Lompoc Air Force Station

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Lompoc Air Force Station (1963-1968) - A Cold War Air Force Radar Station first established in 1963 near Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, California. Named Lompoc Air Force Station after the location. USAF Facility No. 7867. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of RP-15 and a Sage ID of Z-15. Merged into Vandenberg AFB on 1 Mar 1966. Abandoned as a radar site in 1968. Now a telemetry site for the Western Test Range of Vandenberg Air Force Base.

History

Construction began on 1 Nov 1961, the site was activated on 13 Jun 1962 and became operational on 1 Apr 1963 as Lompoc Air Force Station. The site was manned by the 669th AC&W Squadron which was relocated from Santa Rosa Island Air Force Station to Lompoc AFS.

The station was initially built as a SAGE System radar site without a Ground Control Intercept (GCI) mission and it joined the SAGE System when it became operational. While under construction, the site was given a limited GCI role and after completion, it became a full-fledged GCI site.

Initial equipment at Lompoc AFS included the FPS-67 search radar, one FPS-6 height-finder radar and one FPS-6A height-finder radar. The FST-2B coordinate data transmitter was also installed at Lompoc AFS prior to its activation as a SAGE System site.

The total cost of construction and equipment was $4,302,195.

SAGE System Operation

Former Norton SAGE Direction Center DC-17
Lompoc SAGE Direction Centers & Sectors
Assigned Direction Center Sector
17 Apr 1963 - 1 Apr 1966 Norton SAGE Direction Center DC-17 Los Angeles Air Defense Sector
1 Apr 1966 - 18 Jun 1968 Luke SAGE Direction Center DC-21 27th Air Division

The site began operation as a SAGE site on 17 Apr 1963 initially feeding the Norton SAGE Direction Center DC-17. With the closure of Norton in 1966, control switched to the Luke SAGE Direction Center DC-21 at Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, Arizona.

Modes of Operation

  • Mode I - Normal Ops - FST-2 Feeds Radar Data to Primary Direction Center
  • Mode II - Primary DC Inop - FST-2 Feeds Radar Data to Secondary Direction Center
  • Mode III - All DCs Inop - Manual Operation radar tracks passed to Boron Air Force Station

Deactivation

Lompoc AFS and the 669th were deactivated on 1 Jun 1968. The site is now a telemetry site for the Western Test Range at Vandenberg AFB, CA. The GATR site remained operational, first as site R-22 and then as site G-35.

Physical Plant

The physical plant of the site was divided into just the main site and a GATR radio site.

The main site housed the operations buildings, the radar towers, and the backup generators. The cantonment functions and support functions were provided by nearby Vandenberg Air Force Base. Shuttle buses were provided to ferry personnel between the base and the radar site.

A separate GATR radio site housed the radio equipment for directing aircraft intercepts.


Lompoc AFS Major Equipment List
Search Radar HF Radar Data Systems Comm IFF/SIF/Beacon
Unit Designations
  • 669th Aircraft Control & Warning (AC&W) Squadron (1951-1963)
  • 669th Radar Squadron (SAGE) (1963-1968)
669th Assignments
  • 1 Jan 1951 - Assigned at Ft. MacArthur, CA, assigned to 544th AC&W Gp
  • 6 Feb 1952 - Transferred to 27th AD.
  • 11 Feb 1952 - Moved to Santa Rosa Island, CA.
  • 1 Oct 1959 - Transferred to Los Angeles ADS. (Norton DC-17)
  • 1 Apr 1963 - Moved to Lompoc AFS, CA.
  • 1 Apr 1963 - Redesignated 669th Radar Sq (SAGE) (from AC&W Sq).
  • 1 Apr 1966 - Transferred to 27th AD. (Luke DC-21)
  • 18 Jun 1968 - Discontinued.


Lompoc Air Force Station Partial Commanders List (edit list)
Assumed Relieved Rank Name Cullum Notes
1963 1967 Lt. Colonel Hofman, George P. N/A
1967 1968 Lt. Colonel Irwin, Glen G. N/A

Current Status

The main site is now a telemetry site for the Western Test Range at Vandenberg AFB, CA. The GATR site is still operational as site G-35.

<googlemap version="0.9" lat="34.56583" lon="-120.50028" zoom="16" width="-500" height="-500" scale="yes" overview="yes" controls="large" icons="http://www.fortwiki.com/mapicons/icon{label}.png"> (G) 34.55194, -120.50222, GATR Site (R) 34.56583, -120.50028, Lompoc Air Force Station (1963-1968) </googlemap>

Location: Lompoc in Santa Barbara County, California.

Lat: 34.56583 Long: -120.50028 Elevation: {{{3}}} ACME, Bing, Google

  • Elevation: 2,100'

See Also:


Sources:

  • Cornett, Lloyd H. & Johnson, Mildred W., A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization (1946-1980), Office of History ADC, Peterson AFB, Colorado, 31 Dec 1980, 179 pages, Pdf, page 159.
  • Winkler, David F., Searching the Skies: the Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program, USAF Hq Air Combat Command, 1997, 192 pages, Pdf, page 112.
  • USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 2086562


Links:

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