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Houma Air Force Station | |
|---|---|
| Part ofAir Defense Command (ADC) | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Air Force Station |
| Controlled by | United States Air Force |
| Location | |
  Houma AFS Location of Houma AFS, Louisiana | |
| Coordinates | 29°33′45″N090°40′30″W / 29.56250°N 90.67500°W /29.56250; -90.67500 (Houma AFS M-126) |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1955 |
| In use | 1955-1970 |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 657th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron |
Houma Air Force Station (ADC ID: M-126 NORAD ID: Z-126) is a closedUnited States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) southeastHouma, Louisiana. It was closed in 1970.
Houma Air Force Station was established as part of the planned deployment byAir Defense Command of forty-four Mobile radar stations across the United States to support the permanent Radar network established during the Cold War for air defense of the United States. This deployment had been projected to be operational by mid-1952. Funding, constant site changes, construction, and equipment delivery delayed deployment.
Operational status was achieved in March 1955 after the 657th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was moved to the station fromTinker AFB, Oklahoma by the33d Air Division. The squadron began operations usingAN/MPS-14,AN/TPS-1D, andAN/TPS-10D radars, 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. In 1958 anAN/FPS-20 search radar was in operation along withAN/MPS-14 andAN/MPS-7 units. The prototype AN/FPS-28 FD search radar was placed at Houma AFS in late 1959 for field testing. In 1960 anAN/FPS-6 height-finder radar was added.
During 1961 Houma AFS joined theSemi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, initially feeding data to DC-09 atGunter AFB, Alabama. After joining, the squadron was re-designated as the657th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 March 1961. The radar squadron provided information 24/7 the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine range, direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile. In 1962 the search radar was upgraded to anAN/FPS-67, and the AN/FPS-6B height-finder radar was upgraded to anAN/FPS-90. On 31 July 1963, the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z-126.
In addition to the main facility, Houman operated an unmanned Gap Filler site:
The AN/FPS-28 was deactivated in May 1965. The AN/FPS-67 search radar was then upgraded to anAN/FPS-67B in 1966. In 1968, the AN/MPS-14 was removed from service, and the AN/FPS-90 was deactivated a year later. The 657th Radar Squadron was inactivated in September 1970.
Today the site is the location of the Terrebonne Vocational School. Many buildings remain in use and are in good repair, along with several radar towers.
Units:
Assignments:
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
