Former Sparrevohn Air Force Station

 military, former air force base, early warning radar

 Upload a photo

The former Sparrevohn Air Force Station was constructed in 1953-55 as part of the Alaska Radar System as a dual ground control intercept (GCI) and long range radar (LRR) site to guard against potential Soviet air attack. Due to the remote and inaccessible location in Alaska's Lime Hills region, all equipment to construct the site was initially dropped by parachute onto the site until construction crews could complete the site runway.

Manned by the 719th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron during its operational period, the site was also co-located with a the Sparrevohn White Alice Communications System (WACS) site, callsign SVW, which provided a three-way troposcatter communications link between Big Mountain AFS to the South, Aniak AFS to the West and Tatalina AFS to the North through 120, 135 and 126 mile shots respectively.

Both the Air Force and WACS facilities were closed in 1983 and idled, with the radar site's role being assumed by a co-located NORAD Long Range Radar Site supported by the 611th Air Support Group out of Elmendorf AFB. Now an unmanned site, much of the Cold War-era infrastructure was razed and removed and the site environmentally remediated during "Operation Clean Sweep", a task carried out by the 611th Civil Engineering Squadron and completed in 2005. Today the site contains new ground support structures for storage of equipment, vehicles, and dormitory space transient support personnel who access the site for maintaining the facilities on an as-needed basis.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNGtZs3-soE


www.youtube.com/watch?v=idaLET-1u_k