Naselle Air Force Station

Naselle Air Force Station
Part of Air Defense Command (ADC)
Type	Air Force Station
Coordinates	46°25′19″N 123°47′53″W / 46.42194°N 123.79806°W / 46.42194; -123.79806 (Naselle AFS P-57)
Built	1951
In use	1951-1966
Controlled by	United States Air Force
Garrison	759th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron

Naselle AFS

Location of Naselle AFS, Washington

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Naselle Air Force Station (ADC ID: P-57, NORAD ID: Z-57) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 3.9 miles (6.3 km) north of Naselle, Washington. It was closed by the Air Force in 1966.

History

Naselle Air Force Station was one of twenty-eight stations built as part of the second segment of the Air Defense Command permanent radar network. Prompted by the start of the Korean War, on July 11, 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 July 21, the Air Force directed the Corps of Engineers to proceed with construction at the site. The radars being located on a mountain peak about 4 miles north of Naselle, Washington; the station and support facilities being located at the former Fort Stevens, Oregon, on the south side of the Columbia River, about 17 miles south-southwest.

The 759th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was assigned to Naselle AFS on 1 January 1951. The squadron began operating AN/FPS-3 long-range search and AN/FPS-5 height-finder radars, which allowed for the closing of the temporary "Lashup" sites at Fort Stevens, OR (L-36), and Pacific Beach, WA (L-35), which had been operated by the 759th AC&W Squadron beginning in September 1950. 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 1955 an AN/FPS-8 search radar was placed on the site, and subsequently converted to and redesignated as an AN/GPS-3. In 1958 the 759th began operating an AN/FPS-20 search radar, as well as AN/FPS-6 and AN/FPS-6A height-finder radars. In 1962 the AN/FPS-20 was upgraded to become an AN/FPS-67 radar.

In February 1960 Naselle AFS joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, feeding data to DC-12 at McChord AFB, Washington. After joining, the squadron was re-designated as the 759th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 April. 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-57. In 1965 an AN/FPS-26A height-finder was added to the site. The AN/FPS-6A was retired in early 1966.

Naselle Air Force Station was closed on 30 June 1966 due to budget reductions, and the squadron was inactivated. Today, the radar site is now a commercial transmitter site. The Air Force station facilities have been incorporated into the Fort Stevens Historic Site.

Air Force units and assignments

Emblem of the 759th Radar Squadron

Units:

• 759th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, Activated at Naselle AFS, 1 January 1951

Re-designated 759th Radar Squadron, 1 April 1960

Inactivated on 25 June 1966

Assignments:

• 505th Aircraft Control and Warning Group, 1 January 1951
• 25th Air Division, 6 February 1952
• 4704th Defense Wing, 1 January 1953
• 25th Air Division, 8 October 1954
• Seattle Air Defense Sector, 1 March 1960
• 25th Air Division, 1 April-25 June 1966

See also

• List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations

References

	United States Air Force portal
	Military of the United States portal

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of 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.
• Information for Naselle AFS, WA

External links