Gettysburg Air Force Station

 (1956-1968) - A Cold War Air Force Radar Station first established in 1956 near Gettysburg, Potter County, South Dakota. Named Gettysburg Air Force Station after the location. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of M-99, a Sage ID of Z-99 and later an FAA ID of ZQJB. Abandoned by the Air Force in 1968. The FAA activated the Gettysburg FAA Radar Site in 1971 on a small site surrounding the old FPS-27 radar tower.

History
Established in 1956 and became operational on 5 Jul 1956 as Gettysburg Air Force Station manned by the 903rd AC&W Squadron. The station initially had both a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and early warning missions. The early warning mission involved tracking and identifying all aircraft entering their airspace while the GCI mission involved guiding Air Force interceptors to any identified enemy aircraft. Controllers at the station vectored fighter aircraft at the correct course and speed to intercept enemy aircraft using voice commands via ground-to-air radio.

Initial equipment included the MPS-7 search radar and one MPS-14 height-finder radar. The radars were upgraded to one FPS-20A and one FPS-6A height-finder radar.

This configuration established the minimum requirements for transition to the SAGE System operation.

SAGE System Operation
The site began operation as a SAGE site in 1959 initially feeding the Grand Forks SAGE Direction Center DC-11. The search radar was upgraded to a FPS-66 and then replaced by a FPS-27 search radar circa 1962.

In 1963 the Grand Forks SAGE Direction Center DC-11 closed and control shifted to the Sioux City SAGE Direction Center DC-22. The Sioux City SAGE Direction Center DC-22 was then selected to close on 18 Sep 1968 and Gettysburg Air Force Station was closed just three months before that.

Closure
Gettysburg Air Force Station and the 903rd Radar Squadron (SAGE) were deactivated on 18 Jun 1968. Approximately one acre of land surrounding the vacant FPS-27 tower was set aside for FAA use and the remainder of the land was disposed of by the government.

Gettysburg FAA Radar Site
The Gettysburg FAA Radar Site opened in January 1971 on a one-acre portion of the former Gettysburg Air Force Station. The FPS-27 had been removed from the tower and the FAA emplaced a FPS-67B search radar and radome on the FPS-27 tower. A FYQ-47 Common Digitizer was added to transmit the radar data to Minneapolis ARTCC and Denver ARTCC.

By 1990 the site was equipped with an FPS-67B search radar and a CD-2A Common Digitizer. The Gettysburg CD-2A was scheduled to receive an upgrade kit to implement three level weather data processing in March 1992.

CARSR Radar
The secondary radar at this site is an Mode S Beacon set.

Physical Plant
The physical plant of the site was divided into the main site, a cantonment area, a housing area, and a radio site. The main site housed the operations buildings, the radar towers, and the backup generators. The cantonment area housed the enlisted barracks, the bachelor officer's quarters, the orderly room, the dining hall, the motor pool, and other support buildings. Apart from the main site was a small 27 unit housing area for married personnel.

A separate radio site housed the radio equipment for directing aircraft intercepts.

Current Status
Abandoned by the Air Force to private interests except for about one acre used by the Gettysburg FAA Radar Site.

See Also:
 * SAGE System
 * JSS System
 * Permanent System Radar Sites
 * US Radar Sets
 * Grand Forks SAGE Direction Center DC-11
 * Sioux City SAGE Direction Center DC-22
 * Minneapolis ARTCC

Sources:
 * , page 172.
 * , page 154.


 * The Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota)
 * Fri, Oct 21, 1955, Page 7 Air Force to Take Over Gettysburg Station.
 * Sun, Jan 8, 1956, Page 13 Gettysburg Radar Station is Now Closed to Visitors.
 * Sun, Feb 26, 1956, Page 7 Serve First Meal at Gettysburg Air Force Station.
 * Sun, Aug 12, 1956, Page 21 New Commander.
 * Sun, Jun 8, 1958, Page 8 Housing Project - 27 Units.
 * Thu, Nov 13, 1958, Page 2 General Visits Radar Squadron at Gettysburg.
 * Thu, Mar 15, 1962, Page 4 To Build Tower.
 * Fri, Nov 15, 1963 Page 1 Approve Funds for Gettysburg Station.
 * Wed, Jul 28, 1965, Page 17 Army Engineers Offer Building For Sale 48' Square Tower.
 * Fri, Jan 27, 1967, Page 5 Honor 903rd Commanders at Gettysburg.
 * Sun, May 12, 1968, Page 1 Air Force to Close Base at Gettysburg.
 * Sun, Jun 30, 1968, Page 15 Gettysburg Radar Station Personnel Are Assigned.
 * Argus-Leader (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)
 * Sun, Jan 8, 1956, Main Edition Page 16 Gettysburg Radar Station Accepted.
 * Deadwood Pioneer-Times (Deadwood, South Dakota)
 * Fri, Mar 14, 1969, Page 1 FAA Will Reactivate Radar Site.
 * Lead Daily Call (Lead, South Dakota)
 * Mon, May 11, 1981, Page 1 (FAA) Air tower keeping tabs on state's superhighways.
 * Mon, May 11, 1981, Page 1 (FAA) Air tower keeping tabs on state's superhighways.

Links:
 * Radomes - Gettysburg Air Force Station
 * Wikipedia - Gettysburg Air Force Station