Mather Air Force Base Radar Site

 (1950-1966) - A Cold War Air Force Radar Station first established in 1950 on Mather Air Force Base near Sacramento in Sacramento County, California. Initially known as Radar Lashup Site L-37 at Mather Air Force Base. Assigned a Permanent ID of P-58 and later a Sage ID of Z-58. Turned over to the FAA in 1966.

History of Mather Air Force Base Radar Site
Established in 1950 and became operational in June 1950 as Mather AFB Lashup Radar Site L-37 manned by the 668th 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 became part of the Permanent Radar Network in 1951 and was designated site P-58. Initial equipment included two CPS-6B radar radar sets.

SAGE System Operation
The site began operation as a SAGE site on 1 Jul 1960 initially feeding the Beale SAGE Direction Center DC-18. The search radar was upgraded to an FPS-20A with a FPS-6 and a FPS-6B height-finder radars.

Closure
In 1961 P-58 became a joint use site (FAA/USAF) and the 668th AC&W Squadron was deactivated. While the FAA assumed maintenance of the radar it seems that the FST-2 and perhaps other specific Air Force equipment was maintained by Detachment 2, 666th Radar Squadron at Mill Valley Air Force Station. In 1965 the FAA told ADC that P-58 was no longer required and ADC scheduled it for closure in FY 1967. ADC ended Air Force activities at the site on 1 Sep 1966. The FAA continued to operate the site reportedly with an FPS-91A radar set data tied to the new post 9/11 JSS System. By the end of 2015 the FAA was reporting that all 82 of the legacy radar sets had been updated to the CARSR equipment.

Physical Plant
The physical plant of the site was divided into the main site, a cantonment 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. A separate Ground to Air Transmitter/Receiver (GATR) radio site housed the radio equipment for directing aircraft intercepts.

Current Status
FAA Radar site on the former Mather Air Force Base in Sacramento County, California.

See Also:
 * SAGE System
 * Permanent System Radar Sites
 * Lashup System
 * US Radar Sets
 * Beale SAGE Direction Center DC-18

Sources:
 * , page 98.
 * , page 104.

Links:
 * Radomes - Mather AFB Lashup Radar Site
 * Radomes - Mather Air Force Base Radar Site
 * Wikipedia - Mather Air Force Base Radar Site