FPS-18

FPS-18 Short Range Gap Filler Radar Set - A Short Range Gap Filler Radar set built by Bendix Radio Division of Bendix Aviation Corporation. Deployed during the 1950s and early 1960s in unattended gap-filler radar sites to fill in gaps in the long range radar coverage. Used in the SAGE System to directly send target data to a SAGE direction center. The radar antenna was mounted on a three legged tower and sometimes covered with a radome.

Typical FPS-18 Gap Filler Radar Site

The radar set itself was contained in a small two room "L" shaped building with the smaller room containing up to three backup power generators and the larger room containing the dual channel radar set. That room also contained the FST-1 Coordinate Data Transmitter that digitized the radar data and transmitted target data to the direction center via phone lines. Also in that room was the FSW-1 Control Monitor Set that enabled remote control from the radar site of power switching and channel changes on the dual channel equipment. The FSW-1 also monitored up to 30 functions on the site and could control up to 20 functions remotely.

FPS-18 Gap Filler Radar

FPS-18 Gap Filler Radar Element Value Notes Nomenclature FPS-18 Origins Variants FPS-18A Manufacturer Bendix Radio Division of Bendix Aviation Corporation Budd Lewyt Company Type Gap Filler Number Made 100~ IEEE Band S Frequency 2700 - 2900 Tunable PRF 1200 pps Pulse Width 1 us Rotation Speed 5.33 rpm Power 1 mw V87-B or V87-C klystron Range 35 - 50 nmi Short Range Altitude 17,000 feet Introduced 1950s Stock Numbers 5840-505-0435 FPS-18 5840-646-9897 FPS-18A FPS-18 Components (edit list) Component Model Quantity Height Width Deep Weight Notes Antenna Group OA-897A/FPS-14 1 2,918 lb Transmitter Group OA-1140/FPS-18 2 84" 56" 35.5" 1,805 lb Power Supply PP-1497/FPS-18 2 84" 44" 34.125" 1,745 lb Electron Tube Liquid Cooler MX-2010/FPS-18 2 46" 30" 56 lb Receiver Group QA-1231/FPS-18 2 84" 40" 24" 844 lb Indicator Group QA-1339/FPS-18 1 40" 18.5" 30.5" 213 lb Control Monitor C-2097/FPS-18 1 53.125" 10" 27" 485 lb Motor Generator PU-366/FPS-18 1 2,000 lb Voltage Regulator CN-385/FPS-18 2 40.5" 24" 20.8" 495 lb Directional Coupler CU-453/FPS-14 2 7.75" 5.25" 24.5" 32 lb Waveguide Switch SA-436/FPS-14 1 11.75" 13.25" 13.25" 34 lb Dummy Load DA-114/FPS-14 1 5" 6.25" 31.5" 31 lb Mobile Test Cart FN-83/FPS-14 2 24" 38.5" 32" 62 lb Context See Also: SAGE System US Radar Sets 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 MIL-HDBK-162A, 15 Dec 1965. Links: Wikipedia - FPS-18 Related: Ajo Air Force Station, Antigo Air Force Station, Arlington Heights Air Force Station, Bartlesville Air Force Station, Baudette Air Force Station, Bellefontaine Air Force Station, Belleville Air Force Station, Benton Air Force Station, Blaine Air Force Station, Boron Air Force Station, Brookfield Air Force Station, Brunswick Air Force Station, Burns Air Force Station, Calumet Air Force Station, Cambria Air Force Station, Cape Charles Air Force Station, Caswell Air Force Station, Charleston Air Force Station, Cherry Point MCAS Radar Site, Colville Air Force Station, Cottonwood Air Force Station, Cross City Air Force Station, Crystal Springs Air Force Station, Curlew Air Force Station, Custer Air Force Station, Cut Bank Air Force Station, Dallas Center Air Force Station, Dauphin Island Air Force Station, Dickinson Air Force Station, Eagle Pass Air Force Station, Ellington Air Force Base Radar Site, Empire Air Force Station, England Air Force Base Radar Site, Eufaula Air Force Station, FST-1, FSW-1, Fallon Air Force Station, Finland Air Force Station, Finley Air Force Station, Fort Fisher Air Force Station, Fort Meade Radar Site, Guthrie Air Force Station, Havre Air Force Station, Highlands Air Force Station, Houma Air Force Station, Hutchinson Air Force Station, Jacksonville NAS Radar Site, Joelton Air Force Station, Keno Air Force Station, Killeen Air Force Station, Kingman Air Force Station, Kirksville Air Force Station, Klamath Air Force Station, Lackland Air Force Base Radar Site, Lake Charles Air Force Station, Lake City Air Force Station, Las Vegas Air Force Station, Lockport Air Force Station, MacDill Air Force Base Radar Site, Manassas Air Force Station, Marietta Air Force Station, Mica Peak Air Force Station, Miles City Air Force Station, Mill Valley Air Force Station, Minot Air Force Station, Montauk Air Force Station, Mount Hebo Air Force Station, Mount Laguna Air Force Station, North Bend Air Force Station, North Charleston Air Force Station, Oakdale Air Force Station, Olathe Air Force Station, Omaha Air Force Station, Opheim Air Force Station, Osceola Air Force Station, Othello Air Force Station, Ozona Air Force Station, Point Arena Air Force Station, Poston Air Force Station, RCAF Station Lac St. Denis, Red Bluff Air Force Station, Richmond Air Force Station, Roanoke Rapids Air Force Station, Rockport Air Force Station, SAGE System, Saint Albans Air Force Station, Saratoga Springs Air Force Station, Sault Ste Marie Air Force Station, Savannah Air Force Station, Selfridge Air Force Base Radar Site, Snow Mountain Air Force Station, Sweetwater Air Force Station, TD-285, Tyndall Air Force Base Radar Site, US Radar Sets, Wadena Air Force Station, Watertown Air Force Station, Waverly Air Force Station, Winnemucca Air Force Station, Winslow Air Force Station, Winston-Salem Air Force Station, Yaak Air Force Station, Yuma Air Force Station, Zapata Air Force Station,