Wadena Air Force Station (ADC ID: P-17, NORAD ID: Z-17) 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 north-northeast of

Wadena, Minnesota Wadena ( ) is a city in Otter Tail and Wadena counties in the State of Minnesota. It is about one hundred sixty miles northwest of the Minneapolis – Saint Paul metro area. The population was 4,325 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat ...

. It was closed in 1970.

History

In late 1951

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 ...

selected Finland, Minnesota site as one of twenty-eight radar stations built as part of the second segment of the permanent radar surveillance network. Prompted by the start of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, on July 11, 1950, the Secretary of the Air Force asked the Secretary of Defense for approval to expedite construction of the second segment of the permanent network. Receiving the Defense Secretary's approval on July 21, the Air Force directed the Corps of Engineers to proceed with construction. Wadena Air Force Station began at Leaf River, Minnesota when the

Minnesota Air National Guard The Minnesota Air National Guard (MN ANG) is the aerial militia of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is, along with the Minnesota Army National Guard, an element of the Minnesota National Guard. As state militia units, the units in the Minnesota Ai ...

132d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was federalized during the

and began operations on 1 June 1951 under the 543d Aircraft Control and Warning Group; 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. The Guardsmen operated

AN/FPS-3 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 ...

and

AN/FPS-4 The AN/FPS-4 Radar was a Height-Finder Radar used by the 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 unifor ...

radars until relieved from active duty and returned to control of the State of Minnesota on 1 February 1953. The 739th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron began the radars in June 1952, the site being re-designated as Wadena AFS on 1 December 1953. The AN/FPS-4 unit was superseded in 1956 by 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. In 1958 this site was operating 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 ...

radar. During 1959 Wadena AFS joined the

Semi Automatic Ground Environment The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) was a system of large computers and associated networking equipment that coordinated data from many radar sites and processed it to produce a single unified image of the airspace over a wide area. S ...

(SAGE) system, initially feeding data to DC-11 at

Grand Forks AFB Grand Forks Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in northeastern North Dakota, located north of Emerado and west of Grand Forks. The host unit is the 319th Reconnaissance Wing (319 RW) assigned to the Air Combat C ...

, North Dakota. After joining, the squadron was re-designated as the 739th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 15 January 1960. The radar squadron provided information 24/7 the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine range, direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile. In 1963, Wadena was switched to the SAGE DC-10 Data Center at

Duluth AFS Duluth Air National Guard Base is a United States Air National Guard base located on the grounds of Duluth International Airport. It is home to the 148th Fighter Wing. History The City of Duluth purchased the original property for the airport in ...

, Minnesota. 1959 also saw the arrival of a second height-finder radar (AN/FPS-6A). In 1961 the search radar was upgraded and redesignated as an

AN/FPS-64 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 ...

. During 1963 the AN/FPS-6A height-finder radar was modified to an

AN/FPS-90 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 ...

, and on 31 July 1963, the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z-17. In 1967 the search radar was upgraded to an

A. The AN/FPS-90 was removed in 1969. In addition to the main facility, Wadena operated the following

AN/FPS-18 The AN/FPS-18 was a medium-range search Radar used by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command.http://www.bendixradiofoundation.com/documents/Bendix%20Radio%20Radar%20History.pdf This medium-range search radar was designed and built by Bend ...

Gap Filler sites: * Elbow Lake, MN (P-17A) * Bagley, MN (P-17B) Over the years, the equipment at the station was upgraded or modified to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the information gathered by the radars. The Air Force inactivated the 739th Radar Squadron (SAGE) in September 1970 due to budget reductions. Today, the former Wadena Air Force Station is now the Bell Hill Recovery Center. Many former USAF buildings in-use.

Air Force units and assignments

Units: * 739th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, Activated at Leaf River, Minnesota, 1 February 1953 : Site re-designated Wadena Air Force Station, 1 December 1953 : Re-designated 739th Radar Squadron (SAGE), 15 January 1960 : Inactivated on 30 September 1970 Assignments: *

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 February 1953 *

29th Air Division The 29th Air Division (29th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, being stationed at Duluth International Airport, Minnesota. It was inactivated on 15 November 1969. History ...

, 1 January 1959 *

Grand Forks Air Defense Sector The Grand Forks Air Defense Sector (GFADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 29th Air Division, being stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota. It was inacti ...

, 1 April 1959 *

Duluth Air Defense Sector The Duluth Air Defense Sector (DUADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 29th Air Division, being stationed at Duluth Airport, Minnesota. It was inactivated on 1 April 19 ...

, 4 September 1963 *

, 1 April 1966 *

34th Air Division The 34th Air Division (34th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command at Custer Air Force Station, Michigan. It was inactivated on 31 December 1969. History Assigned to Air Def ...

, 15 September 1969 *

, 14 November 1969 * 23d Air Division, 19 November 1969 – 30 September 1970

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 Wadena AFS, MN
{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed Installations of the United States Air Force in Minnesota Semi-Automatic Ground Environment sites Aerospace Defense Command military installations 1952 establishments in Minnesota Military installations established in 1952 1970 disestablishments in Minnesota Military installations closed in 1970

History

Air Force units and assignments

See also

References