced four major subassemblies on the FPS-117: the Maintenance and Control System, the Beacon system, the Uninterruptable Power Supply/Communications Rack, and Local Control Terminals, which allow remote monitoring, troubleshooting, and control of the radars. The modifications reduced the line-replaceable unit count by approximately 80 percent, easing maintenance and the number of parts on the shelf. The program is expected to extend the supportably of the radar thru 2025.

Physical Plant

The physical plant of the site was originally divided into an upper main site and a lower cantonment site. The upper main site housed the radar towers and the backup generators. The lower cantonment area housed the operations area, the enlisted quarters (BAQ), the bachelor officer's quarters (BOQ), the orderly room, the dining hall, and other support areas. The two sites were connected by an overhead tramway and later by a road. The tramway was decommissioned in 1971. No family housing was provided as this was considered a remote unaccompanied tour (1 year).

An airstrip was added in 1953. In 1955, the upper camp was improved to include 12 person crew quarters and an inflated radome. The inflatable radome was replaced in 1961 with a rigid radome. In June 1965 the AFS had 26 buildings including both the upper and lower camps. The new main composite building (No. 150) was constructed starting in 1968 and occupied in June 1970. Annual resupply of the site was accomplished in the summer month by a sealift program known as Mona Lisa, later Cool Barge, until 1995.

A good portion of the Cape Lisburne installation was demolished in 2001 and 2002

Communications

Separate radio facilities housed the radio equipment for communicating with aircraft.

White Alice (1955-1979)

After HF radio systems proved inadequate for command and control communications, the Air Force implemented the White Alice Communications System. This was a system of tropospheric scatter and microwave radio relay sites constructed during the mid-1950s to provide reliable communications to Alaska Air Command (AAC) AC&W system.

The Cape Lisburne White Alice tropo site was activated on 29 Aug 1957 after one year of construction. The original equipment and power building was 2,960 sq foot This was replaced by a 'showplace'composite building in 1968-70, which boasted a two-story foyer with colorful interior and lavish lighting. The building cost $6.5 million to build in 1968-70. It was inactivated in May 1979 and replaced by an Alascom-owned satellite earth terminal.

Cape Lisburne AFS Major Equipment List
Search Radar	HF Radar	Data Systems	Radio
FPS-3 FPS-20 FPS-87A FPS-93A FPS-117		FYQ-9 FYQ-47

Unit Designations
711th Aircraft Control & Warning (AC&W) Squadron (1953-1983)

711th Assignments
8 Dec 1952 - Established at Cape Lisburne, AK

**Cape Lisburne AFS Partial Commanders List** (edit list)
Assumed	Relieved	Rank	Name	Cullum	Notes
1951-06-20		2nd Lt	Krausse, Joel B.	N/A	Det. F-7
		Lt	Duerksen, E. P.	N/A	Det. F-7
1952-07-21		Captain	Loomis, Eton V.	N/A	Det. F-7
1952-11-27		Lt Colonel	Miller, Arthur L.	N/A	First 771th Commander
1953-05-21		Major	Holland, William J.	N/A
1954-05		Major	Rutherford, William	N/A
1954-10-21		Major	Laird, Jon A.	N/A
1954-10	1955-10	Major	Lyon, Arthur B. Jr.	N/A
1955-10-01		Major	Combe, James W.	N/A
1955-11-14		Major	Deal, John F.	N/A
1956-12-18		Major	Lewis, George T.	N/A
1957-11		Major	Murdock, Sidney D.	N/A
1958-12-19		Major	Rabine, George E.	N/A
1959-10	1960-10	Major	Gallagher, Frank J.	N/A
		Major	Rudovsky, John	N/A
1961-07-24		Major	Staggs, Homer J.	N/A
1962-03		Major	Ashley, Roger C.	N/A
1962-11-16		Major	Cowan, Carter H.	N/A
1963-10-08		Major	Lus, Royal	N/A
1964-08		Lt Colonel	Henry, Mervin L.	N/A
1964-10-16		Major	Aubel, Clark C.	N/A
1965		Major	Indorf, Luverne E.	N/A
1966-08-23		Major	Berger, William A.	N/A
1967-07-30		Major	Boyce, Joseph W.	N/A
1968-06-20		Major	Lakey, Richard E.	N/A
1968-07-18		Captain	Rothe, William D.	N/A
1968-10-10		Major	Evans, Harley P. Jr.	N/A
1969-09-05		Major	Brewer, Richard D.	N/A
1970-08	1971-08	Major	Kirkpatrick, Gordon L.	N/A
1971-08	1972-08	Major	Fuller, Keith F.	N/A
1973-05-22		Captain	Kobland, Clifford E.	N/A
1974-03-18		Major	Khude, John F.	N/A
1975-03	1976-03	Major	Robinson, Daniel G.	N/A
1976-03	1977	Major	Culp, Eugene R.	N/A
1977-03-7		Major	Zadareky, Joseph F.	N/A
1978-03-08		Major	Cunningham, John D.	N/A
1978-03-13		Major	Usrey, Jessie	N/A
1980-03-10	1981	Major	Ohlinger, Charles T. III	N/A
1982~	1983~	Major	Brooks, Robert J.	N/A

Sources:

Radomes - Cape Lisburne AFS Commanders by Major Charles T. Ohlinger III, Commander 1980-1981

Notes:

The main source for this list is from Major Ohlinger's History on the Radomes website above with the addition of four other names from various sources and some additional dates.

Current Status

Active long-range radar site but most of the old AC&W site buildings have been demolished. The site has also had an environmental remediation project that has further erased signs of the old AC&W site and the White Alice tropo site. See the list below for remaining facilities.

Remaining Facilities
AC&W System Facilities	MAR System Facilities
No. 116 - Recreation building No. 117 - Heated auto storage No. 120 - Electrical switching station No. 130 - Water pump station No. 151 - Industrial building No. 155 - Waste treatment building No. 200 - Water supply tank. No. 300 - Radome tower No. 75339 - Airfield No. 85017 - Road system No. N/A - Gravel pads	No. 153 - Civilian camp No. 154 - Solid Waste Disposal Facility

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Location: Near Point Hope in North Slope Borough, Alaska.

Maps & Images

Lat: 68.87050 Long: -166.15085

Multi Maps from ACME
Maps from Bing
Maps from Google
Elevation: 1,585'

See Also:

Sources:

Denfeld, D. Colt Ph.D., The Cold War In Alaska: A Management Plan For Cultural Resources, 1994-1999, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, August 1994, 327 pages, Pdf, page 150-151, 230.
History of the Aircraft Control and Warning System in Alaska: Air Defense of Arctic Skies, Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois, 2002 updated 2013, 140 pages, Pdf, page 43-47.
Top Cover and Global Engagement - A History of the Eleventh Air Force

Links:

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Cape Lisburne Air Force Station