Rye Air Force Station (ADC ID: M-104) 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 southeast of

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsmou ...

in what is now

Odiorne Point State Park Odiorne Point State Park is a public recreation area located on the Atlantic seacoast in the town of Rye near Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Among the park's features are the Seacoast Science Center and the remains of the World War II Fort Dearborn ...

. It was closed in 1957.

History

Rye AFS was part of the planned deployment of 44 mobile radar stations by

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 ...

in 1952 to provide protection for Strategic Air Command Bases (such as the nearby

Pease Air Force Base Pease, in Middle English, was a noun referring to the vegetable pea; see that article for its etymology. The word survives into modern English in pease pudding. Pease may also refer to: People * Pease family (Darlington), a prominent family in D ...

) and to support the permanent deployment of the 75 stations of the ADC radar network around the perimeter of the country. This deployment had been projected to be operational by mid-1952. Funding, constant site changes, construction, and equipment delivery delayed deployment. Constructed at the former

Fort Dearborn Fort Dearborn was a United States fort built in 1803 beside the Chicago River, in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secretary of War. ...

coastal artillery site, the station became operational in 1956 when the 644th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron activated an

AN/TPS-1 The AN/TPS-1 Radar was an early warning and tactical control radar developed by Bell Labs and the MIT Radiation Laboratory during World War II. Initially used by the US Army, it was later used by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command, a ...

D radar at the site, 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 An interceptor aircraft, or simply interceptor, is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically for the defensive interception role against an attacking enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Aircraft that are cap ...

toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. It was soon closed due to a budget reduction in 1957. The site was re-equipped with an

AN/FPS-14 The AN/FPS-14 was a medium-range search Radar used by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command. This medium-range search radar was designed and built by Bendix as a SAGE system gap-filler radar to provide low-altitude coverage. Operating i ...

and became an unmanned Gap Filler for

North Truro AFS North Truro Air Force Station (AFS) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located east of North Truro, Massachusetts. Most of the site was inactivated by 1994 and turned over to the National Park Servic ...

, Massachusetts, as site Fort Dearborn, P-10B. It was finally closed in June 1968. Today, the site is the location of

. Many former parts of Fort Dearborn remain. Rye AFS has been obliterated.

References

* 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 Rye AFS, NH

External links

{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed Installations of the United States Air Force in New Hampshire Radar stations of the United States Air Force Aerospace Defense Command military installations 1956 establishments in New Hampshire 1957 disestablishments in New Hampshire Military installations established in 1956 Military installations closed in 1957

History

See also

References

External links