Bedford Air Force Station
This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (December 2012) ) |
Bedford Air Force Station Air Defense Command (ADC) | |
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Coordinates | 37°31′02″N 079°30′37″W / 37.51722°N 79.51028°W |
Type | Air Force Station |
Code | ADC ID: M-121, NORAD ID: Z-121 |
Site information | |
Controlled by | United States Air Force |
Site history | |
Built | 1954 |
In use | 1954-1975 |
Garrison information | |
Garrison | 649th Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron |
Bedford Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 12.7 miles (20.4 km) north of Bedford, Virginia. It was closed in 1975.
History
Bedford AFS was established by
The 649th Airborne Control and Warning Squadron achieved beneficial occupancy by 1 December 1954. Operational status was achieved in 1956 with the activation of the
By 1958 the AN/MPS-8 had been superseded by a pair of
In 1960 this site also began performing air traffic control duties for the
Over the years, the equipment at the station was upgraded or modified to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the information gathered by the radars. The 649th was inactivated and the Air Force closed the facility on 30 June 1975. Afterward the FAA took over the facility, and today it is an active
Air Force units and assignments
Units:
- 649th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, Assigned 1 December 1954
- Activated as 649th Aircraft Control Squadron at Orlando AFB, Florida on 20 November 1948
- Moved to Roslyn, New York ca. 1 April 1949
- Inactivated 1 October 1949
- Redesignated 649th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
- Activated at Roslyn (later Roslyn AFS), NY, on 26 May 1953 (not manned or equipped)
- Redesignated 649th Radar Squadron (SAGE), on 1 October 1959
- Redesignated 649th Radar Squadron, on 1 February 1974
- Inactivated on 30 June 1975
Assignments:
- 539th Aircraft Control & Warning Group, 20 November 1948
- 503rd Aircraft Control & Warning Group, ca. 1 Apr 1949 – 1 October 1949
- 26th Air Division, 26 May 1953
- 4710th Defense Wing, 1 May 1954
- 85th Air Division, 1 March 1956
- Washington Air Defense Sector, 1 September 1958
- 33d Air Division, 1 April 1966
- 20th Air Division, 19 November 1969 – 30 June 1975
See also
- List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Cornett, Lloyd H. and Johnson, Mildred W., A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980 Archived 2016-02-13 at the Wayback Machine, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson AFB, CO (1980).
- Winkler, David F. & Webster, Julie L., Searching the Skies[dead link], The Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program, US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories, Champaign, IL (1997).
- Information for Bedford AFS, VA