Lockport Air Force Station (NF-17DC) (Site) | radar station, United States Air Force, former air force base

USA / New York / North Tonawanda /
 radar station, United States Air Force, former air force base
Built in 1950 and activated in 1951 to serve as part of the Air Defense Command's nationwide radar network, the Lockport Air Force Station became home to the 763rd Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron and initially served as Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) station, equipped with a World War II-era AN/CPS-6 radar.

Joining the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) radar system in 1959, the 763rd Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was re-designated as the 763rd Radar Squadron and began transmitting 24/7 airborne aircraft data to the Syracuse Air Force Station with an AN/FPS-7 and twin AN/FPS-6 radar systems. Initially a United States Air Force facility, the station was later upgraded to a joint USAF/US Army facility with the arrival of the 2nd Artillery Group (Air Defense) from Fort Niagara on 1 August 1961. Army personnel utilized the SAGE-connected Missile Master Fire Direction Center to control the Nike Ajax batteries of the Niagara-Buffalo Air Defense Area emplaced to protect the power plants at Niagara Falls and a portion of the US border from Soviet bomber attack.

With the majority of the Niagara Falls-Buffalo Defense Area Nike missile batteries being deactivated in 1962-63 and the balance coming offline in 1969, the US Army presence at the station ended and the facility reverted to US Air Force tracking and monitoring duties in the Aerospace Defense Command. USAF operations continued through the 1960's and into the 1970's before the deactivation of the 763d Radar Squadron on June 29th, 1979. Following the removal of much of the radar and electronic equipment from the site, the former USAF property was returned to the State of New York and is presently under remediation for reuse.


radomes.org/museum/showsite.php?site=Lockport+AFS%2C+NY...
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockport_AFS
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Coordinates:   43°8'23"N   78°50'1"W

Comments

  • A couple of corrections. 1. The 2nd Artillery Group (Air Defense) moved its headquarters from Fort Niagara in Youngstown, N.Y. to the Lockport Air Force Station on 1 August 1961. The Army Air Defense Command Post (AADCP) was greatly improved by the Missile Master Fire Direction Center which had been installed at the Lockport Air Force Station which had connectivity with SAGE. When the Nike Ajax batteries of the Niagara-Buffalo Air Defense were closed by 1963, Missile Master was replaced by the smaller BIRDIE system but the AADCP remained at Lockport Air Force Station until 1969. 2. The Army Air Defense mission for the Niagara Frontier did not end until December 1969 when the remaining three Nike Hercules Sites (Cambria, Grand Island, and Lancaster) were shut down. The closeout lasted until Spring of 1970.
This article was last modified 6 years ago