Saglek Air Station

Saglek Air Station (1953-1993) - A remote Cold War Pinetree Line Radar Station first established in 1953 near Saglek Fjord in Labrador as Saglek Air Station. Initially manned by the USAF 924th AC&W Squadron and assigned an ID of N-29 that later became JSS ID LAB-2. Inactivated 30 Jun 1970, destroyed by fire in 1978, reconstructed as a Canadian North Warning System radar site CFS Saglek in 1988 and transitioned to unattended status in 1995. Cold War Following the outbreak of the Korean War on 25 Jun 1950 and in response to a perceived Soviet bomber threat the United States Air Force (USAF) created the Northeast Air Command (NEAC), as a major command, to defend the Northeastern air approaches to the US. NEAC was responsible for all air defense forces in Newfoundland, Labrador, eastern Canada, and Greenland. The plan for the NEAC area included the construction of 10 permanent radar stations in Canada and 3 stations in Greenland, all as a part of the Pinetree Line. Of the 10 Canadian stations, 9 were to be manned by USAF personnel and one was to be manned by RCAF personnel The sites were selected and construction began in 1951-52. 924th Aircraft Warning Squadron Saglek AS was constructed 1951-1953 as a Pinetree Line radar site and became operational in the fall of 1953 manned by the USAF 924th AC&W Squadron. This was one of the most remote radar sites with no supporting base or community close by. Fierce winter storms, sub-zero temperatures, and deep snowfalls made it difficult to keep equipment operational and posed a significant hazard to personnel. Support in the winter was by air and only during the summer season could supplies be brought in by ship. The squadron was tasked with maintaining the small airstrip so that supply aircraft could land. The tour length for military personnel was one year so there was a constant rotation of personnel with chronic shortages and a continuous training cycle. This station initially had both a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and early warning mission as well as operating an Air Defense Direction Center (ADDC). 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 altitude speed to intercept enemy aircraft using voice commands via ground-to-air radio. Initial radar equipment included the FPS-3C primary search radar, a TPS-502 height-finder radar and an FPS-502 backup search radar. The primary search radar was later upgraded to an FPS-20A and then modified to an FPS-87A and finally modified to an FPS-93A. The TPS-502 height-finder radar and the backup FPS-502 search radar were removed about 1960. The site did not have a height-finder capability following the removal of the TPS-502 and the mission was reduced to that of a surveillance site. The major radar equipment listed on the 1961 Q2 historical report indicated that the TPS-502 and the FPS-502 radar sets had been removed leaving only the dual channel FPS-20A search radar, two UPX-6 IFF transmitters/receivers and eight PPI radar scopes. Radar Equipment at Saglek A/0 2nd Quarter 1961 1 FPS-20A radar set 2 UPX-6 Radar Sets (IFF) 1 GPX-7A Radar Set (IFF) 2 OA-99/CFP-6B Indicator, video 6 OA-175/FPS-3 Indicator, video Personnel at Saglek A/O 2nd Quarter 1961 Officers Airmen Civilians Total Assigned 7 81 37 125 Attached 1 18 0 19 Totals 8 99 37 144 Source: Historical Record, 924th AC&W Squadron, Saglek, Labrador, 1 April 1961 to 30 June 1961. Radar Equipment at Saglek A/O 4th Quarter 1969 1 FPS-20A radar set 1 UPX-14 Radar Sets (IFF) 1 GPX-7A Radar Set (IFF) 6 OA-175/FPS-3 Indicator, video 2 UPA-35 PPI Personnel at Saglek A/O 4nd Quarter 1969 Officers Airmen Civilians Total Authorized 6 90 41 137 Assigned 6 82 39 127 Source: Historical Record, 924th AC&W Squadron, Saglek, Labrador, 1 Oct 1969 to 31 Dec 1969. Closure The radar equipment at Saglek Air Station was permanently shut down on 30 June 1970. The 924th Radar Squadron was deactivated on 31 Jul 1970 and the last personnel were scheduled to leave on 30 Sep 1970. The abandoned