Former Bethel Air Force Station (F-21) (Bethel, AK)

 military, abandoned / shut down, United States Air Force, early warning radar

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Established in 1957 following the acquisition of land approximately 5 miles west of Bethel, the Bethel Air Force Station Alaska was activated in 1958 and operated as a surveillance station monitoring the Western Alaska airspace for Soviet aircraft. Manned by personnel of the 713th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, the site was equipped with AN/FPS-8, AN/FPS-4, AN/FPS-6, and AN/FPS-6B radars and was linked directly to the Air Defense Direction Center at Fire Island AFS near Anchorage via an adjacent White Alice Communication System transmitter site located to the South of the facility.

Kept in operation through October of 1963, Bethel AFS was shut down due to budget cuts and placed into caretaker status thereafter, awaiting reactivation if needed in the event of national emergency. The call was never to come however, and eventually the site was abandoned to the elements. Today the site is in a derelict condition and is slated for full environmental remediation.

www.radomes.org/museum/showsite.php?site=Bethel+AFS%2C+...