 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Ground Equipment Facility J-36A" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Ground Equipment Facility J-36A | |
|---|---|
| Part of 1951: | |
| Locations | |
| Site information | |
| Type | radar station |
| Code | ADC: LP-39, P-39 USGS: D-4-66-SC JSS: J-36A |
| Controlled by |  United States Air Force |
| Location | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 32°58′37″N118°33′10″W / 32.97694°N 118.55278°W /32.97694; -118.55278 (San Clemente Island AFS P-39) (AFS)[2] 32°53′04.95″N118°27′04.05″W / 32.8847083°N 118.4511250°W /32.8847083; -118.4511250 (Mount Thirst ARSR-4) (ARSR-4)[2] |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1951 |
| In use | ADC: 1951-1960 USGS: 1966 USN: 1972-present |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 670th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron |
Ground Equipment Facility J-36A (San Clemente Island Air Force Station until 1960) is aFederal Aviation Administration (FAA) radar station of theJoint Surveillance System (JSS) in theWestern Air Defense Sector (WADS) ofNORAD.
In World War II,Los Angeles Harbor Defenses included posts on some islands ofSouthern California, e.g. in March 1942, "a 200-manArmy detachment set up two radar stations" on San Clemente Island, and in March 1944,Navy "Seabees built two permanent radar installations[where?] on the island."[3]
San Clemente Island Air Force Station was Permanent System radar station LP-39 which began operations in November 1951 with anAN/TPS-1C general surveillance radar. Designated as one of two offshore radar stations at the Southern California coast, the670th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was activated at the station on 1 February 1952 by the27th Air Division. As an AC&W radar station, the facility provided radar tracks for aManual Air Defense Control Center to directGround control interception (GCI) of unidentified aircraft.
The Air Force Station was upgraded to designation P-39 with a singleAN/FPS-3 radar in May 1952 and anAN/FPS-4 height-finding radar the following year. In 1955 anAN/FPS-8 was added and subsequently converted to anAN/GPS-3 and in 1956, anAN/FPS-6 height-finder replaced the AN/FPS-4. As with otherAir Defense Command stations replaced by facilities of thejoint-use site system (JUSS), San Clemente Island AFS was replaced in 1960, and 670th operations moved to the JUSS RP-39 station atSan Pedro Hill AFS with barracks atFort MacArthur near theProject Nike direction center (part of theLos Angeles Air Defense Area).
In 1960, San Clemente Island[verification needed] transferred to the Navy[4] and the USAF operations building was subsequently used as a Navy photo lab (the AFS site is vacant, deteriorating and difficult to reach.)[opinion]
In 1966 (July 30-August 9),field activityD-4-66-SC of theUnited States Geological Survey in theCoastal and Marine Geology Program used San Clemente Island with aWestern Electric M-33 radar for a study of theBathymetry and Structure of San Clemente Island (e.g., the "CURV vehicle ofNaval Undersea Research and Development Center, was...used for seafloor sampling.")[5]
In 1972 south of the former AFS, the Navy installed anAN/FPS-20 general surveillance radar atMount Thirst (32°53′03″N118°27′03″W / 32.88417°N 118.45083°W /32.88417; -118.45083 (San Clemente Island J-36A)). The FPS-20 was later modified to anAN/FPS-93A in anArctic Tower for range safety and bombing exercises.[6]
In the late 1990s, anAir Route Surveillance Radar (ARSR-4) radar at Mount Thirst replaced the AN/FPS-93A, and is now shared with the Air Force for the JSS program[2] (the FAA maintains the radar for the Navy, but reportedly does not use the data).[citation needed]
The late 1980sStation Tombstone Radar, anAN/SPS-73 surface search radar, is located north of Mt. Thirst.[7]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) (transcribed at"San Clemente Island Range Complex".Historic California Posts. The California State Military Museum. Retrieved2013-03-24.