Finley Air Force Station

Infobox Military Structure
name= Finley Air Force Station
partof=
location= west of Finley, North Dakota
coordinates= coord|47|30|57|N|097|52|08|W|


caption=
type= Air Force station
code=
built=
builder=
materials=
height=
used= April 1952–December 1979,
April 1952–current (GATR / JSS)
demolished=
condition=
ownership=
controlledby= United States Air Force
garrison= 785 AC&W Sqdn
commanders=
occupants=
battles=
events=

Finley Air Force Station (Finley AFS) was an Aircraft Control and Warning (AC&W) facility at approximately 1550' elevation AMSL, located southwest of Grand Forks, less than one mile west of Finley, in north-eastern North Dakota.

History and lineage

* Activated c. April 1952 as Pinetree Line site P-29;
* Redesignated as USAF site Finley Air Force Station;
* Reallocated c. 1961–c. 1963 as Semi Automatic Ground Environment site Z-29;
* Main site inactivated on 30 December 1979, GATR facility retained as Joint Surveillance System (JSS) operations;
* Main station equipment, buildings, fixtures, furnishings, and land auctioned off in public auction on 9 July 2000.

The GATR site is still operating with an FAA mandate and equipment (designation Z-303, then J-75).

Buildings and facilities

The Ground to Air Transmitter-Receiver (GATR) facility was located off-station at coord|47|30|40|N|097|54|05|W, roughly one mile northwest of the main station.

Assigned units

* 785th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron

Current use

The main Station is closed down and auctioned off, but the GATR site is operating an FAA search radar under the Joint Surveillance System.

References

* cite book
last = Winkler
first = David Frank
authorlink =
coauthors =
editor =
others = Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command
title = Searching the skies : the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program
origdate =
origyear =
origmonth =
url =
format =
accessdate =
accessyear =
accessmonth =
edition =
series =
date =
year = 1997
month =
publisher = Headquarters Air Combat Command
location = Langley AFB, VA
language =
isbn =
oclc =
doi =
id = LCCN|97|0|20912
pages =
chapter =
chapterurl =
quote =

External links

* [http://www.radomes.org/museum US Air Defense Radar museum]