Owingsville Air Force Station

 (1954-1957) - A Cold War U.S. Air Force Radar Station located near Owingsville, Bath County, Kentucky. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of M-131. Closed in 1957.

History
Established in December 1954 and became operational in 1955 as Owingsville Air Force Station manned by the 809th Aircraft Control & Warning (AC&W) Squadron. The original mission is unclear but newspaper articles in August 1954 indicate that the site was established as a radar training facility. By 1957 the unit appears in the 58th ADD Yearbook as a small AC&W Squadron operating a split radar site.

Initial equipment included the TPS-1D search radar.

Closure
On 27 Jun 1957 a short article appeared in the Louisville Courier-Journal announcing reductions in the Owingsville-Section Radar Unit that would reduce the manpower from 62 officers and airmen to just 15 with the remainder to be reassigned to other units. The commander, Major Frank Smythe, was reassigned to Wright-Patterson AFB. The radar station and the 809th were deactivated sometime in November 1957.

Physical Plant
The physical plant of the site was divided into a main operations site and a separate cantonment area four miles away. The main site housed the operations buildings, the radar tower, 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.

Current Status
Unknown.

See Also:
 * Permanent System Radar Sites
 * US Radar Sets

Sources:
 * , page 102.
 * , page 117.

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