Bartlesville Air Force Station

 (1951-1961) - A Cold War U.S. Air Force Radar Station established during the Korean War. Located near Bartlesville, Osage County, Oklahoma. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of P-77. Closed in 1961.

History
Established in 1951 and became operational in 1951 as Bartlesville Air Force Station manned by the 796th Aircraft Control & Warning (AC&W) Squadron.

Initial equipment included a pair of FPS-10 radars.

Manual System Operation
On 1 May 1951 the 796th AC&W Squadron was activated at Bartlesville Air Force Station and assigned to components of the 33rd Air Division (Defense) (33rd ADD) then Headquartered at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. The 33rd ADD provided command and control over subordinate radar stations from a manual direction center. On 1 Mar 1956 control was transferred to 20th Air Division and the Richards-Gebaur Manual Direction Center SM-169. Operations continued in the manual mode until the site was closed 1961

Closure
The closure of Bartlesville AFS was announced by the Pentagon on Monday, 28 Jul 1960. The Bartlesville Air Force Station and the 796th AC&W Squadron were deactivated on 1 Jun 1961.

Gap Fillers
Bartlesville AFS was responsible for the maintenance of two remote unattended gap-filler radar sites. The Bartlesville AFS gap-filler radars were located at Ottawa, OK, and Winfield, KS. Two additional FPS-18 gap filler sites were planned for Savonburg, KS and Reece, KS but these sites were never constructed.

Physical Plant


The physical plant of the site was divided into the main site, a cantonment area, a housing area, and two radio sites. 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.

South from the main site was a small 9 unit housing area for married personnel.

Current Status
Of the remaining structures most have been converted into various residential and commercial establishments.

See Also:
 * SAGE System
 * Permanent System Radar Sites
 * US Radar Sets

Sources:
 * , page 101.
 * , page 148.

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