Perrin Air Force Station

 (1952-1969) - A Cold War U.S. Air Force Radar Station first established during the Korean War to provide ground-controlled intercept (GCI) training for jet pilots. Located at Perrin Air Force Base Annex near Sherman in Grayson County, Texas. Initially operated by training command personnel until 1962 when it became an annex of Duncanville Air Force Station under Air Defense Command (ADC). Duncanville AFS closed and relocated to Perrin AFS in 1964. On activation, a Permanent ID of RP-78 and a Sage ID of Z-78 were assigned to Perrin AFS. Closed in 1969.

History
U.S. Air Force Radar site first established in 1952 during the Korean War to provide ground-controlled intercept (GCI) training for jet pilots. The radar site was located at Perrin Air Force Base Annex near Sherman, Texas and was initially equipped with an FPS-3 search radar configured to allowed weapons controllers to conduct realistic GCI training exercises. Close coordination with the FAAs Fort Worth ARTCC and the Perrin AFB ground control approach (GCA) radar provided a safe and realistic training environment.

In 1962 the radar site transferred to Air Defense Command (ADC) operation and became Perrin Air Force Station, an annex of Duncanville Air Force Station. The search radar was upgraded to an FPS-20 and site became a joint-use USAF/FAA radar site.

By 1964 the 745th Aircraft Control & Warning (AC&W) Squadron had closed Duncanville Air Force Station and relocated the 745th to Perrin AFS. Equipment at the Perrin site included a FPS-20 search radar which was upgraded to an FPS-20A in 1964 and a FPS-6 height-finder radar. In 1965, the FPS-20A radar was upgraded again to an FPS-66 configuration.

Manual System Operation
On 1 Jul 1964, the 745th AC&W Squadron officially moved to Perrin Air Force Station still assigned to the Oklahoma Air Defense Sector Headquartered at Oklahoma City Air Force Station. The Oklahoma Air Defense Sector provided command and control over subordinate radar stations from the Oklahoma City Manual Combat Center MCC-11 located on Oklahoma City AFS. The MCC-11 Combat Center was connected to Perrin via telephone lines and track data aircraft could be passed from Perrin AFS Operations to the Combat Center via voice, teletype, and encrypted teletype. On 1 Apr 1966 31st Air Division replaced the Oklahoma Air Defense Sector as the Command and Control headquarters.

Interceptor Training Operations
Interceptor pilot training at Perrin AFB increased during the Vietnam War and during the period from 1 Jan 1967 to 31 Aug 1968 the Perrin radar site conducted 94,798 training intercepts and 23,889 of those were under the more difficult Electronic Counter-Measures (ECM) conditions. The Perrin AFB F-102 interceptors flew under the radar site control against a variety of target aircraft including B-57s, B-52s, and B-58s. F-102 use continued in Vietnam until 1968 when all F-102s were returned to the United States.

Operations continued in the manual mode until the radar site closed in 1969. F-102 interceptor training continued at Perrin Air Force Base until the last class graduated on 13 May 1971. Perrin Air Force base closed on 30 Jun 1971.

Closure
Perrin AFS and the 745th were deactivated on 30 Sep 1969 coincident with the deactivation of the Oklahoma City Manual Combat Center MCC-11. By his time the FAA had also established the joint-use Keller FAA Radar Site in the Dallas-Fort Worth area next to the under-construction Dallas Fort Worth Airport (DFW).

Current Status
The site may contain some elements of the old radar site buildings but they appear to have been incorporated into larger buildings. The 4.71 acre site is now in private hands. Grayson county property ID is 115348.

See Also:
 * Permanent System Radar Sites
 * US Radar Sets
 * Keller FAA Radar Site
 * Oklahoma City Manual Combat Center MCC-11
 * Fort Worth ARTCC

Sources:
 * , page 101.
 * , page 156.

Links:
 * Radomes - Perrin Air Force Station
 * Wikipedia - Perrin Air Force Station
 * Perrin Field History]