Roanoke Rapids Air Force Station

 (1956-1978) - A Cold War U.S. Air Force Radar Station established in 19555. Located near Roanoke Rapids, Halifax County, North Carolina. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of M-117 and later a Sage ID of Z-117. Closed in 1978.

History
Established in 1955 and became operational in 1956 as Roanoke Rapids Air Force Station manned by the 632nd Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron.

Initial equipment included one MPS-11 search radar and one TPS-10D height-finder radar. In 1958 the TPS-10D was replaced with one FPS-6 height-finder radar and one FPS-6A height-finder radar. This configuration (a SAGE qualified long-range search radar and two SAGE qualified height-finders) met the requirements for transition to SAGE System operation.

SAGE System Operation


The site began operation as a SAGE site on 1 Sep 1958, initially feeding the Fort Lee SAGE Direction Center DC-04. On 1 Oct 1959, the squadron designation was changed from the 632nd AC&W Squadron to 632nd Radar Squadron (SAGE) indicating the new SAGE System role.

In 1966 an FPS-27 search radar replaced the MPS-11 search radar. Sometime in the early 1970s, the vacuum tube FST-2 Coordinate Data Transmitter was probably replaced with a solid-state FYQ-47 Common Digitizer. The FPS-6A height-finder radar was removed in the mid-1970s leaving only the FPS-26A height-finder and the FPS-27 search radar active on the site.

On 1 Feb 1974, the 632nd Radar Squadron (SAGE) was redesignated the 632nd Radar Squadron dropping the SAGE identifier.

Closure
Roanoke Rapids AFS and the 632nd were deactivated on 1 July 1978.

Gap Fillers
Roanoke Rapids AFS was responsible for the maintenance of two remote unattended gap-filler radar sites. The Roanoke Rapids AFS gap-filler radars were located at Engelhard, NC and Elizabeth City, NC

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 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. Apart from the main site was a small 27 unit housing area for married personnel and a small trailer park. A separate radio site housed the radio equipment for directing aircraft intercepts.

The GATR Site for Roanoke Rapids AFS was located approximately 126 miles south-southeast from the main site. This site was originally tied to the Cherry Point MCAS Radar Site (Z-117).

Current Status
Scattered remains of buildings within the Main site include the operations building, the diesel power building, and foundations of the FPS-27 tower. The cantonment area has some buildings still standing including the recreation hall, some barrack buildings, and the dining hall. From satellite views, the remaining buildings seem to have condition issues. The housing area is in private hands and appears to be in good condition. The trailer park is empty.

Visit of 4 Apr 2018 found the road into main site blocked with cable fence and No Trespassing signs. The housing area is outside the fence and occupied by private owners.

See Also:
 * SAGE System
 * Permanent System Radar Sites
 * US Radar Sets
 * Fort Lee SAGE Direction Center DC-04

Sources:
 * , page 154.
 * , page 144.

Links:
 * Radomes - Roanoke Rapids Air Force Station
 * Wikipedia - Roanoke Rapids Air Force Station