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Aiken Air Force Station
Aiken Army Air Field
Part of Air Defense Command (ADC)
1964 USAF Photo
Aiken AFS
Coordinates	33°38′46″N 081°40′36″W / 33.64611°N 81.67667°W / 33.64611; -81.67667 (Aiken AFS SM-159)
Type	Air Force Station
Code	ADC ID: SM-159, NORAD ID: Z-159
Site information
Controlled by	United States Air Force
Site history
Built	1955
In use	1955-1975
Garrison information
Garrison	861st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron

Aiken Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 6.4 miles (10.3 km) north-northeast of Aiken, South Carolina. It was closed in 1975.

During World War II, the site was originally constructed by the United States Army Air Forces as Aiken Army Air Field.

History

Aiken Army Air Field

The facility was originally constructed during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces and named Aiken Army Air Field. The airfield was constructed with three 5'000 foot bituminous runways in an "A" pattern. No known auxiliary airfields were constructed. The airfield and station opened on 24 December 1942 as a satellite airfield of Morris Army Airfield, North Carolina.

On 23 June 1943 the airfield was formally activated and the 66th Tactical Reconnaissance Group arrived. Two subordinate units, the 97th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron and 19th Liaison Squadron arrived the previous day. The 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron replaced the 97th on 29 August 1943. The Warner Robins Air Service Command (WRASC) established a service group training center at the field in the fall of 1943. The training was conducted under the auspices of the 387th Air Service Group, Daniel Field, Georgia.

In May 1944 the 359th Army Air Force Base Unit was assigned host unit. It was assigned to Third Air Force, III Tactical Air Command 13 September 1944 as a group training airfield for reconnaissance units. The airfield became a replacement training airfield for single-engine fighter pilots, training on P-40 Warhawk and P-51 Mustang aircraft, beginning on 19 October 1944. Active flying at the airfield ended on 28 February 1945, and jurisdiction of the base was transferred from Third Air Force to Air Technical Service Command for disposition on 31 March 1945.

It is also known that Aiken AAF held a branch prisoner of war camp holding about 300 POWs who worked in the local forests. The dates of the POW camp are uncertain. The airfield was turned over to local government authorities afterward and was converted into Aiken Municipal Airport.

Aiken Air Force Station

In 1955 the United States Air Force exercised a return right to Aiken Municipal Airport and established Aiken Air Force Station as an Air Defense Command (ADC) general surveillance radar station. This site was initially part of Phase II of the Mobile Radar program. Radars in this network were designated "SM."

Designated as SM-159 Aiken AFS was the first Phase II Mobile Radar system to achieve operational status. During December 1955 the 861st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron began activating AN/FPS-3, AN/MPS-14, and AN/TPS-10D radars. 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 1958 an AN/FPS-20 and an AN/MPS-14 were operational. The site subsequently received an AN/FPS-7C search radar and an AN/FPS-26 heightfinder radar. During 1961 Aiken AFS joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, initially feeding data to DC-09 at Gunter AFB, Alabama. After joining, the squadron was redesignated as the 861st Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 November 1961. 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.

On 31 July 1963, the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z-159. In addition, Aiken AFS was incorporated into BUIC I, a manual back-up interceptor control system. BUIC I provided limited command and control capability in the event the SAGE system was disabled. 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 861st was inactivated in June 1975.

The FAA continued to operate the AN/FPS-7C search radar for a few years, while the cantonment area was converted into a minimum-security prison. Dissatisfied with the prison setting, the FAA relocated to Lincolnton, Georgia, where today they continue to operate an ARSR-3 search radar. The prison was shut down in the mid / late 1990s, and the entire site has since been dismantled.

