Cartwright Air Station (ADC ID: N-27) is a closed General Surveillance Radar station. It is located east-northeast of

CFB Goose Bay Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay , commonly referred to as CFB Goose Bay, is a Canadian Forces Base located in the municipality of Happy Valley-Goose Bay in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is operated as an air force base by ...

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

.The CADIN Pinetree Line Radar Sites
/ref> It was closed in 1968.

History

The site was established in 1953 as a General Surveillance Radar station, funded by the

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 S ...

(USAF). It was used initially by the

Northeast Air Command The Northeast Air Command (NEAC) was a short-lived organization in the United States Air Force tasked with the operation and defense of air bases in Greenland, Labrador and Newfoundland. It was formed in 1950 from the facilities of the United St ...

, which stationed the 922d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron on the station on 1 October 1953. 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. It was equipped with the following radars: * Search Radar: AN/FPS-3C, AN/FPS-502, AN/FPS-20A, AN/FPS-87A, AN/FPS-93A * Height Radar: AN/TPS-502, AN/FPS-6B, AN/FPS-90 The station was reassigned to the USAF

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 ina ...

on 1 April 1957, and was given designation "N-27". In 1963, the site was connected to the Manual Data Center at

Goose AFB Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay , commonly referred to as CFB Goose Bay, is a Canadian Forces Base located in the municipality of Happy Valley-Goose Bay in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is operated as an air force base by ...

. In addition to the main facility, Cartwright 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 in ...

manned Gap Filler sites: *

Cut Throat Island Air Station Cut Throat Island Air Station (ADC ID: N-27A) was a General Surveillance Gap Filler Radar station in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, It was located east-northeast of CFB Goose Bay. It was closed in 1961. History The sit ...

(N-27A): *

Spotted Island Air Station Spotted Island Air Station (ADC ID: N-27B) was a General Surveillance Gap Filler Radar station in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, It was located east of CFB Goose Bay. It was closed in 1961. History The site was establish ...

(N-27B): *

Fox Harbour Air Station Fox Harbour Air Station (ADC ID: N-27C) was a General Surveillance Gap Filler Radar station in St. Lewis in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, It was located southeast of CFB Goose Bay. It was closed in 1961. History The si ...

(N-27C): On 18 June 1968, the USAF transferred control of the site to the

Canadian Armed Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

. It was inactivated, closed and the remains of the station are abandoned.

USAF units and assignments

Units

* 922d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, activated at

Grenier AFB Grenier is a surname. It is a French word for ''attic, loft,'' or ''granary''. Notable people with the surname include: * Adrian Grenier * Angèle Grenier, Canadian maple syrup producer * Auguste Jean François Grenier (1814–1890), French doctor ...

, New Hampshire, 26 May 1953 : Moved to Cartwright Air Station, 1 October 1953 : Discontinued,18 June 1968

Assignments

4707th Air Defense Wing The 4707th Air Defense Wing is a discontinued United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 26th Air Division of Air Defense Command (ADC) at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts where it was discontinued in 1956. The wing ...

(ADC), 26 May 1953 *

, 1 October 1953 *

4732d Air Defense Group The 4732nd Air Defense Group is a discontinued United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 64th Air Division of Air Defense Command at Goose Air Force Base, Newfoundland, Canada, where it was discontinued in 1960. Th ...

(ADC), 1 April 1957 *

Goose Air Defense Sector The Goose Air Defense Sector (GADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 26th Air Division, being stationed at Goose Air Force Base, Labrador, Canada. It was inactivated on 1 April 1966 and rep ...

, 1 April 1960 *

37th Air Division The 37th Air Division (37th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command at Goose Air Force Base, Labrador, Canada It was inactivated on 30 June 1970. History Strategic Air Command E ...

, 1 April 1966 – 18 June 1968

North Warning System

A long range

AN/FPS-117 The AN/FPS-117 is an L-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) 3-dimensional air search radar first produced by GE Aerospace in 1980 and now part of Lockheed Martin. The system offers instrumented detection at ranges on the order of and ...

surveillance radar site,

Cartwright Long Range Radar Site Cartwright Long Range Radar Site (LAB-6) is a Royal Canadian Air Force Long Range Radar Site located east-northeast of CFB Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador. Facilities The facility contains a long range, phased array AN/FPS-117 3-dimen ...

, was built south of Cartwright Air Station in November 1998 as part of the

North Warning System The North Warning System (NWS) is a joint United States and Canadian early-warning radar system for the atmospheric air defense of North America. It provides surveillance of airspace from potential incursions or attacks from across North America ...

to cover any Long Range Radar surveillance gaps. The new site (LAB-6) consists of a radar towers, communications facility, and storage and tunnel connected buildings for personnel.

References

* 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 * 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.

External links

{{NLMilitary, state=collapsed Installations of the United States Air Force in Canada Radar stations of the United States Air Force Aerospace Defense Command military installations Military installations in Newfoundland and Labrador Military installations established in 1953 Military installations closed in 1968 1953 establishments in Newfoundland and Labrador 1968 disestablishments in Newfoundland and Labrador