Calumet Air Force Station
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (January 2024) |
Calumet Air Force Station Air Defense Command (ADC) | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 47°22′16″N 088°10′14″W / 47.37111°N 88.17056°W |
Type | Air Force Station |
Code | ADC ID: P-16, NORAD ID: Z-16 |
Site information | |
Controlled by | United States Air Force |
Site history | |
Built | 1951 |
In use | 1951–1988 |
Garrison information | |
Garrison | 665th Air Defense Group 665th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (later 665th Radar Squadron) |
Calumet Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 5.2 miles (8.4 km) east-northeast of Phoenix, Michigan. It was closed in 1988 by the Air Force, and turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The property was purchased by Open Skies Project, LLC in 2021. The Open Skies Project is a group of friends and family who purchased the former Calumet Air Force Station with the goal of restoring the property and making it a site that is accessible to the entire public. For more information, please visit www.openskiesproject.org.
History
In late 1951
On 1 May 1951 the 665th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
In 1956 an
A turn-over of equipment in 1963 left the site with an
In addition to the main facility, Calumet operated the following
- Painesdale, MI (P-16A) 47°02′12″N 088°41′43″W / 47.03667°N 88.69528°W
- Upson, WI (P-16B) 46°25′10″N 090°23′06″W / 46.41944°N 90.38500°W
The 665th Radar Sq was inactivated
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. Calumet came under
After closure in 1988 ownership of the station was transferred to Keweenaw County, with a portion being used by the Keweenaw Academy reform school, with some facilities being used for cellular, amateur and other radio communications. As with many other closed bases, some of the facilities have become degraded due to lack of use and maintenance. In August 2021 a group of Michigan Technological University alumni purchased the facility and surrounding land with plans to remediate environmental issues and development into a tourist destination.[4]
Air Force units and assignments
Units
- 665th Radar Squadron
- Constituted as the 665th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
- Activated on 27 November 1950
- Redesignated 665th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 15 July 1960
- Inactivated on 1 March 1970
- Redesignated 665th Radar Squadron on 1 January 1974
- Activated on 17 January 1974
- Inactivated on 30 September 1988[1]
- 665th Air Defense Group
- Constituted as the 665th Air Defense Group on 13 February 1970
Commanders
- Major Ira E. Mason 1962?–1963
- Major Fred L. McPherson 1963–1965
- Major Roger W. Gottschall 1965–?
- Major David P. Lentz, 1 March 1970 – 1970[5]
- Maj. James H. Bentley, 1970–unknown[6]
- Col. John Morgan Fear 1971–
- Maj David Hershberger 1979–1981
- Capt/Maj Jeff Mogilewicz 1981–1983
- Lt Col Larry Dobbs, 1983–1985
- Lt Col Scott Meyer, 1985–1987 – The men and women of the base earned the Outstanding Unit Award during this time.
- Lt Col Michael Yon, 1987–1988
Assignments
- 541st Aircraft Control and Warning Group, 27 November 1950
- 30th Air Division, 6 February 1952
- 4706th Defense Wing, 16 February 1953
- 37th Air Division, 8 July 1956
- 30th Air Division, 1 April 1959
- Sault Sainte Marie Air Defense Sector, 1 April 1960
- Duluth Air Defense Sector, 1 October 1963
- 29th Air Division, 1 April 1966
- 23d Air Division, 19 November 1969
- 24th Air Division, 1 Apr 1982 – 30 September 1988[1][2]
See also
- List of United States Air Force aircraft control and warning squadrons
- United States general surveillance radar stations
References
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Cornett & Johnson, p. 158
- ^ a b c d Cornett, & Johnson, p.86
- ^ a b Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 575q, 27 Sep 1984, Subject: Disbandment of Units
- ^ "Michigan Tech Alumni Close on Mount Horace Greeley Land Sale". Keweenaw Report. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
- ^ "Abstract, History of 665th Air Defense Group, Jan–Mar 1970". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
- ^ "Abstract, History of 665th Air Defense Group, Apr – Jun 1970". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Cornett, Lloyd H; Johnson, Mildred W (1980). A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946–1980 (PDF). Peterson AFB, CO: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
Further reading
- Grant, C.L., (1961) The Development of Continental Air Defense to 1 September 1954, USAF Historical Study No. 126
- Leonard, Barry (2009). History of Strategic Air and Ballistic Missile Defense (PDF). Vol. I. 1945–1955. Fort McNair, DC: Center for Military History. ISBN 978-1-43792-131-1. Archived from the original(PDF) on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
- Leonard, Barry (2009). History of Strategic Air and Ballistic Missile Defense (PDF). Vol. II, 1955–1972. Fort McNair, DC: Center for Military History. ISBN 978-1-43792-131-1. Archived from the original(PDF) on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
- Redmond, Kent C.; Smith, Thomas M. (2000). From Whirlwind to MITRE: The R&D Story of The SAGE Air Defense Computer. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-18201-0.
- Winkler, David F.; Webster, Julie L (1997). Searching the skies: The legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program. Champaign, IL: US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories. ]
External links