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North Truro Air Force Station
Part of Air Defense Command (ADC)
North Truro, Massachusetts
The station from the south
North Truro AFSLocation of North Truro AFS, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°01′53.38″N 70°03′11.84″W / 42.0314944°N 70.0532889°W / 42.0314944; -70.0532889 (North Truro AFS P-10)
Type	Long Range Radar Site
Code	ADC ID: P-10 NORAD ID: Z-10 (NTAFS)
Site information
Owner	National Park Service
Controlled by	United States Air Force
Open to the public	Partially
Site history
Built	1951
Built by	United States Air Force
In use	1951–1994
Garrison information
Garrison	North Truro, Massachusetts
Occupants	762d Radar Squadron, 6th Space Warning Squadron

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North Truro Air Force Station (AFS) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 2.2 mi (3.5 km) east of North Truro, Massachusetts.

Most of the site was inactivated by 1994 and turned over to the National Park Service, the radar site remainder becoming a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) VHF omnidirectional range/Tactical air navigation system (VORTAC) (Navaid: LFV) and radar site, part of the Joint Surveillance System (JSS), designated by NORAD as Eastern Air Defense Sector (EADS) Ground Equipment Facility J-53.

The former North Truro AFS is the site of a radar station and several abandoned buildings including barracks, a library, a bar, a bowling alley and a family housing area located to the south. NTAFS has been redeveloped into The Highland Center. It is also the site of the Jenny Lind Tower.

History

North Truro AFS was one of the first of twenty-four stations of the permanent Air Defense Command (ADC) radar network. On 2 December 1948, the Air Force directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with construction of this and twenty-three other sites around the periphery of the United States.

The 762d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (AC&W Sq) began operations with a pair of World War II Air Transportable Search and Detection AN/CPS-3 radars at North Truro in 1951 and assumed radar coverage previously covered by a temporary Lashup Radar Network site at Otis Air Force Base (L-5), 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. In 1955 these units were joined by an AN/FPS-8 model. Eventually converted to an AN/GPS-3, this radar left service in 1960. In 1956 a GE CPS-6B search radar was the main search radar.

North Truro AFS was the operational parent station for Texas Tower 2 (TT-2) offshore in the Atlantic Ocean from May 1956-15 January 1963. TT-2 was operated as an annex of the 762d AC&W Sq, its offshore personnel assigned to a flight of the 762d, although the facility was logistically supported by the 4604th Support Squadron (Texas Towers) at Otis AFB.

The years 1958 and 1959 saw the arrival of AN/FPS-6 and 6A height-finder radars. During 1958 North Truro AFS joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, feeding data to DC-02 at Stewart AFB, New York. After joining, the squadron was redesignated as the 762d Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 15 December 1958. 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 1960 the 762d started operating an AN/FPS-7 radar. In 1963 the height-finder radars were replaced by AN/FPS-26A and AN/FPS-90 sets. In 1966, after the installation of a Burroughs AN/GSA-51 computer system, North Truro AFS became the first ADC installation configured as a Backup Interceptor Control (BUIC) BUIC II site. BUIC II radar sites were capable of incorporating data feeds from other radar sectors directly onto their radar screens. In 1968, North Truro also became the first radar station to be designated a BUIC III installation. These sites hosted the more capable Burroughs D825 digital computer and could support operations at eleven control consoles. During the early 1970s two BUIC sites were designated to serve as backup to each of the remaining six SAGE centers.

The 762nd Radar Sq was inactivated and replaced by the 762d Air Defense Group in March 1970. The upgrade to group status was done because of North Truro AFS' status as a Backup Interceptor Control (BUIC) site. It utilized BUIC III equipment (Burroughs D828 Computer system) for command and control of air defense aircraft in the event that the SAGE Direction Center at Hancock Field, NY was inoperable. The unit commander and in times of Level IV operations, overall air defense commander for the NORAD region, was Col. Alva D. Henehan (1969–71?). The group was inactivated and replaced by the 762nd Radar Squadron again in 1974 as BUIC sites were being removed from service and defenses against crewed bombers were reduced. The group was disbanded in 1984.

In addition to the main facility, NTAFS operated three unstaffed AN/FPS-14 Gap Filler sites:

• Westboro, MA (P-10A) 42°14′23″N 071°37′41″W / 42.23972°N 71.62806°W / 42.23972; -71.62806 (P-10A)
• Fort Dearborn, NH (P-10B) 43°02′49″N 070°42′58″W / 43.04694°N 70.71611°W / 43.04694; -70.71611 (P-10B)
• Chilmark, MA (P-10E) 41°21′19″N 070°44′07″W / 41.35528°N 70.73528°W / 41.35528; -70.73528 (P-10E)

Fort Dearborn was the former Rye AFS, which had closed in 1957. Westboro closed in June 1962, the others in June 1968.

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. Routine operations continued and in 1979 the site came under Tactical Air Command jurisdiction as a result of the inactivation of Aerospace Defense Command and the site became part of ADTAC. By 1985 AN/FPS-107 had been replaced by an AN/FPS-91A search set operated by the FAA. The AN/FPS-116 was removed c. 1988

Operation Have Horn

In 1969 North Truro Air Force Station was the location of Operation Have Horn, the launching of sounding rockets under project Nike Hydac. On completion of the operation in 1970, the used devices and equipment were returned to the White Sands Missile Range.

Closure

After the end of the Cold War, in 1994, the Air Force closed down operations at North Truro. Most of the land was transferred to the National Park Service. In the late 1990s, an ARSR-4 replaced the AN/FPS-91A, when it joined the Joint Surveillance System (JSS).

