Havre Air Force Station

Havre Air Force Station

The site was renamed Havre Air Force Station on 1 December 1953. ^[4] The Air Force added an AN/GPS-3 radar c. late 1958 that stayed until 1965.

During 1961 Havre AFS joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, when a Burroughs AN/FST-2 Coordinate Data Transmitting Set was installed to transfer radar track data to Air Defense Direction Center DC-20 at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana.^{[ citation needed ]} After joining SAGE, the squadron was redesignated as the 778th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 March 1961. ^[4] The radar squadron provided information 24/7 the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine range, direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile. On 31 July 1963, the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z-25.

In the early 1960s AN/FPS-6 and AN/FPS-6B radars took over height-finder duties. The AN/FPS-6B was upgraded to an AN/FPS-90 in 1964; it was deactivated in 1969. In 1965 an AN/FPS-27 replaced the AN/GPS-3 as the search radar.

In addition to the main facility, Havre operated two AN/FPS-18 Gap Filler sites:

• Galata, Montana (P-25A) 48°46′15″N111°19′44″W / 48.77083°N 111.32889°W / 48.77083; -111.32889 (P-25A)
• Hogeland, Montana (P-25B) 48°51′29″N108°34′12″W / 48.85806°N 108.57000°W / 48.85806; -108.57000 (P-25B)

Backup Interceptor Control

Over the years, the equipment at the station was upgraded or modified to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the information gathered by the radars. The 778th Radar Sq was inactivated and replaced by the 778th Air Defense Group in March 1970. ^{[4] [5]} The upgrade to group status was done because of Havre AFS' status as a Backup Interceptor Control (BUIC) site. BUIC sites were alternate control sites in the event that SAGE Direction Centers became disabled and unable to control interceptor aircraft. The group was inactivated and replaced by the 778th Radar Squadron. ^{[4] [5]} as defenses against manned bombers were reduced. Havre AFS was assigned to Malmstrom Air Force Base on 17 June 1974. ^[1]

Prior to the December 1979 breakup of Aerospace Defense Command, during the Department of Defense announced the proposed closure of "40 obsolete air defense radar stations", 95 military and 25 civilian positions were lost ^[6] and Havre AFS closed on 1 July 1979. The 778th Radar Squadron did not inactivate until September. ^[4]

Anchor Academy

The Anchor Academy, a school for troubled teenage boys, operated at the station in 2001, ^[7] and a few homes in the former military housing area are private residences.

Units

Squadron

• Constituted as the 778th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron

Activated 1 March 1951 at Simpson, Montana

Redesignated 778th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 March 1961

Inactivated on 1 March 1970

Redesignated 778th Radar Squadron on 1 January 1974

Activated on 17 January 1974

Inactivated on 29 September 1979 ^[4]

Group

• Constituted as the 778th Air Defense Group on 13 February 1970

Activated on 1 March 1970

Inactivated on 17 January 1974 ^[5]

Disbanded on 21 September 1984 ^[8]

Assignments

545th Aircraft Control and Warning Group, 1 March 1951

29th Air Division, 6 February 1952

Great Falls Air Defense Sector, 1 July 1960

28th Air Division, 1 April 1966

24th Air Division, 19 November 1969 – 29 September 1979 ^{[4] [5]}

Commanders

• 778th Radar Squadron

Maj. Lowell D. Covington, unknown – 1 Mar 1970 ^[9]

• 778th Air Defense Group

Maj. Lowell D. Covington, 1 Mar 1970 – unknown ^[9]

Notes

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

• Cornett, Lloyd H; Johnson, Mildred W (1980). A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946–1980 (PDF). Peterson AFB, CO: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center. p. 167.
• Mueller, Robert (1989). Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN   0-912799-53-6.
• Winkler, David F.; Webster, Julie L (1997). Searching the skies: The legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program. Champaign, IL: US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories. LCCN   97020912.^{[ dead link ]}

Further reading

• Grant, C. L. "The Development of Continental Air Defense to 1 September 1954, USAF Historical Study No. 126" (PDF). Research Studies Institute, USAF Historical Division, Air University. Retrieved January 13, 2012.,
• Leonard, Barry (2009). History of Strategic Air and Ballistic Missile Defense (PDF). Vol. I. 1945–1955. Fort McNair, DC: Center for Military History. ISBN   9781437921311.
• Leonard, Barry (2009). History of Strategic Air and Ballistic Missile Defense (PDF). Vol. II, 1955–1972. Fort McNair, DC: Center for Military History. ISBN   9781437921311. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2012-10-03.
• Information for Havre AFS, MT