Lyndonville Air Force Station

 (1956-1963) - A Cold War Air Force Radar Station first established in 1956 near Lyndonville, Essex County, Vermont. Initially named North Concord Air Force Station renamed Lyndonville Air Force Station after the nearby location. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of M-103, later a Sage ID of Z-103. Abandoned in 1963.

History
Established in 1956 and became operational in 1956 as Lyndonville Air Force Station manned by the 911th AC&W Squadron. The station initially had both a Ground Control Intercept (GCI) and early warning mission. The early warning mission involved tracking and identifying all aircraft entering their airspace while the GCI mission involved guiding Air Force interceptors to any identified enemy aircraft. Controllers at the station vectored fighter aircraft at the correct course and speed to intercept enemy aircraft using voice commands via ground-to-air radio.

Initial equipment included the MPS-11 search radar and an MPS-14 height-finder radar. In 1958 a FPS-6A height-finder radar was added to the site. In 1959 a FPS-3 search radar was added.

This configuration established the basic requirements for the transition to the SAGE System operation.

SAGE System Operation


The site began operation as a SAGE site in 1959 initially feeding the Topsham SAGE Direction Center DC-05. Two new radar towers were built in 1962, one for a FPS-27 search radar and one for a new FPS-26 height-finder radar. The FPS-26 was installed in early 1963 just before the March 1963 announcement of the site closure. The FPS-27 was never installed.

Closure
Lyndonville AFS and the 911th 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 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 9/27 unit housing area for married personnel.

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

Current Status
Abandoned by the Air Force and sold to private parties. Most of the upper main site radar towers remain in place but in deteriorated condition. The cantonment area has some buildings remaining also in deteriorating condition. The housing area is in private hands.

See Also:
 * SAGE System
 * Permanent System Radar Sites
 * US Radar Sets
 * Topsham SAGE Direction Center DC-05
 * Stewart SAGE Direction Center DC-02

Sources:
 * , page 173.
 * , page 160.

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