Wolf Ridge WWII Radar Site (1)

 (1944-1946) - A World War II U.S. Army Radar Site established in 1944. Used to provide target information to large caliber (6" and above) coastal gun batteries in the Harbor Defense of the San Francisco against enemy warships. Located on Wolf Ridge, Fort Cronkhite, Marin County, California. Closed in 1946.

History


Constructed under project No. RAD-9-203 and transferred for use on 25 Jul 1944 as Wolf Ridge WWII Radar Site (1). One of two SCR-682 radar installations in the San Francisco Harbor Defense, it served the the Harbor Defense Command Post (HDCP) and the Funston Group. Construction costs to date of transfer were $8,962.94. The physical plant consisted of an SCR-682 radar set mounted in a prefabricated wood frame building on a concrete pad with an adjacent 25' steel tower for the antenna, a galvanized iron powerhouse with a concrete pad housing two generators and a 1000 gallon fuel tank. Post/commercial power was furnished to the site via and underground subway type transformer. The powerhouse was placed on a concrete pad and erected by the Corps of Engineers.

The SCR-682 radar equipment was installed by the Signal Corps. It required 3.7kW of 120/240 AC, 1 phase, 60 cycle power furnished by post/commercial power backed up by the two on-site generators. The two 5 kW generators were furnished and installed by the Signal Corps.

Site Operation
In operation, the SCR-682 search radar provided an overview of all potential targets within it's range. Once enemy targets were identified and plotted at the harbor HECP/HDCP command posts, target assignments were passed by telephone to the appropriate SCR-296 tracking radar site, citing the approximate range and azimuth of the target. Each gun battery 6" or larger had an associated SCR-296 radar site to track specific targets. The SCR-296 radar operators would then find the assigned target and pass the precise range and azimuth to the plotting room at the gun battery by phone. The radar operators would continue to track the target and update the plotting room as the range and azimuth changed. IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) set RC-282 was paired with the radar to distinguish friendly targets from unknown targets.

24-hour operation required a chief of section, five operators, two power plant operators, and one radar maintenance man.

Closure
Closed circa 1946.

Current Status
Foundational remains of the radar building, the tower and the underground transformer vault.

See Also:
 * Fort Cronkhite
 * US Radar Sets
 * SCR-296 Radar Set
 * SCR-682 Radar Set
 * Western WWII Radar Sites

Sources: , Page 52 - Radar Site List.
 * . page 331-333.
 * SCR-682 Wolf Ridge RCW-Corrected to June 1944, NARA CDSG.

Links:
 * California Military Museum - Fort Cronkhite