Empire Air Force Station

Empire Air Force Station
Air Defense Command (ADC)
Empire Air Force Station Air Defense Command (ADC)
	Empire AFS Location of Empire AFS, Michigan
Coordinates	44°48′09″N 086°03′11″W / 44.80250°N 86.05306°W
Type	Air Force Station
Code	ADC ID: P-34, NORAD ID: Z-34; Current JSS ID: J-58
Site information
Controlled by	United States Air Force
Condition	JSS/NEADS site
Site history
Built	1950
In use	1950-1978
Garrison information
Garrison	752d Radar Squadron

Map all coordinates using OpenStreetMap

Download coordinates as:

Empire Air Force Station is a former United States Air Force Aerospace Defense Command (ADC) long range radar site located 0.7 miles (1.1 km) south-southeast of Empire, Michigan, in Empire Township. It was closed in 1978 by the Air Force, and turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Today the site is part of the

Northeast Air Defense Sector

(NEADS) Ground Equipment Facility.

History

The radar site was operated by the 752d Aircraft Control and Warning (AC&W) squadron, starting in late 1950. The unit operated and maintained an

AN/FPS-6

. A second height-finder radar arrived a year later.

During 1960 Empire AFS joined the

Custer AFS

, Michigan. The radar squadron provided information 24/7 the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine range, direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile.

Also during 1960 Empire site began operating an

AN/FPS-26

A in 1963.

The Empire AFS site ID was changed to Z-34 when all SAGE radar squadron designations received the NORAD "Z" prefix on 31 July 1963.^[1]

In 1964 Empire site became an ADC/FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) Joint Surveillance System (JSS) site.

In addition to the main facility, Empire operated two

AN/FPS-18

gap-filler sites:

Petoskey, MI (P-34A/Z-34A) 45°19′37″N 084°53′03″W / 45.32694°N 84.88417°W / 45.32694; -84.88417 (P-34A)
Alpena, MI (P-34E/Z-34E) 45°04′16″N 083°34′03″W / 45.07111°N 83.56750°W / 45.07111; -83.56750 (P-34E)

Control of two more gap-fillers was transferred to the 752d from the 781st Radar Squadron (SAGE) at Custer AFS on 27 January 1965 as the 781st was being inactivated.^[2]

Saugatuck, MI (P-67C/Z-67C/Z-34G) 42°39′41″N 086°12′33″W / 42.66139°N 86.20917°W / 42.66139; -86.20917 (P-67C/Z-34G)
Shelby, MI (P-67D/Z-67D/Z-34H) 43°36′00″N 086°20′25″W / 43.60000°N 86.34028°W / 43.60000; -86.34028 (P-67D/Z-34B)

Of the four gap-filler radars once under the control of Empire AFS, only the Saugatuck annex still stands basically as it did while in operation. In fact, of all of the radars in the SAGE system, gap-filler or long-range, the Saugatuck annex appears to be the last site in public hands that is nearly completely intact with all of the Cold War era electronic equipment still in place in both the building and tower.

Over the years, the equipment at Empire AFS was upgraded or modified to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the information gathered by the radars. The 752d Radar Squadron (SAGE) was inactivated in April 1978, and the

AN/FPS-26

A height-finder was decommissioned in this time frame.

The

ARSR-4

in the late 1990s.

Many of the veterans of this site still reside in the area and in

Traverse City

, Michigan, approximately 26 miles (42 km) east of Empire. The museum in Empire has a full history of the air station, including a historical marker and the original rock marker for the Dining Hall on display. Reunions are held annually for the veterans of Empire AFS.

Air Force units and assignments

Units

Constituted as the 752d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron on 14 November 1950

Activated on 27 November 1950

Redesignated as the 752d Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 15 July 1960

Redesignated as the 752d Radar Squadron on 1 February 1974

Inactivated on 1 April 1978

Assignments

541st Aircraft Control and Warning Group, 27 November 1950
30th Air Division, 6 February 1952
4708th Defense Wing
16 February 1953
4706th Air Defense Wing, 1 March 1956
37th Air Division, 8 July 1956
30th Air Division, 1 April 1959
Sault Sainte Marie Air Defense Sector, 1 April 1960
Detroit Air Defense Sector, 15 July 1963
34th Air Division, 1 April 1966
29th Air Division, 14 November 1966
23d Air Division
, 19 November 1969 – 1 April 1978

References

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

^ Winkler, David, et al. (1997). Searching the Skies - The Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program. United States Air Force Air Combat Command. p. 93.
^ Easton, Read (1965). "Historical Record of the 781st Radar Squadron (SAGE), Custer AFS, Battle Creek, Michigan for the period ending 31 March 1965". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Microfilm Reel # K0606: 975.

Cornett, Lloyd H. and Johnson, Mildred W., A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980 Archived 13 February 2016 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 Empire AFS, MI

External links

Photos of Empire AFS, MI
Documents relating to Empire AFS, MI
Recent Photos of Empire AFS
Map of Empire AFS
Empire AFB Site History Archived 27 March 2004 at the Wayback Machine

[1] Winkler, David, et al. (1997). Searching the Skies - The Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program. United States Air Force Air Combat Command. p. 93.

[2] Easton, Read (1965). "Historical Record of the 781st Radar Squadron (SAGE), Custer AFS, Battle Creek, Michigan for the period ending 31 March 1965". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Microfilm Reel # K0606: 975.

[1]

[2]