Air Force units and assignments

Units

Aiken Army Air Field

• 66th Tactical Reconnaissance Group

Moved from Camp Campbell, Ky on 22 June 1943 departed for Lebanon, TN ca. 25 October 1943

19th Liaison Squadron

Moved from Camp Campbell, KY on 23 June 1943, departed for India on 26 February 1944

97th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron

Moved from Camp Campbell, KY on 23 Jun 1943, departed for Morris Field, NC on 29 August 1943

118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron

Moved from Statesboro Army Air Field, GA on 29 August 1943, departed for Key Field, MS on 25 October 1943

• 25th Service Group

Moved from Greenville AAB, SC in September 1943, departed for India on 13 January 1944

35th Service Squadron

Moved from Greenville AAB, SC in September 1943, departed for India on 13 January 1944

349th Service Squadron

Moved from Greenville AAB, SC in September 1943, departed for India on 13 January 1944

• 1332d Guard Squadron

Activated on 25 June 1943, disbanded ca. 1 April 1944

• 127th Liaison Squadron (Commando)/2d Air Commando Group

Moved from Statesboro Army Air Field, GA on 18 May 1944, moved to Dunnellon Army Air Field, FL on 10 June 1944

• 155th Liaison Squadron (Commando)/2d Air Commando Group

Activated on 10 June 1944, moved to Dunnellon Army Air Field, FL on 12 June 1944

• 156th Liaison Squadron (Commando)/2d Air Commando Group

Moved from Statesboro Army Air Field, GA on 18 May 1944, moved to Dunnellon Army Air Field, FL on 12 June 1944

• 162d Liaison Squadron/III Tactical Air Division

Activated on 15 May 1944, moved to Lafayette Airport, LA on 13 July 1944

• 349th Army Air Forces Base Unit

Organized ca. 1 April 1944, discontinued ca. 28 February 1945

• 4184th Army Air Forces Base Unit

Organized ca. 28 February 1945, discontinued ca. 31 March 1945

Aiken Air Force Station

• Constituted as the 861st Aircraft Warning and Control Squadron

Activated at Dobbins AFB (M-87), GA on 8 April 1955 (not manned or equipped)

Assigned to Aiken Air Force Station, SC, 1 December 1955

Redesignated as 861st Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 November 1961

Inactivated on 30 June 1975

Assignments

• Third Air Force, 24 December 1942
• First Air Force, 1 May 1944
• Air Technical Service Command, 28 February 1945 – 31 March 1945
• 35th Air Division, 1 December 1955
• 32d Air Division, 15 November 1958
• Montgomery Air Defense Sector, 1 July 1961
• 32d Air Division, 1 April 1966
• 33d Air Division, 14 November 1969
• 20th Air Division, 19 November 1959 – 30 June 1975

See also

• South Carolina World War II Army Airfields
• List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

1. AFHRA Document 00169020
2. AFHRA Document 00169021, and Maurer, Maurer (ed.), ‘’Air Force Combat Units of World War II’’, Office of Air Force History, Washington, DC, 1961 (reprint 1983)
3. Maurer, Maurer. (ed.), Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, Office of Air Force History, Washington, DC, 1969 (reprint 1982), pp. 103, 324
4. Ibid. pp. 324, 346
5. ^ Osbourne, Richard E (1997), World War II Sites in the United States: A Tour Guide & Directory, ISBN 0962832413
6. AFHRA Document 00169022
7. AFHRA Document 00188116

• Cornett, Lloyd H. and Johnson, Mildred W., A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980 Archived 2016-02-13 at the Wayback Machine, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson AFB, CO (1980).
• Maurer, Maurer (ed.), "Air Force Combat Units of World War II", Office of Air Force History, Washington, DC, 1961 (reprint 1983) ISBN 0-912799-02-1.
• Maurer, Maurer. (ed.), Combat Squadrons of the Air Force Office of Air Force History, Washington, DC, 1969 (reprint 1982) ISBN 0-405-12194-6.
• 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).

External links

• Information for Aiken AFS, SC
• FAA Terminal Procedures for AIK, effective November 28, 2024
• Resources for this airport:
  • FAA airport information for AIK
  • AirNav airport information for KAIK
  • ASN accident history for AIK
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart, Terminal Procedures

