Point Arena Air Force Station
 | This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (December 2012) ) |
| Point Arena Air Force Station Air Defense Command (ADC) | |
|---|---|
  Point Arena AFS Location of Point Arena AFS, California | |
| Coordinates | 38°53′23″N 123°33′01″W / 38.88972°N 123.55028°W |
| Type | Air Force Station |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |  United States Air Force |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1951 |
| In use | 1951–1998 |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 776th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron |
Point Arena Air Force Station (ADC ID: P-37, NORAD ID: Z-37) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 3.7 miles (6.0 km) east of Point Arena, California. It was closed in 1998 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-34.
History
Point Arena AFS was one of twenty-eight stations built as part of the second segment of the
The 776th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was activated on 27 November 1950 and operated
In late 1960 Point Arena AFS joined the
Point Arena AFS replaced its AN/FPS-20 with an
In addition to the main facility, Point Arena operated an
The 776th held additional responsibilities during the 1960s as Point Arena was designated as a Backup Intercept Control site for both the BUIC I and BUIC II programs. The AN/FPS-24 was replaced with an
Later in 1979 the station began operating
The road leading to the site was originally known as Hill Peak Road but at some point changed names to Eureka Hill Road. In addition to the site's radars, it also supplied ground-to-air communications to aircraft within its operating area. The radio equipment was located at the GATR (ground air transmitter and receiver) site, located at the crest of Eureka Hill Road, a few miles from the actual radar site. The GATR site was remotely located from the radar site to minimize interference from the radars into the radio gear.
The GATR site ground-air communications equipment used single frequency UHF AM transmitter/receiver pairs, AN/GRT-3 and AN/GRR-7, covering frequencies between 225-400MHz. AN/GRC-27 transceivers were used to temporarily replace defective equipment or for periodic maintenance. Additionally, a AN/KWT-6 transceiver provided communications to a gap-filler aircraft. A AN/GKA-5 Time Division Data Link and AN/FRT-49 data link amplifier transmitted data from the SAGE direction center back to any military aircraft in the coverage area. All equipment operated 24/7 and the site was staffed 24/7. This equipment list reflects what was in-service around 1968–69.
Closure
Since the late 1990s the DoD has tried to give away the property to various local government agencies, however the cost of environmental cleanup (lead paint and asbestos) have limited interest in the property. The remote location from major population centers also hurts its "marketability."
See also
- List of United States Air Force aircraft control and warning squadrons
- United States 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, 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 Point Arena AFS, CA
