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Port Austin Air Force Station | |
|---|---|
| Part ofAir Defense Command (ADC) | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Air Force Station |
| Controlled by |  United States Air Force |
| Location | |
  Port Austin AFS Location of Port Austin AFS, Michigan | |
| Coordinates | 44°01′49″N083°00′06″W / 44.03028°N 83.00167°W /44.03028; -83.00167 (Port Austin AFS P-61) |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1951 |
| In use | 1951–1988 |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 754th Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron |
Port Austin Air Force Station (ADC ID: P-61, NORAD ID: Z-61) is a closedUnited States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 1.2 miles (1.9 km) south-southwestPort Austin, Michigan. It was closed in 1988 by the Air Force.
After the station's closure, it was replaced by theFederal Aviation Administration (FAA) atCanton, Michigan (near Detroit)42°16′36″N083°28′27″W / 42.27667°N 83.47417°W /42.27667; -83.47417 (Canton J-62) as part of theJoint Surveillance System (JSS), designated byNORAD asEastern Air Defense Sector (EADS) Ground Equipment Facility J-62.
Port Austin Air Force Station was one of twenty-eight stations built as part of the second segment of theAir Defense Command permanent radar network. 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 permanent network. Receiving the Defense Secretary's approval on 21 July, the Air Force directed the Corps of Engineers to proceed with construction.
The 754th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was initially activated on 27 November 1950 at a temporary site atOscoda AFB,[1] Michigan (L-20) with anAN/TPS-1B radar. It was assigned to Port Austin in July 1951[1] and began operating an AN/TPS-1C. The site then joined thePermanent radar network, and the squadron began using anAN/FPS-3 set, 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.
AnAN/CPS-4 was added in 1954. This radar was replaced in 1957 by anAN/FPS-6 height-finder radar. A second AN/FPS-6 height-finder radar was added a year later. In 1958 this site began operating anAN/FPS-20 radar, which replaced the AN/FPS-3.
During 1959 Port Austin AFS joined theSemi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, feeding data to DC-06 atCuster AFS, Michigan. After joining, the squadron was redesignated as the 754th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 September 1959. 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 early 1962 the site received and operated anAN/FPS-24 search radar, and the AN/FPS-20 was retired. On 31 July 1963, the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z-61. In 1963 anAN/FPS-26A height-finder radar (serial # 51) was installed, and one AN/FPS-6 was removed later that year. The other AN/FPS-6 was removed in 1968.
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. The site came underTactical Air Command control in October 1979 with the inactivation of Aerospace Defense Command and the transfer of the site to Air Defense, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC).
Circa 1982, the main bearing of the AN/FPS-24 search radar failed catastrophically. TheFAA long-range radar site at Canton (Detroit), MI, was then used as a temporary data-tie site until anAN/FPS-91A search radar could be installed at Port Austin AFS in 1983. Also, the AN/FPS-26A was replaced by anAN/FPS-116 height-finder radar for the JSS Program. The site remained in use as an Air Force site until 30 September 1988 when it was closed altogether, again replaced by the FAA radar site at Canton.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