site was destroyed by fire in 1978. Reconstructed by the Canadian Government as a North Warning System radar site in 1988 and transitioned to unattended status on 22 September 1995. Saglek Major Equipment List Search Radar HF Radar Data Systems IFF/SIF Comm Radar Scopes FPS-3C FPS-502 FPS-20A FPS-87A FPS-93A FPS-117 TPS-502 UPX-6 UPX-14 GPX-7A GRR-7 GRT-3 FRT-502 URG-60 BC-610 SP-600 GLH-501 GTA-6 OA-99 OA-175 UPA-35 Unit Designations 924th Aircraft Control & Warning (AC&W) Squadron 924th AC&W Squadron Assignments 13 Jun 1953 - Activated at Grenier Air Force Base, NH. 10 Nov 1953 - Transferred to NEAC 1 Apr 1957 - Reassigned to ADC and 4732nd Air Defense Group. 1 Apr 1960 - Transferred to Goose ADS. 1 Apr 1966 - Transferred to 37th Air Division. 31 Mar 1970 - Reassigned to 21st Air Division. 31 Jul 1970 - Inactivated. Saglek Air Station Partial Commanders List (edit list) Assumed Relieved Rank Name Cullum Notes 1954-10-04 Major Blockstege, Henry F. N/A Major Kirkpatrick, Clinon N/A 1958-05-05 Major Parrott, John N/A 1958-05-05 Major Quinlan, Paul J. N/A Major Fischette, Charles R. N/A Major Hunter, Guy N. N/A 1963-06-11 Lt. Colonel Winn, RM N/A 1963-06-11 1964-07 Lt. Colonel Hanko, Cyril J. N/A 1965-07-13 1966 Lt. Colonel Solomon, Richard F. N/A 1966 Major Singleton, Thomas R. N/A 1967-11-30 Lt. Colonel Dahly, Ronald N. N/A 1968-01 1969-01-15 Major Fieder, Frederick W. N/A Captain Coppage, John R. III N/A Major Kelly, James J. N/A 1970 1970-08-01 Major Hino, James H. N/A Dates are formatted in yyyy-mm-dd to sort correctly. The Cullum Number is the graduation order from the United States Military Academy by year and class rank and links to a page for the officer on the website version of the Cullum Register. Listings without a Cullum Number indicate that the person was not a graduate of the United States Military Academy. Physical Plant Saglek Air Station Plan circa 1960s Saglek AS was constructed at the top of an 1800 foot cliff that descended down to Saglek Bay and the Atlantic Ocean on the northeast and sloped downward inland to sea level on the southwest. Most of the site was situated across the top of the cliff. The radar towers, operations building, orderly room, dining hall, supply, cold storage, dry storage, heat plant and power plant were located at the top, all connected by a central covered walkway system. Cascading down the hill from the upper connecting hallways were three sets of quarters, one for the officers, one for the NCOs and one for the airmen. Each set of quarters buildings were interconnected with covered walkways to allow personnel access to any part of the site without having to go outside during the winter months. Other facilities at the site included an airstrip and access to the water at the lower station. Up from the lower station were a BMEWS communications site and a TACAN Navaid. A road led up the hill to a motor pool building near the top of the hill. Just below the main site but connected to it was the "Pole Vault" troposcatter communications system. Current Status Operating as CFS Saglek with a North Warning System (NWS) ID of LAB-2. This is an unattended or minimally attended radar site with an FPS-117, 3D radar installed in 1991. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: CFS Saglek, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Maps & Images Lat: 58.48861 Long: -62.58556 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 1,800' GPS Locations: 58.48338, -62.664299 Lower Site 58.473867, 62.653484 Airstrip 58.48861, -62.58556 Saglek Air Station See Also: Permanent System Radar Sites US Radar Sets Pinetree Line North Warning System Pole Vault Tropo System Sources: Pinetree Line. Buss, Lydus H., US Air Defense in the Northeast 1940-1957, Historical Reference Paper No. 1, Office of Information Services, HQ Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), Ent AFB, 1 Apr 1957. Links: C&E Museum - Saglek C&E Museum - FPS-117 C&E Museum - Saglek, Labrador Wikipedia - CFS Saglek Visited: No