History of the Aircraft Control and Warning System in Alaska

140 Pages·2013·19.8 MB·English

History of the Aircraft Control and
Warning System in Alaska:
Air Defense of Arctic Skies

Prepared for the United States Air Force, Pacific Air Forces, Eleventh Air Force,
611th Air Support Group
Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska

By
Argonne National Laboratory,
Argonne, Illinois
(2002)

Edited/Updated By
Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands,
Fort Collins, Colorado
(2013)
Cover: Campion Aircraft Control and Warning Installation (1961).
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................................... i

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................. v

PREFACE .............................................................................................................................. ix

1.0 HISTORIC CONTEXT .......................................................................................... 1
1.1 Global Events and National Strategic Context ....................................................... 1
1.2 Alaska State Context ............................................................................................... 6
1.2.1 Military Buildup in Alaska ..................................................................................... 6
1.2.2 Economic Effects of the Military Buildup in Alaska .............................................. 10
1.2.3 Social Effects of the Military Buildup in Alaska .................................................... 11

2.0 AIRCRAFT CONTROL AND WARNING SYSTEM HISTORY ........................ 13
2.1 Aircraft Control and Warning System: 1951 to 1965 ............................................. 13
2.1.1 Conception and Planning ........................................................................................ 13
2.1.2 Construction ............................................................................................................ 15
2.1.3 Design Issues .......................................................................................................... 18
2.1.4 Radar Equipment and Upgrades ............................................................................. 20
2.1.5 Operational Challenges ........................................................................................... 21
2.1.6 Other Alaskan Radar Developments ....................................................................... 23
2.1.7 Integration with Forward Operation Bases ............................................................. 25
2.1.8 Communication ....................................................................................................... 26
2.2 Aircraft Control and Warning System: 1965 to Present ......................................... 28

3.0 INDIVIDUAL AIRCRAFT CONTROL AND WARNING SYSTEM SITES ...... 31
3.1 Murphy Dome ......................................................................................................... 32
3.2 Fire Island ............................................................................................................... 34
3.3 King Salmon ........................................................................................................... 35
3.4 Tatalina ................................................................................................................... 39
3.5 Campion .................................................................................................................. 41
3.6 Cape Lisburne ......................................................................................................... 43
3.7 Cape Romanzof ....................................................................................................... 47
3.8 Tin City ................................................................................................................... 49
3.9 Northeast Cape ........................................................................................................ 51
3.10 Cape Newenham ..................................................................................................... 53
3.11 Indian Mountain ...................................................................................................... 56
3.12 Sparrevohn .............................................................................................................. 59
3.13 Kotzebue ................................................................................................................. 63
3.14 Ohlson Mountain .................................................................................................... 65
3.15 Fort Yukon .............................................................................................................. 67
3.16 Middleton Island ..................................................................................................... 70
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History of the Aircraft Control and Warning System
3.17 Unalakleet ............................................................................................................... 71
3.18 Bethel ...................................................................................................................... 72

4.0 AIRCRAFT CONTROL AND WARNING SYSTEM REMBRANCES .............. 73
4.1 Geographic Influences ............................................................................................ 73
4.2 Weather ................................................................................................................... 75
4.3 Wildlife ................................................................................................................... 78
4.4 Local People............................................................................................................ 79
4.5 Health Issues ........................................................................................................... 80
4.6 Buildings ................................................................................................................. 81
4.7 Construction ............................................................................................................ 82
4.8 Electronic Equipment.............................................................................................. 83
4.9 Support Facilities .................................................................................................... 84
4.10 Transportation ......................................................................................................... 85
4.11 Supplies/Requisition ............................................................................................... 86
4.12 Lifestyles ................................................................................................................. 87
4.12.1 Daily Activities ....................................................................................................... 87
4.12.2 Dining Hall and Food.............................................................................................. 88
4.12.3 Recreational Amenities ........................................................................................... 89
4.12.4 Morale ..................................................................................................................... 91
4.12.5 Memorable Experiences.......................................................................................... 92
4.13 Mission Operations ................................................................................................. 94

