Texas Tower 2 (ADC ID: TT-2) was a former

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air 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 of the United States Army Si ...

Texas Tower The Texas Towers were a set of three radar facilities off the eastern seaboard of the United States which were used for surveillance by the United States Air Force during the Cold War. Modeled on the offshore oil drilling platforms first employe ...

General Surveillance Radar station, first operational in 1955. It was located east of

Cape Cod, Massachusetts Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mon ...

, in . The tower was closed in 1963 and dismantled.Texas Tower 2 at FortWiki.com
/ref> Located on Georges Bank, Texas Tower 2 was one in a series of manned radar stations that were so named because they resembled the oil-drilling platforms of the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was established in 1946, briefly inac ...

(ADC) estimated that the Texas Towers would help extend contiguous East Coast radar coverage some seaward. In terms of Soviet military capabilities, this would provide the United States with an extra 30 minutes of warning time in the event of an incoming bomber attack.

History

Texas Tower 2 began construction in 1955 at

Fore River Shipyard Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on Quincy Point in 1901. I ...

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 101,636, making ...

. In June 1955, it was successfully floated and towed to its site east of

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

. Beginning in December 1955 enough of the structure was complete that one AN/FPS-3 search radar and two AN/FPS-6 height finder radars developed by Air Force Rome Air Development Center ADCNew York, were installed. Personnel from the

762d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron North Truro Air Force Station (AFS) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located east of North Truro, Massachusetts. Most of the site was inactivated by 1994 and turned over to the National Park Servic ...

, stationed at

North Truro Air Force Station North Truro Air Force Station (AFS) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located east of North Truro, Massachusetts. Most of the site was inactivated by 1994 and turned over to the National Park Servi ...

, MA performed the operational use of the tower. It was manned by a crew of 6 officers and 48 airmen. The 4604th Support Squadron (Texas Towers) at Otis AFB (now Otis Air National Guard Base) provided logistical support. Life aboard Texas Tower 2 was difficult. Both the structure and its crew suffered from the near-constant vibration caused by rotating radar antennas and diesel generators. The surrounding ocean and tower footings also transmitted distant sounds along the steel legs, amplifying them throughout the entire structure. With the advent of Soviet

ICBMs An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...

and the bomber threat was reduced in importance, the tower was decommissioned in 1963 and demolished shortly thereafter. During the demolition, the remains of the tower sank to the sea floor. It remains there and has become a site for scuba diving.

Units and assignments

Units: *

(Flight), (Operations unit based at North Truro AFS, MA), May 1956-15 January 1963 * 4604th Support Squadron (Texas Towers) (Logistics support unit based at Otis AFB, MA), May 1956-15 January 1963 Assignments: * 4704th Defense Wing, May 1956 * 4622d Air Defense Wing, 18 October 1956 *

Boston Air Defense Sector The Boston Air Defense Sector (BADS) is an inactive United States Air Force Air Defense Command (ADC) organization. Its last assignment was with the ADC 26th Air Division at Hancock Field, New York. History BADS was established in 1956 at Ste ...

, 8 January 1957 – 15 January 1963

References

* Winkler, David F. (1997), Searching the skies: the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program. Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command. * A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
Information for Texas Tower No.2 (Georges Shoal)

External links

{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed Radar stations of the United States Air Force Military installations closed in 1963 Aerospace Defense Command military installations Installations of the United States Air Force in Massachusetts Military installations established in 1958 1958 establishments in Massachusetts 1963 disestablishments in Massachusetts Buildings and structures demolished in 1963

History

Units and assignments

See also

References

External links