Several of the facilities have fallen into disrepair while some are in the process of renovation. The Gap Filler at Westboro is intact and has what appears to be a water tower and several radio broadcasting towers. The other two Gap Filler sites have been obliterated and redeveloped. The former Texas Tower No. 2 (TT-2) troposcatter communications site, just south of the housing area, is also accessible on foot. All that remain of the tropo facility are the building foundation (a concrete pad with a few floor tiles) and three-each concrete footings for the three tropo dish antennas. At the main site, the fence around the former cantonment and technical areas has a gate on the ocean-facing side. All of the original USAF radar towers are gone. The only radar tower now is the ARSR-4. The buildings are each in various conditions, however all are in derelict condition with the exception of the few buildings that are being repaired. The homes in the family housing area are falling apart and some have been vandalized. A few buildings had been torn down, including the station chapel. The National Seashore intends to remove most of the remaining buildings as soon as funds are available. The former GATR site located approximately 1.2 miles southeast of the base at Longnook Beach has been demolished, and all of the radio poles have been removed. The site is now home to an FAA NAVAID station.

Redevelopment

NTAFS itself was given to the Cape Cod National Seashore and is now being redeveloped into the Highlands Center. This project includes the building of a performing arts center, and other facilities to meet the needs of the National Park Service as well as the community. It is also home to an FAA long-range radar site.

From 2012 to 2013, the former station was home to a Department of Energy study by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility along with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on air particles over the region.

Units and assignments

Units

• Constituted as the 762d Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron on 14 November 1950

Activated on 27 November 1950

Redesignated 762d Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 15 December 1958

Inactivated on 1 March 1970

Redesignated 762nd Radar Squadron on 1 January 1974

Activated on 17 January 1974

Inactivated on 1 July 1984

• Constituted as the 762d Air Defense Group on 13 February 1970

Activated on 1 March 1970

Inactivated on 1 January 1974

Disbanded on 27 September 1984

• 6th Space Warning Squadron (Detachment 1)

Organized 1977

Discontinued 1985

Assignments

• 762nd Squadron

540th Aircraft Control and Warning Group, 27 November 1950

32d Air Division, 6 February 1952

4704th Defense Wing, 16 February 1953

4622d Air Defense Wing, 18 October 1956

Boston Air Defense Sector, 8 January 1957

35th Air Division, 1 April 1966

21st Air Division, 19 November 1969 – 1 March 1970

21st Air Division 17 January 1974

24th Air Division 23 September 1983 – 1 July 1984

• 762nd Group

21st Air Division, 1 March 1970 – 17 January 1974

See also

• Rocket launch sites
• List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations
• List of United States Air Force aircraft control and warning squadrons
• List of military installations in Massachusetts

References

Citations

1. "LFV Navaid Detail".
2. NPS.GOV: Highlands Center at Cape Cod National Seashore
3. Cape Cod Travel :: Truro :: The Jenny Lind Tower
4. ^ Cornett & Johnson, p. 165
5. ^ Winkler, p. 44
6. ^ Winkler & Webster, p. 89
7. ^ Cornett, & Johnson, p. 86
8. ^ Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 575q, 27 Sep 1984, Subject: Disbandment of Units
9. astronautix.com: North Truro Archived 9 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
10. Bragg, Mary Ann (20 February 2013). "Truro skies a harbinger for climate change". Cape Cod Times. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2013.

Bibliography

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

• Cornett, Lloyd H; Johnson, Mildred W (1980). A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946–1980 (PDF). Peterson AFB, CO: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center.
• Winkler, David F.; Webster, Julie L (1997). Searching the skies: The legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program. Champaign, IL: US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories. LCCN 97020912.

Further reading

• Leonard, Barry (2009). History of Strategic Air and Ballistic Missile Defense (PDF). Vol. I. 1945–1955. Fort McNair, DC: Center for Military History. ISBN 978-1-43792-131-1.
• Leonard, Barry (2009). History of Strategic Air and Ballistic Missile Defense (PDF). Vol. II, 1955–1972. Fort McNair, DC: Center for Military History. ISBN 978-1-43792-131-1.
• Redmond, Kent C.; Smith, Thomas M. (2000). From Whirlwind to MITRE: The R&D Story of The SAGE Air Defense Computer. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-18201-0.
• Information for North Truro AFS, MA
• USAFHRA History search, 762 Radar Squadron

External links

• The MITRE site in South Truro
• https://web.archive.org/web/20110509101704/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/nortruro.htm
• https://web.archive.org/web/20080929190446/http://www.aliciapatterson.org/APF0103/Brodeur/Brodeur.html
• http://www.nps.gov/archive/caco/news/GeneralHighlands.html
• http://www.flra.gov/decisions/v03/03-017-3.html
• http://www.radomes.org/museum/savethe35.html
• https://books.google.com/books?id=tXnKhejsTskC&dq=north+truro+air+force+station&pg=PA11
• http://www.flight800.org/petition/pet_sect4.htm
• A YouTube video inside of one of the houses at the base.
• Mention of North Truro in an arms control treaty

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
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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

• 1951 establishments in Massachusetts
• 1994 disestablishments in Massachusetts
• Aerospace Defense Command military installations
• Buildings and structures in Barnstable County, Massachusetts
• Cape Cod National Seashore
• Installations of the United States Air Force in Massachusetts
• Military installations closed in 1994
• Military installations established in 1951
• Semi-Automatic Ground Environment sites
• Truro, Massachusetts