5.0 NATIONAL REGISTER ELIGIBILITY ............................................................... 95

6.0 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................... 97

APPENDIX A: RADAR HISTORY .................................................................................... 107
A.1 Radar Concepts ....................................................................................................... 107
A2 Historic Development ............................................................................................. 108
A.3 Radar Development During World War II ............................................................. 110
A.4 Post World War II Radar Development .................................................................. 111
A.5 Radar Components .................................................................................................. 112
A.6 Types of Radar Systems.......................................................................................... 114
A.6.1 Simple-Pulse Radar ................................................................................................. 114
A.6.2 Moving-Target Indication Radar ............................................................................ 115
A.6.3 Airborne Moving-Target Indication Radar ............................................................. 115
A.6.4 Pulse Doppler Radar ............................................................................................... 115
A.6.5 High-Range Resolution Radar ................................................................................ 115
A.6.6 Pulse-Compression Radar ....................................................................................... 115
A.6.7 Synthetic Aperture Radar ........................................................................................ 116
A.6.8 Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar ........................................................................... 116
A.6.9 Side-Looking Airborne Radar................................................................................. 116
A.6.10 Imaging Radar ......................................................................................................... 116
A.6.11 Tracking Radar........................................................................................................ 116
A.6.12 Track-While-Scan Radar ........................................................................................ 116
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A.6.13 Three Dimensional Radar ....................................................................................... 116
A.6.14 Electronically Scanned Phased-Array Radar .......................................................... 117
A.6.15 Continuous-Wave Radar ........................................................................................ 117
A.6.16 Frequency-Modulated Continuous Wave Radar ..................................................... 117
A.7 Radar Performance.................................................................................................. 117
A.8 Comparison of Civil and Military Requirements for Radar ................................... 119
A.9 Evolution of Aircraft Control and Warning Systems ............................................. 121
A.9.1 Temporary System Radars (pre-Permanent System) .............................................. 121
A.9.2 Permanent System Radars....................................................................................... 123
A.10 References ............................................................................................................... 124

APPENDIX B: SURVEY PARTICIPANT BIOGRAPHIES .............................................. 125

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Acronyms and Abbreviations
ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

The following is a list of the acronyms and abbreviations used in this document.

AAA antiaircraft artillery
AAB Army Air Base
AAC Alaska Air Command
AB Air Base
ABM Anti-Ballistic Missile
ACHP Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
ACWG Aircraft Control and Warning Group
ACWS Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
AC&W Aircraft Control and Warning
ADC Air Defense Command
ADCC air defense control centers
ADT automatic detection and tracking
AF Air Force
AFB Air Force Base
ALASCOM RCA, Alaska Communications, Inc.
ALCOM Alaskan Command
ALSEAFRON Alaskan Sea Frontier
AN Army-Navy
ANG Air National Guard
ANR Alaskan NORAD Region
ARS Alaska Radar System
AS Air Station
ASG Air Support Group
AWACS airborne warning and control system

BMEWS Ballistic Missile Early Warning System
BOMARC Boeing-Michigan Aeronautical Research Center

CC Commander-in-Chief
CEMML Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands
CES Civil Engineer Squadron
CINCAL Commander-in-chief, Alaskan Command
CRT cathode-ray tube
CW continuous-wave

DEW Distant Early Warning

EW Early Warning
EWS Early Warning System

FAA Federal Aviation Administration
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History of the Aircraft Control and Warning System
FD frequency diversity
FM-CW frequency-modulated - continuous-wave
FOB forward operating base

GCI ground-controlled interception
GE General Electric
GOC Ground Observers Corps

HABS Historic American Buildings Survey
HF high frequency
HO History Office

ICBM intercontinental ballistic missile
ISAR inverse synthetic aperture radar

JBER Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson
JCS Joint Chiefs of Staff
JSS Joint Surveillance System

LF low frequency
LRRS long range radar site
Lt. lieutenant

MAD mutual assured destruction
MAR minimally attended radar
MARS Military Affiliate Radio System
MHz megahertz
MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology
mm millimeter
MOA Memorandum of Agreement
mph mile per hour
MTI moving-target indication

NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NCO noncommissioned officer
NORAD North American Air Defense Command
NPS National Park Service
NRHP National Register of Historic Places
NRL Naval Research Laboratory
NSC National Security Council

OTH over-the-horizon

POL petroleum, oil, and lubricant
PPI plan position indicator
PRF pulse repetition frequency
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Acronyms and Abbreviations
PX post exchange
Radar radio detection and ranging
RCA Radio Corporation of America
RHI range-height indicator
ROCC Regional Operations Control Center

s second(s)
µs microsecond(s)
SAGE semi-automated ground environment
SALT Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
SAR synthetic aperture radar
SCR Signal Corps Radar
Sgt. Sergeant
SHPO State Historic Preservation Office
SLAR side-looking airborne radar
SLBM submarine-launched ballistic missile
SPASUR Space Surveillance
SRRS short range radar site
SSgt. Staff Sergeant
STC sensitivity time control

TACAN Tactical Air Control and Navigation
TCG Tactical Control Group
TWC Tactical Contact Wing
TU-4 Tupolev-4

UHF ultra-high frequency
US United States
USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union)
USAF United States Air Force
USARAL United States Army, Alaska
USO United Service Organizations

VHF very-high frequency

WACS White Alice Communications System

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