Opana Radar Site
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The Opana Radar Site is a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
and IEEE Milestone that commemorates the first operational use of
radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
by the United States in wartime, during the
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
. It is located off the
Kamehameha Highway Kamehameha Highway is one of the main highways serving suburban and rural O‘ahu in the U.S. state of Hawai‘i. Informally known as Kam Highway, it begins at Nimitz Highway near Pearl Harbor and Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, serves the ...
just inland from the north shore of
Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...
,
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, south of
Kawela Bay Kawela Bay is a census-designated place and small community in the Koolauloa District on the northern coast of the island of Oahu, City & County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. In Hawaiian, ''ka wela'' means "the heat". As of the 2020 c ...
. It is not open to the public.


History

In December 1939, the U.S. military established an Aircraft Warning Service (AWS) using radar to defend American territory. It employed the
SCR-270 radar The SCR-270 (Set Complete Radio model 270) was one of the first operational early-warning radars. It was the U.S. Army's primary long-distance radar throughout World War II and was deployed around the world. It is also known as the Pearl Harbor ...
, the first United States long-range search radar created at the Signal Corps laboratories at
Fort Monmouth Fort Monmouth is a former installation of the Department of the Army in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The post is surrounded by the communities of Eatontown, Tinton Falls and Oceanport, New Jersey, and is located about from the Atlantic Ocean. Th ...
,
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, circa 1937. The radar's operating frequency was 106 megahertz and it had a maximum range of 150 miles, or greater if the equipment was at an elevated site. Under the command of Col. Wilfred H. Tetley the AWS established six mobile radar detector sites on O'ahu at Kawaiola, Wainaae, Ka'a'awa,
Koko Head Koko Head is the headland that defines the eastern side of Maunalua Bay along the southeastern side of the Island of Oahu in Hawaii. On its western slope is the community of Portlock, a part of Hawaii Kai. Koko Head (at 642 ft or 196 m) is a ...
,
Schofield Barracks Schofield Barracks is a United States Army installation and census-designated place (CDP) located in the City and County of Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, Oahu, Hawaii, Hawaii. Schofield Barracks lies adj ...
, and
Fort Shafter Fort Shafter, in Honolulu CDP, Page 4/ref> City and County of Honolulu, Hawai‘i, is the headquarters of the United States Army Pacific, which commands most Army forces in the Asia-Pacific region with the exception of Korea. Geographically, Fort ...
. On Thanksgiving Day in 1941, the Schofield Barracks radar set was moved to the Opana Radar Site, a location 532 feet above sea level with an unobstructed view of the Pacific Ocean. The set comprised four trucks carrying the transmitter, modulator, water cooler, receiver, oscilloscope, operator, generator and antenna.


Attack on Pearl Harbor

On December 7, 1941, the Opana Radar Site was manned by Private Joseph Lockard and Private George Elliot, who detected approaching aircraft at 7:02 am (past the end of the site's scheduled operating day). Since the truck to take them to breakfast was late, the pair continued to practice with the radar equipment. The men reported their findings to the temporary information center at
Fort Shafter Fort Shafter, in Honolulu CDP, Page 4/ref> City and County of Honolulu, Hawai‘i, is the headquarters of the United States Army Pacific, which commands most Army forces in the Asia-Pacific region with the exception of Korea. Geographically, Fort ...
. Private Joseph McDonald took the call. McDonald found Lt
Kermit Tyler Kermit Arthur Tyler (April 13, 1913 – January 23, 2010) was an American Air Force officer. Tyler was assigned as a pilot in the 78th Pursuit Squadron at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the day Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Biography Tyler ...
when he entered the plotting room when he timed the message. Tyler told him that it was nothing. McDonald called back the Opana Radar site and spoke to Pvt
Joseph Lockard On the morning of 7 December 1941 the SCR-270 radar at the Opana Radar Site on northern Oahu detected a large number of aircraft approaching from the north. This information was conveyed to Fort Shafter’s Intercept Center. The report was dismissed ...
. Lockard was excited, he had never seen so many planes. Infected with Lockard's excitement, McDonald returned to Tyler. McDonald suggested to Tyler to call back the plotters and notify Wheeler Field of the sighting. When Tyler again indicated that it was nothing, McDonald insisted that Tyler talk to Lockard directly. The information center staff had gone to breakfast and Tyler received the report. Tyler reasoned that the activity was a flight of Army
B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
bombers, and advised the radar crew not to worry. Tyler told investigators that a friend in the Bomber group advised him that whenever the radio station played Hawaiian music all night, a flight from the mainland was arriving, and using that for navigation homing. McDonald was relieved at about 7:40 and returned to his tent waking his tent mate up by saying "Shim the Japs are coming". Elliot and Lockard continued plotting the incoming planes until 7:40 when contact was lost. Shortly before 8:00 am they headed to Kawailoa for breakfast and only learned about the attack when they arrived. Elliot and Lockard rushed back to Opana and operated the radar until the attack ended.


Today

Today, a modern Navy telecommunications station occupies the top of the Opana Hill adjacent to the site. The station is a relay for the
Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
's
Diplomatic Telecommunications Service The Diplomatic Telecommunications Service (DTS) is a system of integrated telecommunications networks that supports foreign affairs agencies in Washington, D.C., and U.S. diplomatic missions abroad. It is administered by the United States Departmen ...
. The former site is a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
and IEEE Milestone. Since the 1941 radar was a mobile unit, there is no physical evidence of the historic unit at the site. There is a commemorative plaque on the grounds of the Turtle Bay Resort at the foot of Opana Hill.


See also

*
List of IEEE Milestones The following timeline tables list the discoveries and inventions in the history of electrical and electronic engineering. History of discoveries timeline History of associated inventions timeline List of IEEE Milestones The following li ...


References


External links


Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary
{{Registered Historic Places National Historic Landmarks in Hawaii World War II radars World War II on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii National Register of Historic Places in Honolulu County, Hawaii