Aiken Air Force Station is a closed

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

General Surveillance Radar station. It is located north-northeast of Aiken, South Carolina. It was closed in 1975. During World War II, the site was originally constructed by the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

as Aiken Army Air Field.

History

Aiken Army Air Field

The facility was originally constructed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

by the

and named Aiken Army Air Field. The airfield was constructed with three 5'000 foot bituminous runways in an "A" pattern. No known auxiliary airfields were constructed. The airfield and station opened on 24 December 1942 as a satellite airfield of

Morris Army Airfield Morris Army Airfield was a military airport located at Fort Gillem, within the city of Forest Park in Clayton County, Georgia, southwest of the city of Atlanta, Georgia, just east of the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. See ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. On 23 June 1943 the airfield was formally activated and the 66th Tactical Reconnaissance Group arrived. Two subordinate units, the

97th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron The United States Air Force's 97th Intelligence Squadron is an intelligence unit located at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. The squadron was first organized at Kelly Field, Texas in the summer of 1917 as the 97th Aero Squadron. It maintaine ...

and 19th Liaison Squadron arrived the previous day. The 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron replaced the 97th on 29 August 1943. The Warner Robins Air Service Command (WRASC) established a service group training center at the field in the fall of 1943. The training was conducted under the auspices of the 387th Air Service Group, Daniel Field, Georgia.Osbourne, Richard E (1997), World War II Sites in the United States: A Tour Guide & Directory, In May 1944 the 359th Army Air Force Base Unit was assigned host unit. It was assigned to

Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U.S. air forces in E ...

III Tactical Air Command The III Tactical Air Command was a United States Army Air Forces formation. Its last assignment was with Third Air Force stationed at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. It was disbanded on 24 October 1945. The command was established in 1941 as the 3rd ...

13 September 1944 as a group training airfield for reconnaissance units. The airfield became a replacement training airfield for single-engine fighter pilots, training on

P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...

and

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

aircraft, beginning on 19 October 1944. Active flying at the airfield ended on 28 February 1945, and jurisdiction of the base was transferred from Third Air Force to

Air Technical Service Command The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

for disposition on 31 March 1945.AFHRA Document 00188116
/ref> It is also known that Aiken AAF held a branch prisoner of war camp holding about 300 POWs who worked in the local forests. The dates of the POW camp are uncertain. The airfield was turned over to local government authorities afterward and was converted into

Aiken Municipal Airport Aiken Regional Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located five nautical miles (9 km) north of the central business district of Aiken, a city in Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. The airport serves the general aviation c ...

Aiken Air Force Station

In 1955 the United States Air Force exercised a return right to Aiken Municipal Airport and established Aiken Air Force Station as an

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was est ...

(ADC) general surveillance

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

station. This site was initially part of Phase II of the Mobile Radar program. Radars in this network were designated “SM.” Designated as SM-159 Aiken AFS was the first Phase II Mobile Radar system to achieve operational status. During December 1955 the 861st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron began activating AN/FPS-3,

AN/MPS-14 The AN/FPS-6 Radar was a long-range height finding radar used by the United States Air Force's Air Defense Command. The AN/FPS-6 radar was introduced into service in the late 1950s and served as the principal height-finder radar for the United St ...

, and

AN/TPS-10 The AN/FPS-4 Radar was a Height-Finder Radar used by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air ...

D radars. 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 1958 an AN/FPS-20 and an

were operational. The site subsequently received an

AN/FPS-7 The AN/FPS-7 Radar was a Long Range Search Radar used by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command. In the mid-1950s General Electric developed a radar with a search altitude of 100,000 feet and a range of 270 miles. This radar was signific ...

C search radar and an

AN/FPS-26 The Avco AN/FPS-26 Radar was an Air Defense Command height finder radar developed in the Frequency Diversity Program with a tunable 3-cavity power klystron for electronic counter-countermeasures (e.g. to counter jamming). Accepted by the Rome Ai ...

heightfinder radar. During 1961 Aiken AFS joined the

Semi Automatic Ground Environment The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) was a system of large computers and associated networking equipment that coordinated data from many radar sites and processed it to produce a single unified image of the airspace over a wide area. S ...

(SAGE) system, initially feeding data to DC-09 at

Gunter AFB Gunter Annex is a United States Air Force installation located in the North-northeast suburbs of Montgomery, Alabama. The base is named after former Montgomery mayor William Adams Gunter. Until 1992 it was known as Gunter Air Force Base or Gun ...

, Alabama. After joining, the squadron was redesignated as the 861st Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 November 1961. 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-159. In addition, Aiken AFS was incorporated into BUIC I, a manual back-up interceptor control system. BUIC I provided limited command and control capability in the event the SAGE system was disabled. 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 861st was inactivated in June 1975. The

FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

continued to operate the AN/FPS-7C search radar for a few years, while the cantonment area was converted into a minimum-security prison. Dissatisfied with the prison setting, the FAA relocated to

Lincolnton, Georgia The city of Lincolnton is the county seat of Lincoln County, Georgia, Lincoln County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The population was 1,480 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It contains numerous houses and historic dis ...

, where today they continue to operate an

ARSR-3 The Air Route Surveillance Radar is used by the United States Air Force and the Federal Aviation Administration to control airspace within and around the borders of the United States. The ARSR-4 is the FAA's most recent (late 1980s, early 1990s) ...

search radar. The prison was shut down in the mid / late 1990s, and the entire site has since been dismantled.