v t e Aerospace Defense Command (ADC)
Bases	CONUS Amarillo Beale Charleston Davis-Monthan Dobbins Dover Dow Duluth Eglin Edwards Ellington Ellsworth England Ent Ethan Allen Fairfax Fallon Fort Gregg-Adams Fort Heath Geiger George Glasgow Grand Forks Grenier Griffiss Gunter Hamilton Hancock Homestead Hurlburt Hunter Imeson Key West Kincheloe Kingsley Kirtland Lackland Laredo Larson Luke MacDill March Malmstrom McCoy McChord McClellan McGhee Tyson McGuire Minneapolis-St. Paul Minot Mitchel New Castle Niagara Falls Norton O'Hare Otis Oxnard Paine Perrin Peterson Pittsburgh Portland Presque Isle R.I. Bong Richards-Gebaur Robins K.I. Sawyer Selfridge Seymour Johnson Sioux City Stead Stewart Suffolk County Tinker Travis Truax Tyndall Vandenberg Vincent Walker Webb Westover Wright-Patterson Wurtsmith Youngstown Overseas Ernest Harmon Frobisher Bay Goose Keflavik McAndrew Pepperrell Thule
Stations	CONUS Adair Aiken Almaden Alpena Antigo Arlington Heights Baker Bedford Bellefontaine Belleville Benton Blaine Brookfield Brunswick Bucks Harbor Burns Calumet Cambria Cape Charles Cape Cod Carmi Caswell Chandler Charleston Cheyenne Mountain Claysburg Clear Colville Condon Continental Divide Cottonwood Cross City Crystal Springs Curlew Custer Cut Bank Dallas Center Dauphin Island Dickinson Duncanville Eldorado Empire Finland Finley Flintstone Fordland Fort Fisher Fort Lee Fortuna Gettysburg Grand Marais Grand Rapids Guthrie Hanna City Havre Highlands Houma Hutchinson Joelton Keno Killeen Kingman Kirksville Klamath Lake Charles Lake City Las Cruces Las Vegas Lewistown Lockport Lufkin Lyndonville Madera Makah Mica Peak Miles City Mill Valley Minot Montauk Moriarty Mount Hebo Mount Laguna Mount Lemmon Naselle North Bend North Charleston North Truro Oklahoma City Olathe Omaha Opheim Osceola Othello Owingsville Ozona Palermo Point Arena Port Austin Port Isabel Pyote Red Bluff Rochester Rockport Rockville (Indiana) Roslyn Rye Saint Albans San Clemente Island Santa Rosa Island Saratoga Springs Sault Ste Marie Shemya Snelling Snow Mountain Sweetwater Texarkana Tierra Amarilla Thomasville Tonopah Topsham Two Creeks Wadena Walnut Ridge Watertown Waverly West Mesa Willow Run Winnemucca Winslow Winston-Salem Woomera Yaak Zapata Overseas Armstrong Baldy Hughes Beausejour Cape Makkovik Cartwright Cut Throat Island Elliston Ridge Fox Harbour Hofn Hopedale Kamloops La Scie Langanes Latrar Melville Puntzi Mountain Ramore Red Cliff Rockville Saglek St. Anthony Saskatoon Mountain Sioux Lookout Spotted Island Stephenville
Air Defense units	Forces Central Air Defense Eastern Air Defense Iceland Western Air Defense First Fourth Tenth Fourteenth Air Divisions 8th 9th 20th 21st 23d 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32d 33d 34th 35th 36th 37th 58th 64th 73d 85th Sectors Albuquerque Bangor Boston Chicago Detroit Duluth Goose Grand Forks Great Falls Kansas City Los Angeles Minot Montgomery New York Oklahoma City Phoenix Portland Reno Sault Sainte Marie San Francisco Seattle Sioux City Spokane Stewart Syracuse Washington Wings Fighter 1st 4th 23d 32d 33d 50th 52d 56th 78th 81st 325th 328th 507th Detection and Control 71st 73d 551st 552d Air Defense 46th 4620th 4621st 4622d 4624th 4625th 4627th 4628th 4683d 4700th 4702d 4703d 4704th 4705th 4706th 4707th 4708th 4709th 4710th 4711th 4750th 4751st 4752d 4756th 4780th Groups Fighter 1st 4th 14th 15th 23d 32d 33d 50th 52d 53d 54th 56th 57th 78th 79th 81st 82d 84th 325th 326th 327th 328th 329th 337th 343d 355th 408th 412th 414th 473d 475th 476th 478th 507th Air Defense 10th 500th 501st 502d 503d 514th 515th 516th 517th 518th 519th 520th 521st 525th 527th 528th 529th 530th 533d 534th 564th 566th 567th 568th 575th 637th 665th 678th 692d 701st 751st 762d 765th 778th 780th 827th 858th 4606th 4620th 4676th 4700th 4721st 4722d 4727th 4728th 4729th 4730th 4731st 4732d 4733d 4734th 4735th 4750th 4756th Aircraft Control & Warning 503d 505th 540th 541st 542d 543d 544th 545th 546th 563d 564th 565th 566th Squadrons Aerospace Defense Command Fighter Squadrons Aircraft Control and Warning Squadrons
Major weapon systems	Electronic TB-29 EB-57 EC-121 Fighters Propeller: F-47 F-51 P-61 F-82 Subsonic Jet: P-80 F-84 F-86 F-89 F-94 Supersonic Jet: F-101 F-102 F-104 F-106 Missiles AIM-4 AIM-26 AIR-2 CIM-10 Ships Guardian Interceptor Interdictor Interpreter Investigator Locator Lookout Outpost Pickett Protector Scanner Searcher Skywatcher Tracer Watchman Vigil Texas Towers Texas Tower 2 Texas Tower 3 Texas Tower 4
Miscellaneous	Air Defense Command Emblem Gallery (on Wikimedia Commons) General Surveillance Radar Stations

