Red Bluff Air Force Station (ADC ID: SM-157, NORAD ID: Z-157) is a closed

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

General Surveillance Radar station. It is located west-southwest of

Red Bluff, California Red Bluff is a city in and the county seat of Tehama County, California, United States. The population was 14,710 at the 2020 census, up from 14,076 at the 2010 census. It is located north of Sacramento, south of Redding, and it is bisect ...

. It was closed in 1970.

History

Red Bluff Air Force Station was initially part of Phase II of the Air Defense Command Mobile Radar program. The Air Force approved this expansion of the Mobile Radar program on October 23, 1952. Radars in this network were designated “SM.” The station consisted of 30.84 acres, was acquired by the Air Force on May 25, 1955. The station became operational on 1 April 1956 when the 859th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was moved to the new station. Initially Red Bluff used AN/MPS-8 and AN/MPS-11 radars, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and warning station. As a GCI station, the squadron's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. The AN/MPS-11 remained until 1963. In 1959 the Air Force placed

AN/FPS-6 The AN/FPS-6 Radar was a long-range height finding radar used by the United States Air Force's Air Defense Command. The AN/FPS-6 radar was introduced into service in the late 1950s and served as the principal height-finder radar for the United Stat ...

and -6A height-finder radars and removed the AN/MPS-8 from Red Bluff. During 1960 Red Bluff AFS joined the

Semi Automatic Ground Environment The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) was a system of large computers and associated networking equipment that coordinated data from many radar sites and processed it to produce a single unified image of the airspace over a wide area. SA ...

(SAGE) system, feeding data to DC-13 at

Adair AFS Adair may refer to: People * Adair (name), a surname and given name * Adair baronets in the Baronetage of the UK Places * Adare Manor, a manor house in Adare, County Limerick, Ireland * Bahia Adair or Adair Bay, a bay in the municipality of San L ...

, Oregon. After joining, the squadron was redesignated as the 859th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 15 July 1960. 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-157. In 1964 Red Bluff became a joint-use facility with the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

(FAA), using the

AN/FPS-67 The AN/FPS-20 was a widely used L band early warning and ground-controlled interception radar system employed by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command, the NORAD Pinetree Line in Canada, the USAF CONAD in the continental United States, ...

search and

and

AN/FPS-90 The AN/FPS-6 Radar was a long-range height finding radar used by the United States Air Force's Air Defense Command. The AN/FPS-6 radar was introduced into service in the late 1950s and served as the principal height-finder radar for the United Stat ...

height-finder radars located on site. In addition to the main facility, Red Bluff operated several

AN/FPS-14 The AN/FPS-14 was a medium-range search Radar used by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command. This medium-range search radar was designed and built by Bendix as a SAGE system gap-filler radar to provide low-altitude coverage. Operating i ...

Gap Filler sites: * Janesville, CA (SM-157A) * Whitmore, CA (SM-157B) * Hayfork, CA (SM-157C) The 859th was inactivated 30 September 1970 and the station was closed due to budget restraints. 8.1 acres were turned over to the FAA on November 15, 1971, and 22.615 acres, currently known as Ridgeway County Park, were turned over to the Tehema County for use as a public park on August 2, 1972. The 4.24-acre Red Bluff Housing Annex included 16 family housing units, located within the city of Red Bluff in Tahema County. It was declared excess and turned over to GSA on December 10, 1970. In 1972, GSA quitclaimed portions of the 4.24 acres to 17 grantees, and the remaining 0.03 acres turned over to the City of Red Bluff by the Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare. A 1991 Family Housing Area report stated that the original housing area, currently divided among 14 owners as 17 single-family homes, were all occupied. The majority of the site (excluding Family Housing) is known as Ridgeway County Park, with the remainder used by the FAA as a weather station. Many of the original structures have been removed. Structures present and still in use at the time of a 1991 USACE site investigation include the operations building, rec hall, pump house and well, and sewage treatment facility. Structures still present but not used since DOD occupation include a swamp cooler for the rec hall, the sewage treatment plant chlorinator, and the sewage treatment pump house.

Air Force units and assignments

Units

* Constituted as the 859th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron : Activated at

Hamilton AFB Hamilton Field (Hamilton AFB) was a United States Air Force base, which was inactivated in 1973, decommissioned in 1974, and put into a caretaker status with the Air Force Reserves until 1976. It was transferred to the United States Army in 1983 ...

, California on 8 September 1955 : Moved to Red Bluff AFS, California on 1 April 1956 : Redesignated 859th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 15 July 1960 : Inactivated on 30 September 1970

Assignments

28th Air Division The 28th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Tactical Air Command at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It was inactivated on 29 May 1992. History Established in December ...

, 1 April 1956 *

25th Air Division The 25th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force intermediate echelon command and control organization. It was last assigned to First Air Force, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC). It was inactivated on 30 September 1990 at McChord A ...

, 1 March 1959 *

Portland Air Defense Sector The Portland Air Defense Sector (PADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 25th Air Division, being stationed at Adair Air Force Station, Oregon. It was inactivated on 1 July 1969. History P ...

, 1 March 1960 * 26th Air Division, 1 April 1966 - 30 September 1970

References

* Cornett, Lloyd H. and Johnson, Mildred W.,
A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980
', Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson AFB, CO (1980). * Winkler, David F. & Webster, Julie L.,
Searching the Skies
', The Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program, US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories, Champaign, IL (1997).
Information for Red Bluff AFS, CA
{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed Installations of the United States Air Force in California Formerly Used Defense Sites in California Red Bluff, California Semi-Automatic Ground Environment sites History of Tehama County, California 1956 establishments in California 1970 disestablishments in California Military installations established in 1956 Military installations closed in 1970

History

Air Force units and assignments

Units

Assignments

See also

References