Perrin Air Force Station (ADC ID: RP-78, NORAD ID: Z-78) is a closed

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, 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 ...

General Surveillance Radar station. It is located southeast of North Texas Regional Airport,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. It was closed in 1969.

History

Perrin Air Force Station was established in 1962 as an annex of Duncanville AFS, TX with an

AN/FPS-20 The AN/FPS-20 was a widely used L band early warning and ground-controlled interception radar system employed by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command, the NORAD Pinetree Line in Canada, the USAF CONAD in the continental United States, a ...

search radar and an

AN/FPS-6 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 Stat ...

height-finder radar, 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. At the end of 1963 the site was performing duty as a joint-use facility for the

Federal Aviation Administration 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 ...

and Air Defense Command. In 1964 the

745th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron The 745th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 31st Air Division, Air Defense Command, stationed at Perrin Air Force Station, Texas. It was discontinued on 30 September 19 ...

relocated to Perrin from Duncanville AFS after it was closed. Upon activation it was designated as RP-78, replacing the P-78 site at Duncanville. It was also designated as NORAD site Z-78. Also in 1964 the search radar was upgraded to an

A; in 1965, this radar was further upgraded to an AN/FPS-66. The 745th AC&W Squadron was inactivated on 30 September 1969 and Perrin AFS was closed due to a draw-down of ADC and budget constraints. Today the former radar site is used by small businesses in the area.

Air Force units and assignments

Units: * 745th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, Assigned 1 July 1964 : Inactivated on 30 September 1969 Assignments: *

Oklahoma City Air Defense Sector The Oklahoma City Air Defense Sector (OCADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command's 29th Air Division at Oklahoma City Air Force Station, Oklahoma. History Oklahoma City A ...

, 1 July 1964 *

31st Air Division The 31st Air Division (31st AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, assigned to Tenth Air Force, being stationed at Sioux City Municipal Airport, Iowa. It was inactivated on 31 ...

, 1 April 1966 – 30 September 1969

References

* A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado * Winkler, David F. (1997), Searching the skies: the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program. Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command.
Information for Perrin AFS, TX
{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed Radar stations of the United States Air Force Installations of the United States Air Force in Texas Military installations closed in 1969 Aerospace Defense Command military installations 1964 establishments in Texas 1969 disestablishments in Texas Military installations established in 1964

History

Air Force units and assignments

See also

References