v t e United States Army Air Forces Third Air Force in World War II
Units	Commands II Air Support Command III Air Support Command III Bomber Command III Fighter Command III Reconnaissance Command III Tactical Air Command Divisions III Tactical Air Division Wings 8th Fighter Wing 9th Fighter Wing 40th Bombardment Wing Groups Air Commando 2nd Air Commando 3rd Air Commando Bombardment 3rd Bombardment 12th Bombardment 17th Bombardment 21st Bombardment 29th Bombardment 30th Bombardment Group 38th Bombardment 44th Bombardment 46th Bombardment 47th Bombardment 85th Bombardment 88th Bombardment 90th Bombardment 91st Bombardment 92nd Bombardment 93rd Bombardment 94th Bombardment 95th Bombardment 97th Bombardment 98th Bombardment 99th Bombardment 100th Bombardment 309th Bombardment 310th Bombardment 312th Bombardment 319th Bombardment 320th Bombardment 321st Bombardment 322d Bombardment 323d Bombardment 335th Bombardment 336th Bombardment 340th Bombardment 344th Bombardment 345th Bombardment 386th Bombardment 387th Bombardment 391st Bombardment 394th Bombardment 396th Bombardment 397th Bombardment 409th Bombardment 410th Bombardment 411th Bombardment 416th Bombardment 417th Bombardment 418th Bombardment 451st Bombardment 454th Bombardment 463rd Bombardment 483rd Bombardment 488th Bombardment Fighter 20th Fighter 31st Fighter 49th Fighter 50th Fighter 53rd Fighter 54th Fighter 56th Fighter 59th Fighter 79th Fighter 80th Fighter 81st Fighter 84th Fighter 85th Fighter 311th Fighter 332nd Fighter 337th Fighter 338th Fighter 339th Fighter 361st Fighter 369th Fighter 372nd Fighter 404th Fighter 405th Fighter 408th Fighter 414th Fighter 506th Fighter Fighter-Bomber 27th Fighter-Bomber 48th Fighter-Bomber 86th Fighter-Bomber 406th Fighter-Bomber 407th Fighter-Bomber Reconnaissance 2d Reconnaissance 9th Reconnaissance 10th Reconnaissance 26th Reconnaissance 65th Reconnaissance 67th Reconnaissance 68th Reconnaissance 69th Reconnaissance 70th Reconnaissance 75th Reconnaissance 77th Reconnaissance 423d Reconnaissance 424th Reconnaissance 426th Reconnaissance
United States Army Air Forces First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Fourteenth Fifteenth Twentieth

• Installations of the United States Air Force in South Carolina
• Buildings and structures in Aiken County, South Carolina
• Airports in South Carolina
• Radar stations of the United States Air Force
• Aerospace Defense Command military installations
• 1955 establishments in South Carolina
• Military airbases established in 1955
• 1975 disestablishments in South Carolina
• Military installations closed in 1975