Sundance Air Force Station

 (1962-1968) - A Cold War Air Force Radar Station first established in 1960 on Warren Peak near Sundance, Crook County, Wyoming. Named Sundance Air Force Station after the nearby location. Powered by a nuclear power plant. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of TM-201, later a Sage ID of Z-201. Discontinued operation in 1968.

History
Established in 1960 and became operational 1 Nov 1962 as Sundance Air Force Station manned by the 731st Radar Squadron (SAGE). Initial equipment included the FPS-7C search radar and FPS-6 and FPS-26 height-finder radars. Primary electrical power was provided by a PM-1 transportable nuclear power plant.

SAGE System Operation
The site began operation as a SAGE site on 1 Nov 1962 initially feeding data to the Minot SAGE Direction Center DC-19. With the deactivation of the Minot SAGE Direction Center in 1963, Sundance AFS began feeding data to the Sioux City SAGE Direction Center DC-22.

Closure
The Sioux City SAGE Direction Center DC-22, Sundance AFS and the 731st Radar Squadron (SAGE) were all deactivated on 18 Jul 1968. The closure of the site took some time, not only to remove the radar and radio equipment but because of required decontamination and precautions taken with the nuclear reactor.

Physical Plant
The physical plant of the site was divided into the main site, a cantonment area, a housing area and radio sites.

The main site housed the operations buildings, the radar towers, backup generators and uniquely, a nuclear power plant. The PM-1 transportable nuclear power plant was installed at Sundance as a test of the feasibility of powering remote radar sites with nuclear power. The PM-1 generated 1,000 KW of high-quality electrical power and 7,000,000 Btu's per hour of steam used to heat the buildings. Testing delayed the operational date of the site until 1962 and necessitated a special team of reactor operators in a 24-7 operation.

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. Separate Ground to Air Transmitter/Receiver (GATR) radio sites housed the radio equipment for directing aircraft intercepts.

Current Status
Main site abandoned but fenced off. The cantonment area and the housing area are under private ownership.

See Also:
 * SAGE System
 * Permanent System Radar Sites
 * US Radar Sets
 * Minot SAGE Direction Center DC-19
 * Sioux City SAGE Direction Center DC-22

Sources:
 * , page 162.
 * , page 169.

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