Hawes Radio Relay Facility (also known as the Hawes Radio Tower) was a

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 ...

installation built on the site of the former

Hawes Airfield Victorville Army Airfield auxiliary fields were four airfields used during World War II to support the Victorville Army Airfield pilot training near Victorville, California, and Adelanto, California. After the war the Victorville Army Airfiel ...

Hinkley, California Hinkley is an unincorporated community in the Mojave Desert, in San Bernardino County, California, United States, 14 miles (23 km) northwest of Barstow, 59 miles (95 km) east of Mojave, north of Victorville and about a 120 mile (193 ...

, USA at . The site contained a guyed mast antenna and hardened underground facility used for the

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

's AN/FRC-117 Survivable Low Frequency Communications System. Detachment 2, 33rd Communications Group at

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, ran the site until its inactivation in 1986.

Mission

The mission of Detachment 2 (Hawes Radio Relay Site) was to provide the

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, the Commander-in-Chief of Strategic Air Command (CINCSAC), SAC Headquarters, the Airborne Command Post (ABNCP), and the SAC Force with a Survivable Low Frequency Communications System for passing record communications between the above agencies. Hawes provided SAC Emergency War Order communications before, during and after a potential nuclear attack, acted as the alternate ground station for the SAC ABNCP, and relayed secure record communications with the Automatic Digital Network (AUTODIN).Air Force Historical Research Agency: "33d Communications Group History, 1 January - 31 December 1982

History

Activation

The SAC SLFCS site at Hawes was activated on 3 Apr 1967 as a project assigned to the 33d Communications Squadron, Air Force. The site was accepted by Headquarters USAF on 31 May 1968, and was activated for continuous operations a day later. On 19 Jul 1968,

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assumed maintenance responsibility. Hawes was located in the Mojave Desert, approximately 100 miles northeast of

, and 40 miles east of Edwards AFB. Site personnel lived on Edwards AFB, and took a shuttle bus to the site.

Deactivation

During the Fiscal Year 1987-1991 Program Objective Memorandum development, Headquarters

SAC SAC or Sac may refer to: Organizations Education * Santa Ana College, California, US * San Antonio College, Texas, US * St. Andrew's College, Aurora, Canada * Students' Administrative Council, University of Toronto, Canada * SISD Student Activiti ...

, determined Hawes was no longer needed to perform the SLFCS mission. HQ SAC Program Directive 01-85, titled "Hawes SLFCS Transmitter Site Deactivation", outlined the steps needed to shut the site down. On 30 September 1986, at 1601 local time (1 Oct 1986, 0001Z), the main power breaker for the transmitter was permanently turned off. Minutes before, Hawes transmitted one final SLFCS message, commemorating its 18 years of operation.

Facility

Hawes Radio Tower was a mast radiator insulated against ground, which provided

VLF Very low frequency or VLF is the ITU designation for radio frequencies (RF) in the range of 3–30 kHz, corresponding to wavelengths from 100 to 10 km, respectively. The band is also known as the myriameter band or myriameter wave as ...

communication to ground and mobile

nuclear missile Nuclear weapons delivery is the technology and systems used to place a nuclear weapon at the position of detonation, on or near its target. Several methods have been developed to carry out this task. ''Strategic'' nuclear weapons are used primari ...

facilities during the

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. It transmitted at a maximum power of 100 kW. The facility was partially built into the ground and was designed to withstand a moderate nuclear blast at a distance of 10 miles. The facility was self-sustaining, and employed a sophisticated ventilation system and backup diesel generators.

Post USAF operations

In the mid-1980s, the site was given up, and in 1986, the mast was demolished by explosives. The two-story bunker, left abandoned, became a popular hang-out site for local teenagers. It also became a center for wild and sometimes violent parties. The interior was blackened from numerous bonfires and riddled with graffiti. In addition, holes and debris created by the radio tower demolition, as well as standing water in the basement after rains, made navigating the dark interior of the bunker extremely dangerous. The bunker was demolished by the

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and Air Force in April–May 2008 after two local teenagers, Christopher Cody Thompson of Apple Valley and Bodhisattva "Bodhi" Sherzer-Potter of Helendale, were found murdered in the bunker on January 5 after a robbery attempt. Collin Lee McGlaughlin was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder. A second defendant, Cameron Thomson, 22, also of Covina, pleaded guilty to two counts of voluntary manslaughter and two counts of attempted robbery after agreeing to a plea bargain and was sentenced to 15 years. A third suspect, David Brian Smith, was sentenced to 50 years to life in 2016.

Photo gallery

File:Hawes Antenna Base.jpg, Base of antenna

References

{{Reflist

External links

* http://www.airfields-freeman.com/CA/Airfields_CA_PalmdaleN.htm * http://ludb.clui.org/ex/i/CA4997/ * http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?b63081 * http://www.mojavetreks.com/Hawes%20Journal%20Page%201.html This is a very detailed photo blog with pictures of the facility when it was in use.

Some pictures of the inside of the facility prior to demolition * https://web.archive.org/web/20071023035041/http://community.livejournal.com/abandonedplaces/1032897.html More pictures from the same site Cold War military history of the United States Towers in California Buildings and structures in San Bernardino County, California United States nuclear command and control History of San Bernardino County, California Radio masts and towers in the United States 1967 establishments in California 1986 disestablishments in California Installations of the United States Air Force in California Installations of Strategic Air Command