Former Staumnes Air Station (H-4)

Iceland / Vestfirdir / Hnifsdalur /
 former air force base, early warning radar
The last of four defensive radar sites placed at the four corners of Iceland by the US Air Force to provide airspace monitoring over the strategically important area known as the Greenland-Iceland-UK (GIUK) Gap, Latrar Air Station was constructed atop Mt. Straumnes and was manned by the 934th Air Control Squadron. Activated on 20 May 1957 after almost two years of construction, the site consisted of ten separate dormitory, support and operations buildings, all of which were connected by heated corridors to protect the staff from the elements. Intially fitted with AN/FPS-3, AN/FPS-8 and AN/FPS-4 radar systems, the site provided General Surveillance Radar services to US Air Force and NATO forces tracking Soviet Aircraft operating over the GIUK Gap.

Operating in one of the more remote areas of Iceland, USAF forces found maintaining a resupply effort at Latrar to be a logistical nightmare, as foul weather and fog kept planes grounded and ice or heavy seas kept supply ships from reaching the beaching area at Latrar village. Even then, drifting snow and ice would often render the winding 8-mile road to the station impassible. With advances in radar technology at the other H-sites able to provide adequate coverage for the stations airspace by 1960, the US Air Force elected to shut down Staumnes and officially stood down the 934th AC&W Squadron on October 8th, 1960. The site was formally shut down and placed into inactive status in June of 1961, and thereafter was abandoned to the elements.

Today the Staumnes Air Station remains in much the same condition as the day it was shut down, with its buildings and infrastructure remaining though all have been badly damaged by time and weather. The site was used in the well-known Icelandic movie "Children of Nature"/"Börn náttúrunnar" directed by Friðrik Þór Friðriksson and with the soundtrack by Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson.

radomes.org/museum/showsite.php?site=Straumnes+AS,+IS
Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straumnes_Air_Station
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   66°25'50"N   23°5'37"W

Comments

  • The base in the Hornstrandir Nature-Reserve is on top of the Bæjarfjall and can be seen in the well-known Icelandic movie "Children of Nature" by Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson.
  • As mentioned, the film is directed by Friðrik Þór.
This article was last modified 9 years ago