Zapata Air Force Station

 (1957-1961) - A Cold War Air Force Radar Station first established in 1957 near the town of Zapata in Zapata County, Texas. Named Zapata Air Force Station after the location. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of TM-189. Abandoned in 1961.

History
Established in 1957 and became operational in 1959 as Zapata Air Force Station manned by the 742nd AC&W Squadron.

Initial equipment included the FPS-3A search radar and an FPS-6 height-finder radar.

Gap Fillers
Zapata AFS was responsible for the maintenance of two remote unattended gap-filler radar sites. The Zapata AFS gap-filler radars were located at Delmita and Laredo, Texas.

Closure
Zapata AFS and the 742nd were deactivated on 1 Jun 1961. The GSA sold the base on 27 Sep 1961 but reacquired it in 1966 due to a surveying error which had resulted in part of the base being constructed on property other than the land that was acquired. The final disposition of the corrected property took place during 1968 when it was sold to private ownership and the County of Zapata.

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 DOD acquired about 100 acres of property for the site between 1955 and 1958. 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. A separate Ground to Air Transmitter/Receiver (GATR) radio site housed the radio equipment for directing aircraft intercepts.

Current Status
Abandoned in Zapata, Zapata County, Texas. After being sold, part of the station was divided into small lots and sold individually to private owners. The remainder of the site is vacant. The property then reverted to Zapata County.

See Also:
 * Permanent System Radar Sites
 * US Radar Sets
 * Oklahoma City Air Force Station

Sources:
 * , page 101.
 * , page 157.

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