Walnut Ridge Air Force Station

 (1956-1963) - A Cold War U.S. Air Force Radar Station. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of SM-143 and then a Sage ID of Z-143. Deactivated in 1963.

History
Established and became operational in 1956 as Walnut Ridge Air Force Station manned by the 725th Aircraft Control and Warning (AC&W) Squadron.

Initial equipment included the MPS-11 search radar a FPS-4 height-finder radar. In 1958 the FPS-4 was replaced by a pair of FPS-6 height-finder radars. This configuration met the requirements for the transition to the SAGE System operation.

SAGE System Operation
The site began operation as a SAGE site in 1961 initially feeding the Truax SAGE Direction Center DC-07.

Closure
Walnut Ridge AFS and the 725th were deactivated on 1 Aug 1963.

Physical Plant
The physical plant of the site was divided into the main site, a cantonment area, a housing area and a radio site. The main site was known locally as the "A" area and 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. Mamy of these buildings were quonset type buildings and the area was known as the "B" area. Apart from the main site was a small 27 unit housing area for married personnel.

A separate radio site housed the radio equipment for directing aircraft intercepts.

Current Status
Various buildings from the cantonment area are still in use by Williams Baptist College, Frolic Footwear Company and the Municipal Airport. The main site appears to be in use by the V & B Manufacturing Company. The housing area is now private homes.

See Also:
 * SAGE System
 * Permanent System Radar Sites
 * US Radar Sets
 * Truax SAGE Direction Center DC-07

Sources:
 * , page 162.
 * , page 98.

Links:
 * Radomes - Walnut Ridge Air Force Station
 * Wikipedia - Walnut Ridge Air Force Station