Dickinson Air Force Station

 (1959-1965) - A Cold War Air Force Radar Station first established in 1959 near Dickinson, Stark County, North Dakota. Named Dickinson Air Force Station after the location. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of TM-177, later a Sage ID of Z-177. Abandoned in 1965.

History of Dickinson Air Force Station
Established in 1959 and became operational in 1959 as Dickinson Air Force Station manned by the 706th 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 FPS-3 search radar and an FPS-6A height-finder radar. A second FPS-6A height-finder radar was added in 1960.

This configuration met the basic 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 Minot SAGE Direction Center DC-19. The site radars were upgraded to one FPS-66 and two FPS-90 height-finder radars by 1963. Also in 1963 control was shifted from the Minot SAGE Direction Center DC-19 to the Malmstrom SAGE Direction Center DC-20 where it remained until the site closed.

Closure
Dickinson AFS was removed from service on 1 Mar 1965 and both Dickinson AFS and the 706th Radar Squadron (SAGE) were deactivated on 25 Jun 1965.

Gap Fillers
Dickinson AFS was responsible for the maintenance of three remote unattended gap-filler radar sites. The Dickinson AFS gap-filler radars were located at Glendive MT, Alexander ND and McIntosh SD.

Note: There is some conflicting information on the operational dates for these gap-fillers and the designations. The Watford site was transferred to Minot AFS when Dickinson AFS closed in 1965.

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 in Dickinson, Stark County, North Dakota.

See Also:
 * SAGE System
 * Permanent System Radar Sites
 * US Radar Sets
 * Minot SAGE Direction Center DC-19
 * Malmstrom SAGE Direction Center DC-20

Sources:
 * , page 162.
 * , page 145.

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