The Ground Observer Corps (GOC), sometimes erroneously referred to as the Ground ''Observation'' Corps, was the name of two American civil defense organizations during the middle 20th century.
World War II organization
The first Ground Observer Corps was a
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Civil Defense
Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency management: Risk management, prevention, mitigation, prepara ...
program of the
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
to protect United States territory against air attack. The 1.5 million civilian observers at 14,000 coastal observation posts performed naked eye and binocular searches to detect German or Japanese aircraft. Observations were telephoned to filter centers, which forwarded authenticated reports to the
Aircraft Warning Service, which also received reports from
Army radar stations. The program ended in 1944. A few
Aircraft Warning Service Observation Towers survive as relics.
Cold War organization
The second Ground Observer Corps,
with programmatic aims and methodologies similar to the first, was organized in early 1950, during the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. Its creation was prompted by the similar organization formed in Canada in 1950, the
RCAF Ground Observer Corps.
Operating as an arm of the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
Civil Defense
Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency management: Risk management, prevention, mitigation, prepara ...
service, the second GOC supplemented the
Lashup Radar Network and the
Permanent System radar stations. Observations were telephoned directly to filter centers
[ and the information was relayed to ]Air Defense Command
Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for air defense of the continental United States. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air De ...
ground control interception centers.[ ''Note:'' This includes and Accompanying photographs] the West Island
The West Island (, ) is the unofficial name given to the city, towns and boroughs at the western end of the Island of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. It is generally considered to consist of the Lakeshore municipalities of Lachine (specific ...
tower in Fairhaven, Massachusetts (originally part of a World War II-era anti-submarine Fire-control system), and a tower in Soda Springs, Idaho.
The second GOC program ended in 1958 with the advent of automated Army ( Missile Master) and Air Force ( SAGE) radar systems. GOC volunteers were encouraged to continue their service in the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES).
Popular culture
The GOC was a story element in the 1957 science fiction film '' The Deadly Mantis''.
See also
* Aircraft recognition
* Aircraft Identity Corps (Canada)
* Volunteer Air Observers Corps (Australia)
* Royal Observer Corps (United Kingdom)
* Aircraft Detection Corps Newfoundland
References
Ground-based air defence observation corps
1940s establishments in the United States
Civil defense organizations based in the United States
Military units and formations established in the 1940s
United States home front during World War II
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