Minot Air Force Station
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Minot Air Force Station 786th Radar Squadron |
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Minot Air Force Station (ADC ID: P-28 NORAD ID: Z-28) [Permanent Installation Number (PIN): 1445; Installation Location Code (ILC): QJVM]) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 16.2 miles (26.1 km) south of Minot, North Dakota; on the west side of US Highway 83. It was closed in 1979. A portion of the property was reopened in 1984 as the Minot Communications Site and served until 1997.
Minot Air Force Station was the first major Air Force installation in North Dakota, even predating the two "large" bases, Minot Air Force Base and Grand Forks Air Force Base.
History
Minot Air Force Station was part of the last batch of twenty-three radar stations constructed as part of the
The 786th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron began operations with
It was named Minot Air Force Station on 1 December 1953. During 1957 an
During 1961 Minot AFS joined the
By the end of 1961 the search set had been upgraded and redesignated as an
An
In addition to the main facility, Minot operated three unmanned
- Niobe, ND (P-28A) 48°38′33″N 102°18′15″W / 48.64250°N 102.30417°W
- Regan, ND (P-28D) 47°06′03″N 100°32′16″W / 47.10083°N 100.53778°W
- Alexander, ND (P-28E) 47°40′42″N 103°32′50″W / 47.67833°N 103.54722°W
The Alexander site was reassigned to Minot after
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. In early 1979 the Air Force announced that the station would be closing due to what was called "redundancies with more strategically located radars".[This quote needs a citation] On 29 September 1979 the 786th Radar Squadron was inactivated and the station was closed.
In 1984, a portion of the station was reopened by the USAF as the Minot Communication Site. It was closed again in 1997 and struck from the USAF property register and liquidated c.. 1998. Minot AFS has been sold to civilian interests, and has been reused as a housing subdivision colloquially known as the Radar Base.
Buildings and facilities
Buildings on the station include:[1]
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Air Force units and assignments
Units
- Constituted as the 786th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
- Activated on 20 May 1951
- Redesignated as 786th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 15 July 1961
- Redesignated as 786th Radar Squadron on 1 February 1974
- Inactivated: 29 September 1979
Assignments
- 543d Aircraft Control and Warning Group, 20 May 1951
- 31st Air Division, 6 February 1952
- 29th Air Division, 16 February 1953
- Minot Air Defense Sector (Manual), 1 January 1961
- Great Falls Air Defense Sector, 25 June 1963
- 28th Air Division, 1 April 1966
- 24th Air Division, 19 November 1969 – 29 September 1979
Commanders
- Major Robert Friend: 20 May 1951 – 26 December 1951;
- Major James Larson: 26 December 1951 -unknown;
- Major Leroy Holen: unknown–14 March 1952;
- Major Edward Stauffer: 14 March 1952 – 16 April 1955;
- Major Halvden W. Thompson: 16 April 1955 – 8 June 1955;
- Major Leonard J. Schaitel: 8 June 1955 – 26 July 1957;
- Major George A. Middleton: 26 July 1957 – 1960;
- Major I. D. (Israel) Siegel: c.. 1960;
- Major A. J. Rantal: c.. 1960;
- Major Jacob F. Stevens: c.. 1963;
- Major Fred E. Small: c.. 1964–1966;
- Major Neal C. Brigham: c.. 1966;
- Major Raymond L. Graham: c.. 1967–2 January 1971;
- Major Gordon S. Bounds: c.. 1971–1972;
- Captain H. L. Dent: c.. 1972–20 July 1974;
- Major Joseph R. Cox: c.. 1974-1976;
- Major Bruce Smith: c.. 1978;
- Captain Ronald K. Trithart: c.. 1979;
See also
- List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations
- List of United States Air Force aircraft control and warning squadrons
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- 786th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron. 17 May 1958.
- Cornett, Lloyd H. and Johnson, Mildred W., A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson AFB, CO (1980).
- Winkler, David F.; Webster, Julie L (1887). Searching the skies : the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program. Champaign, IL: US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories. ]
- Information for Minot AFS, ND