Killeen Air Force Station (ADC ID: TM-192) is a closed
United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located west-southwest of
Killeen, Texas
Killeen is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 153,095, making it the 19th-most populous city in Texas and the largest of the three principal cities of Bell County. It is the principal city ...
. It was closed in 1961.
History
Killeen Air Force Station came into existence as part of Phase III of the
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) Mobile Radar program. On October 20, 1953, ADC requested a third phase of twenty-five radar sites be constructed. It was constructed on the existing
Robert Gray AFB to provide radar protection for the
Fort Hood area.
The 814th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was moved to Killeen AFS on 14 February 1957. It operated
AN/FPS-20 search radar and an
AN/FPS-6 height-finder radars at the station, and 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 addition to the main facility, Killeen operated two
AN/FPS-18 Gap Filler sites between April and December 1960:
* Schulenburg, Texas (TM-192B):
* Normangee, Texas (TM-192C):
Killeen was inactivated 1 February 1961 due to budgetary cuts. Today most of the site is unused, but maintained by Fort Hood with most of the buildings being torn down. A radio tower is now on the site. The circular concrete foundation for the AN/FPS-20A search radar tower is clearly visible in aerial imagery.
Air Force units and assignments
Units
* Constituted as the 814th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
: Activated on 8 May 1956 at
Oklahoma City AFS, OK (not manned or equipped)
: Moved to Killeen AFS on 14 February 1957
: Discontinued and inactivated on 1 February 1961
Assignments
*
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 February 1957
*
Oklahoma City Air Defense Sector, 1 January 1960 - 1 February 1961
See also
*
List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations
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).
* 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).
Information for Killeen AFS, TX
{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed
Radar stations of the United States Air Force
Aerospace Defense Command military installations
1957 establishments in Texas
1961 disestablishments in Texas
Installations of the United States Air Force in Texas
Military installations established in 1957
Military installations closed in 1961