Rockville Air Station (Iceland)
This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (December 2012) ) |
Rockville Air Station Air Forces Iceland | |
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Coordinates | 64°02′07″N 022°39′16″W / 64.03528°N 22.65444°W |
Type | Air Force Station |
Site information | |
Controlled by | United States Air Force |
Site history | |
Built | 1951 |
In use | 1951-1992 |
Rockville Air Station (ADC/NATO ID: H-1) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 2.9 miles (4.7 km) west-northwest of Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland. It was closed on 30 June 1992.
History
Rockville Air Station was established in early 1952, although its origins date to a temporary site at Keflavik Airport set up in 1951 to provide radar coverage over the airport. The permanent site was operated by the
The Greenland, Iceland and United Kingdom air defense sector, better known as the
The mission of the station was to intercept and shadow all Soviet aircraft in transit in and from the Gap which passed through the detection range of its radars and pass the information to interceptor aircraft deployed at Keflavik Airfield. Routine operations continued until 1997 until the site was closed, and a new facility was opened near NAS Keflavik.
After the site was closed, the facility was turned over to the Iceland government which used it for some years as the Byrgid drug rehabilitation facility. Today the site is closed, the radar towers are gone and all buildings have been removed.
See also
- List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
- Winkler, David F. (1997), Searching the skies: the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program. Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command.
- Information for Rockville AS, IS