Mount Laguna Air Force Station
| Mount Laguna Air Force Station Air Defense Command (ADC) | |
|---|---|
 1979 USAF photo | |
  Mount Laguna AFS Location of Mount Laguna AFS, California | |
| Coordinates | 32°52′36″N 116°24′54″W / 32.87667°N 116.41500°W |
| Type | Air Force Station |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |  United States Air Force |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1952 |
| In use | 1952–1981 |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 751st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron |
Mount Laguna Air Force Station (ADC ID: P-76, NORAD ID: Z-76) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 24.3 miles (39.1 km) north-northeast of Tecate, California. It was closed in 1981 by the Air Force, and turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Today the site is part of the Joint Surveillance System (JSS), designated by NORAD as Western Air Defense Sector (WADS) Ground Equipment Facility J-30.
History
Mount Laguna Air Force Station was one of twenty-eight stations built as part of the second segment of the
The 751st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was initially assigned to Mount Laguna by September 1951.
During 1961 Mount Laguna AFS joined the
In 1964 the AN/FPS-6 was replaced by an
In addition to the main facility, Mount Laguna Air Force Station operated several
- Tecate, CA (P-76A) 32°34′46″N 116°41′20″W / 32.57944°N 116.68889°W
- San Ysidro, CA (P-76B) 32°33′42″N 117°02′06″W / 32.56167°N 117.03500°W
- Tierra del Sol, CA (P-76C) 32°38′53″N 116°19′02″W / 32.64806°N 116.31722°W
- Coyote Wells, CA (P-76D) 32°41′27″N 115°53′21″W / 32.69083°N 115.88917°W
- Moreno, CA (P-76E) 33°57′43″N 117°16′51″W / 33.96194°N 117.28083°W
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 751st Radar Sq was inactivated
Today Mount Laguna is an FAA site, tied into the Joint Surveillance System (JSS). The former Air Force Station has been abandoned since 1981, the facilities in disrepair. The buildings that once housed up to 400 Air Force personnel at Mount Laguna are now gutted shells covered with graffiti and filled with construction debris. For years, U.S. Forest Service officials have wanted to demolish the buildings at the abandoned base, but no money was available.
In 2009, funds became available for site restoration and the barracks, administration building, mess hall and other buildings that made up the Laguna Mountain Air Force Base have been torn down using money from $18.2 million in stimulus funds for Forest Service facilities in disrepair in 14 California counties.
Air Force units and assignments
Units
Squadron
- Constituted as the 751st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron on 14 November 1950
- Activated at Port Hueneme, California on 27 November 1950[2]
- Moved to Mount Laguna AFS, September 1951
- Redesignated 751st Radar Squadron (SAGE), 1 May 1961
- Inactivated on 1 March 1970
- Redesignated 751st Radar Squadron on 1 January 1974
- Activated on 17 January 1974
- Inactivated on 30 September 1981[2]
Group
- Constituted as the 751st Air Defense Group on 13 February 1970
Commanders
- 751st Radar Squadron
- Col. Fred C. Faupel Jr., unknown – 1 March 1970[6]
- 751st Air Defense Group
- Col. Fred C. Faupel Jr., 1 March 1970 – unknown[6]
- 751st Radar Squadron
- Maj. Harlie B. Johnson, August 1964 – August 1965
Assignments
- Squadron
- 544th Aircraft Control and Warning Group, 1 February 1952
- 27th Air Division, 6 February 1952
- Los Angeles Air Defense Sector, 1 October 1959
- 27th Air Division, 1 April 1966
- 26th Air Division, 19 November 1969 – 1 March 1970
- 26th Air Division, 17 January 1974 – 30 September 1981[2]
- Group
- 26th Air Division, 1 March 1970 – 17 January 1974[4]
See also
References
Notes
- ^ "Abstract, History 751 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron, Jul–Sep 1951". Air Force History Index. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g Cornett & Johnson, p. 163
- ^ "Abstract, History 751 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron, Jan–Jun 1961". Air Force History Index. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
- ^ 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
- ^ a b "Abstract, History 751 Air Defense Group, Jan–Mar 1970". Air Force History Index. Retrieved January 12, 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.
Further reading
- Grant, C.L., The Development of Continental Air Defense to 1 September 1954, (1961), 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 9781437921311.
- Leonard, Barry (2009). History of Strategic Air and Ballistic Missile Defense (PDF). Vol. II, 1955–1972. Fort McNair, DC: Center for Military History. ISBN 9781437921311.
- 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. ]
- Information for Mount Laguna AFS, CA
