Cape Charles Air Force Station

 (1950-1981) - A Cold War Air Force Radar Station first established in 1950 on Fort Custis in Northampton County, Virginia. Renamed Cape Charles Air Force Station on 1 Dec 1953 after the location. Initially assigned a Lashup System ID of L-15, a Permanent ID of P-56, later a Sage ID of Z-56. Abandoned in 1981.

History of Cape Charles Air Force Station
Established in 1950 as Lashup Radar Site L-15 and became operational in April 1950 manned by the 771st AC&W Squadron. The station initially had both a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and early warning mission. 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. The site was renamed Cape Charles Air Force Station on 1 Dec 1953.

Initial equipment included the CPS-5 search radar and a CPS-4 height-finder radar. The site was incorporated into the Permanent Network using the same equipment. In April 1952 an FPS-3 search radar was added. In 1955, a FPS-8 was added and converted to a GPS-3, it was removed in 1958. In preparation for SAGE System operation two FPS-6 height-finders were added in 1958.

SAGE System Operation


The site began operation as a SAGE site in 1959, initially feeding the Fort Lee SAGE Direction Center DC-04. The search radar was upgraded to an FPS-7B and an FPS-26A height-finder radar was installed. In 1963 the site became a joint use ADC/FFAA site.

Site also had a Long-Range Inputs (ALRI) receiver site for airborne early warning aircraft. A Navy off-site Seaward Extension Shore Station (SESS) for Pickett ship Stations 16, 18, and 20 who reported to the ADDC at Cape Charles Air Force Station.

Gap Filler Radars
Cape Charles AFS was responsible for the maintenance of three remote unattended gap-filler radar sites. The Cape Charles AFS gap-filler radars were located at Temperanceville, VA; Bethany Beach, DE; Elizabeth City, NC. Two additional sites were planned but not constructed.

BUIC System
Cape Charles AFS became a BUIC I NORAD Control Center in 1962 and went operational as a BUIC II site on 1 Mar 1966. The BUIC II system provided a backup for a SAGE direction center with the GSA-51 computer system and provided the ability to display sector wide radar data on consoles for local weapons controllers. The system duplicated the functionality of the vacuum tube direction center computers with the more up-to-date GSA-51 computer system and replaced the FST-2 with a more up-to-date coordinate data transmitter, the FYQ-47.

Cape Charles AFS was not selected as a BUIC III site and reverted to a surveillance site.

Closure
Cape Charles AFS and the 771st were transferred to TAC in 1979 and were deactivated on 30 Sep 1981. Coverage of this area was taken over by the Joint Use (FAA/USAF/USN) JSS Oceana Naval Air Station Radar Site when Cape Charles AFS closed.

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 housing area for critical married personnel. A separate Ground to Air Transmitter/Receiver (GATR) radio site housed the radio equipment for directing aircraft intercepts.

Current Status
The Air Force Station property is now part of the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge in Northampton County, Virginia. Most and perhaps by now all of the main site buildings have been deliberately removed. The housing area is in the hands of individual private owners.

See Also:
 * SAGE System
 * BUIC System
 * Permanent System Radar Sites
 * US Radar Sets
 * Fort Lee SAGE Direction Center DC-04

Sources:
 * , page 166.
 * , page 161.

Links:
 * Radomes - Cape Charles Air Force Station
 * Wikipedia - Cape Charles Air Force Station