Saint Anthony Air Station

Saint Anthony Air Station
Part of Pinetree Line
Newfoundland, Canada
Emblem of the 921st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
Coordinates	51°20′57″N 055°36′39″W / 51.34917°N 55.61083°W / 51.34917; -55.61083 (Saint Anthony AS N-26)
Type	Radar Station
Code	N-26
Site information
Controlled by	Northeast Air Command Aerospace Defense Command
Site history
Built	1953
Built by	United States Air Force
In use	1953-1968

Saint Anthony Air Station (ADC ID: N-26) is a closed General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 292.5 miles (470.7 km) north-northwest of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.^[1] It was closed in 1968.

History

The site was established in 1953 as a General Surveillance Radar station, funded by the United States Air Force, one of the many that would make up the Pinetree Line of Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) radar sites.

It was used initially by the

, which was activated. It was equipped with the following radars:

• Search Radars:
  AN/FPS-93
  A
• Height Radars: AN/TPS-502,
  AN/FPS-6
  B

As a GCI base, the 921st's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. These interceptors were assigned to the

, Labrador.

The station was reassigned to the USAF

In addition to the main facility, Saint Anthony operated an

AN/FPS-14

manned Gap Filler site:

• La Scie Air Station (N-26B): 49°58′50″N 055°31′48″W / 49.98056°N 55.53000°W / 49.98056; -55.53000 (N-26B) (Det 2 921st AC&W)

N-26B was built in 1957 about 150 km southeast of the main station and was closed in 1961. The town of La Scie, located about 5 km to the southwest provided living facilities to Detachment 2.

The 921st AC&WS squadron was inactivated on 18 June 1968, and Saint Anthony AS was closed on 30 June. Today^[when?] the site remains intact. It apparently^{[according to whom?]} has been unused and abandoned since its closure, some have been reduced to concrete foundations only.

USAF units and assignments

Units:

• 921st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, Activated at Grenier AFB, New Hampshire, 26 May 1953

Transferred to Saint Anthony Air Station, Northeast Air Command, 1 October 1953

Reassigned to Air Defense Command, 1 April 1957

Discontinued 18 June 1968

Assignments:

• 64th Air Division (NEAC), 1 October 1953
• 4731st Air Defense Group, 1 April 1957
• Goose Air Defense Sector, 6 June 1960
• 37th Air Division, 1 April 1966 – 18 June 1968

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.