Air Force units and assignments

Units

Aiken Army Air Field * 66th Tactical Reconnaissance Group : Moved from Camp Campbell, Ky on 22 June 1943 departed for Lebanon, TN ''ca''. 25 October 1943 :: 19th Liaison Squadron :: Moved from Camp Campbell, KY on 23 June 1943, departed for India on 26 February 1944 :: 97th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron :: Moved from Camp Campbell, KY on 23 Jun 1943, departed for Morris Field, NC on 29 August 1943 :: 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron :: Moved from

Statesboro Army Air Field Statesboro is the largest city and county seat of Bulloch County, Georgia, United States, located in the southeastern part of the state. Statesboro is home to the flagship campus of Georgia Southern University and is part of the Savannah–Hines ...

, GA on 29 August 1943, departed for

Key Field Meridian Regional Airport is a joint civil-military public use airport located at Key Field, a joint-use public/military airfield. It is located southwest of Meridian, a city in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, United States. The Meridian Airpo ...

, MS on 25 October 1943 * 25th Service Group : Moved from Greenville AAB, SC in September 1943, departed for India on 13 January 1944 :: 35th Service Squadron :: Moved from Greenville AAB, SC in September 1943, departed for India on 13 January 1944 :: 349th Service Squadron :: Moved from Greenville AAB, SC in September 1943, departed for India on 13 January 1944 * 1332d Guard Squadron : Activated on 25 June 1943, disbanded ''ca''. 1 April 1944 * 127th Liaison Squadron (Commando)/2d Air Commando Group : Moved from Statesboro Army Air Field, GA on 18 May 1944, moved to

Dunnellon Army Air Field Marion County Airport is a county-owned public airport located in the unincorporated area of Dunnellon, in Marion County, Florida, United States. In 2014, the general aviation airport averaged 105 flights per day. The complex features two lighted r ...

, FL on 10 June 1944 * 155th Liaison Squadron (Commando)/2d Air Commando Group : Activated on 10 June 1944, moved to Dunnellon Army Air Field, FL on 12 June 1944 * 156th Liaison Squadron (Commando)/2d Air Commando Group : Moved from Statesboro Army Air Field, GA on 18 May 1944, moved to Dunnellon Army Air Field, FL on 12 June 1944 * 162d Liaison Squadron/III Tactical Air Division : Activated on 15 May 1944, moved to Lafayette Airport, LA on 13 July 1944 * 349th Army Air Forces Base Unit : Organized ''ca''. 1 April 1944, discontinued ''ca''. 28 February 1945 * 4184th Army Air Forces Base Unit : Organized ''ca''. 28 February 1945, discontinued ''ca''. 31 March 1945 Aiken Air Force Station * Constituted as the 861st Aircraft Warning and Control Squadron : Activated at Dobbins AFB (M-87), GA on 8 April 1955 (not manned or equipped) : Assigned to Aiken Air Force Station, SC, 1 December 1955 : Redesignated as 861st Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 November 1961 : Inactivated on 30 June 1975

Assignments

, 24 December 1942 *

First Air Force The First Air Force (Air Forces Northern; 1 AF-AFNORTH) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Its primary mission is the air defense of the Co ...

, 1 May 1944 *

, 28 February 1945 - 31 March 1945 *

35th Air Division The 35th Air Division (35th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, assigned to First Air Force, at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, Hancock Field, New York. It was inac ...

, 1 December 1955 *

32d Air Division The 32d Air Division (32d AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was last active with Air Defense Command, assigned to First Air Force at Gunter Air Force Base, Alabama, where it was inactivated on 31 December 1969. The di ...

, 15 November 1958 *

Montgomery Air Defense Sector The Southeast Air Defense Sector (SEADS), was a unit of the US Air Force located at Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, Florida. It provided air defense and surveillance of the southeastern region of the US. SEADS closed in winter 2005, ...

, 1 July 1961 * 32d Air Division, 1 April 1966 *

33d Air Division The 33rd Air Division (33d AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, assigned to First Air Force, being stationed at Fort Lee Air Force Station, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 ...

, 14 November 1969 *

20th Air Division The 20th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Tactical Air Command at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida where it was inactivated on 1 March 1983. During most of the division's history it ...

, 19 November 1959 - 30 June 1975

References

* Cornett, Lloyd H. and Johnson, Mildred W.,
A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980
', Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson AFB, CO (1980). * Maurer, Maurer (ed.),
Air Force Combat Units of World War II
, Office of Air Force History, Washington, DC, 1961 (reprint 1983) . * Maurer, Maurer. (ed.),
Combat Squadrons of the Air Force
' Office of Air Force History, Washington, DC, 1969 (reprint 1982) . * Winkler, David F. & Webster, Julie L.,
Searching the Skies
', The Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program, US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories, Champaign, IL (1997).

External links

Information for Aiken AFS, SC
* {{USAAF 3d Air Force World War II Installations of the United States Air Force in South Carolina Buildings and structures in Aiken County, South Carolina Airports in South Carolina Radar stations of the United States Air Force Aerospace Defense Command military installations 1955 establishments in South Carolina Military airbases established in 1955 1975 disestablishments in South Carolina Military installations closed in 1975