 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Olathe Air Force Station" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Olathe Air Force Station | |
|---|---|
| Part ofAir Defense Command (ADC) | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Air Force Station |
| Code | ADC ID: P-72, NORAD ID: Z-72 |
| Controlled by |  United States Air Force |
| Location | |
  Olathe AFS Location of Olathe AFS, Kansas | |
| Coordinates | 38°50′06″N094°54′16″W / 38.83500°N 94.90444°W /38.83500; -94.90444 (Olathe AFS P-72) |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1951 |
| In use | 1951–1968 |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 738th Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron |
Olathe Air Force Station is a formerUnited States Air Force radar station that was located inGardner, Kansas. It was located next toNaval Air Station Olathe, now the grounds ofNew Century AirCenter.
In 1950 theUnited States Air ForceAir Defense Command selected Olathe NAS as a site for one of twenty-eight radar stations built as part of the second segment of the permanent ADC general radar surveillance network for the United States. Prompted by the start of theKorean War, on 11 July 1950, the Secretary of the Air Force asked the Secretary of Defense for approval to expedite construction of the second segment of the permanent network. Olathe was to provide defense radar coverage of the Kansas City area.
Receiving the Defense Secretary's approval on 21 July, the Air Force directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with construction of a radar station on the western part of the ground station, about a mile from the runway and ramp/hangars being used by the Navy. Additional housing units were also constructed at Olathe to accommodate the Air Force personnel. The FederalizedUtah Air National Guard130th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was assigned to the site on 1 June 1951 at the facilities of the 2472d Air Force Reserve Training Command, and initially the station functioned as aGround 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 relieved from active duty and returned to control of the State of Utah on 1 February 1953.
The Ground Air Transmitting Receiving (GATR) Site for communications was located at38°50′27″N094°54′19″W / 38.84083°N 94.90528°W /38.84083; -94.90528 (Ajo AS GATR), approximately 0.4 miles north from the main site. Normally the GATR site was connected by a pair of buried telephone cables, with a backup connection of dual telephone cables overhead. The Coordinate Data Transmitting Set (CDTS) (AN/FST-2) at the main site converted each radar return into a digital word which was transmitted by the GATR via microwave to the Control Center.
The national guardsmen were replaced by the738th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (AC&W) was activated at was designated by ADC asOlathe Air Force Station, being designatedP-72. The squadron began operations in usingAN/CPS-4 andAN/FPS-3 radars. The AN/CPS-4 soon was replaced by anAN/FPS-4 set that in turn was superseded by a pair ofAN/FPS-6A sets in 1958. In 1958 this site also replaced the AN/FPS-3 set with anAN/FPS-20 search radar.
Olathe AFS used these radars in conjunction with theNike missile Army Air-Defense Command Post (AADCP) KC-65DC (1959–1969).[1]
In 1958, theUnited States Army established an Air-Defense Command Post (AADCP)KC-65DC with the Air Force radar station at Olathe forNike missile command-and-control functions as part of theKansas City Defense Area. The site was equipped with the AN/GSG-5(V) BIRDIE solid-state computer system. The Army radars were fully integrated with the Air Force network, and both Army and Air Force personnel operated the radars.
In addition to the main facility, Olathe AFS operated theAN/FPS-14 Gap Filler site:
In late 1959 this station was also performing air-traffic-control duties for theFederal Aviation Administration (FAA). In the early 1960s the search radar was upgraded and redesignated as anAN/FPS-66. During late January 1961 Olathe AFS joined theSemi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, feeding data to DC-22 atSioux City AFS, Iowa. After joining, the squadron was re-designated as the793d Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 February 1962.
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. On 31 July 1963, the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z-72. Over the years, the equipment at the station was upgraded or modified to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the information gathered by the radars.
In September 1968 the Air Force inactivated the738th Radar Squadron due to budget reductions and a general phase-down of Air Defense Command. The Army inactivated the Nike-Hercules AADCP in 1969[2][3][4]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency