Boron Federal Prison Camp/Boron AFS (closed)

USA / California / Boron /
 military, prison, interesting place
The prison was built on the site of Boron Air Station (callsign: Duly), of which no trace remains except the radar tower.

In February 1952 the 750th AC&W Squadron assumed coverage responsibilities formerly held by the Edwards AFB site (L-40), and was operating two AN/FPS-10 radars at this new site. The AN/FPS-10 search radar remained until 1959. In 1958 an AN/FPS-6 replaced the AN/FPS-10 height-finder radar. A second height-finder radar (AN/FPS-6A) was installed in 1959. In 1961 the facility provided data for the regional SAGE center, and became an operational ADC/FAA joint-use radar. By this time the AN/FPS-10 had been replaced by an AN/FPS-20 search radar. However, this radar was soon replaced by an AN/FPS-35 FD radar. By 1963 this radar operated with AN/FPS-26A and AN/FPS-90 height-finder radars. In 1968 the AN/FPS-90 was deactivated. In 1969 the AN/FPS-35 was removed, and was replaced by an AN/FPS-67 on the same tower (and with a radome); it became operational in 1970. The 750th was deactivated in June 1975. The FAA retained the AN/FPS-67, and continue to operate it today.

The former Federal Prison Camp, which closed in April, 2000, was one of around 47 minimum security federal prison camps in the country, and housed about 540 male inmates. Workers in the prison assembled parts for military vehicles and rebuilt forklifts for the army.

ludb.clui.org/ex/i/CA4983/
www.radomes.org/museum
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   35°4'44"N   117°34'54"W

Comments

  • Note that while Boron AFS, the site was the home of a NIKE air defense radar site which (officially) was the back-up for the Los Angeles (west) regional. The site still contained the towers and pedastals for the HIPAR, LOPAR and Target Tracking radars used in association with the NIKE missile. There are two points of inconsistency in the placement of these radars and this entire site. NIKE was a theater (medium range - 140km / 86nm) air defence system in it's most deployed version. According to the Fort McArthur Museum site (and home to one of the Los Angeles area defence battalions - http://www.ftmac.org/Lanike1.htm) NIKE radar sites with acquisition and targeting sites were typically built outside of 1000 yards but within 20 nm of the launch batteries. This being noted there is no way this former battery control center and radar site could have controlled or acted as backup for any batteries in the Los Angeles area. So what batteries did it really control?
  • I was assigned to the 750th AC&W SQ., Boron AFS from Jun 1955 to JAN 1957 after finishing school at Keesler AFB, Biloxi,MS. I was in Radar Maintenance and the Radar at that time was a CPS/6B with an OA347 EW Search on the rotating platform. The antennas were enclosed in a pressurised radome. (I still have my Maintenance Manual) There was no FPS/10 Radar during that time period.
This article was last modified 3 years ago