Ellsworth Air Force Station

 (1954-1962) - A Cold War U.S. Air Force Radar Station established in 1954. Located on Ellsworth Air Force Base in Meade County, South Dakota. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of M-97. Closed in 1962.

History
Established late in 1954 and became operational in 1955 as the Ellsworth Air Force Base Radar Site manned by the 740th Aircraft Control & Warning (AC&W) Squadron.

Initial equipment included the MPS-7 search radar and a MPS-14 height-finder radar. In 1959 a FPS-20A search radar replaced the MPS-7 set. 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


Period pictures appear to show the FPS-20 tower and the SAGE Annex simultaneously under construction but it is not clear if the SAGE Annex was completed or if FST-2 was installed and became operational. The site did come under the control of Minot ADS, feeding data to the Minot SAGE Direction Center DC-19 but it is unclear if this was in the manual mode or the automated mode using the FST-2.

Closure
The public announcement of the site closure came in December 1961 indicating that coverage would be assumed by Sundance Air Force Station. The Ellsworth radar site and the 740th were deactivated on 15 Aug 1962.

Current Status
No remains.

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

Sources:
 * , page 100.
 * , page 154.

Links:
 * Radomes - Ellsworth Air Force Base Radar Site
 * Wikipedia - Ellsworth Air Force Base Radar Site