Red Cliff Air Station (Also known as St. Johns) (ID: N-22, C-22) was a General Surveillance Radar station. The remains of which are located north-northeast of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It was closed in 1961.

History

During World War II a US-manned battery of two 8-inch railway guns was located at Red Cliff, part of

Fort Pepperrell Pepperrell Air Force Base, previously known as Fort Pepperrell, is a decommissioned United States military base located in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada which operated from 1941 to 1961. The base was named in honour of Sir William Pepperr ...

in St. John's.Signal Hill Battery at Fortwiki.com
/ref> The site was established in 1953 as a General Surveillance Radar station, funded by the

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 ...

, one of the many that would make up the

Pinetree Line The Pinetree Line was a series of radar stations located across the northern United States and southern Canada at about the 50th parallel north, along with a number of other stations located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic and Pacific coasts. ...

of Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) radar sites.

Northeast Air Command The Northeast Air Command (NEAC) was a short-lived organization in the United States Air Force tasked with the operation and defense of air bases in Greenland, Labrador and Newfoundland. It was formed in 1950 from the facilities of the United St ...

stationed the

642d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron 64 or sixty-four or ''variation'', may refer to: * 64 (number) Dates * one of the years 64 BC, AD 64, 1864, 1964, 2064, etc. * June 4th (6/4) ** the date of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre * April 6th (6/4) * April 6 AD (6/4) * ...

at the station on 1 January 1953. The site was the most eastern ground radar site in North America of the USAF. It operated the following radars: * Search Radars: AN/FPS-502, AN/CPS-6B * Height Radars: AN/TPS-502, AN/CPS-6B As a GCI base, the 642d's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. These interceptors were assigned to the

64th Air Division The 64th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on 1 July 1963. History World War II The organi ...

Goose AFB Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay , commonly referred to as CFB Goose Bay, is a Canadian Forces Base located in the municipality of Happy Valley-Goose Bay in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is operated as an air force base by ...

, Labrador. The station was reassigned to

Aerospace Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major 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 established in 1946, briefly inac ...

on 1 April 1957, and was given designation "N-22" (later "C-22"). In addition to the main facility, Red Cliff operated 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 ...

manned Gap Filler site: * Elliston Ridge AS (N-22B): (Det 1, 642d AC&WS) The Elliston Ridge site operated between 1957 and 1961 in a relatively isolated location on the

Bonavista Peninsula The Bonavista Peninsula is a large peninsula on the east coast of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It consists of 50 incorporated towns/unincorporated communities which have a population of 12,176 ...

, about 70 miles northwest of the main station. Parts of the station remain intact, although abandoned to the elements since its closure. Broadcasting station CJOZ-FM maintains and transmits from a building and tower on the same property of the Eliston Ridge site. Red Cliff Air Station was closed on 1 October 1961. The site is abandoned, unused since its closure; most of the structures remain.

USAF units and assignments

Units: * Activated as 642d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, 1 August 1953 : Inactivated 1 October 1961 Assignments: *

, 1 January 1953 * 4731st Air Defense Group, 1 April 1957 *

Goose Air Defense Sector The Goose Air Defense Sector (GADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 26th Air Division, being stationed at Goose Air Force Base, Labrador, Canada. It was inactivated on 1 April 1966 and repla ...

, 6 June 1960 – 1 October 1961

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 Red Cliff AS, NL
{{NLMilitary, state=collapsed Installations of the United States Air Force in Canada Radar stations of the United States Air Force Aerospace Defense Command military installations Military installations in Newfoundland and Labrador 1953 establishments in Newfoundland and Labrador 1961 disestablishments in Newfoundland and Labrador Military installations established in 1953 Military installations closed in 1961

History

USAF units and assignments

See also

References