Rye Air Force Station
 | This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (December 2012) ) |
| Rye Air Force Station Air Defense Command (ADC) | |
|---|---|
  Rye AFS Location of Rye AFS, New Hampshire | |
| Coordinates | 43°02′41″N 070°42′51″W / 43.04472°N 70.71417°W |
| Type | Air Force Station (radar station) |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |  United States Air Force |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1956 |
| In use | 1956-1957 |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 644th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron |
Rye Air Force Station (ADC ID: M-104) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 3.1 miles (5.0 km) southeast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire in what is now Odiorne Point State Park. It was closed in 1957.
History
Rye AFS was part of the planned deployment of 44 mobile radar stations by
Pease Air Force Base) and to support the permanent deployment
of the 75 stations of the ADC radar network around the perimeter of the country. This deployment had been projected to be operational by mid-1952. Funding, constant site changes, construction, and equipment delivery delayed deployment.
Constructed at the former
644th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron activated an AN/TPS-1D radar at the site, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and warning station. As a GCI station, the squadron's role was to guide interceptor aircraft
toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes.
It was soon closed due to a budget reduction in 1957. The site was re-equipped with an
North Truro AFS
, Massachusetts, as site Fort Dearborn, P-10B. It was finally closed in June 1968.
Today, the site is the location of Odiorne Point State Park. Many former parts of Fort Dearborn remain. Rye AFS has been obliterated.
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
- 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 Rye AFS, NH
