Killeen Air Force Station
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Killeen Air Force Station (ADC ID: TM-192) is a closed
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 ...
General Surveillance Radar station. It is located west-southwest of
Killeen, Texas Killeen is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Bell County. According to the 2020 census, its population was 153,095, making it the 19th-most populous city in Texas and the largest of the three principal cities of Bell County. It is ...
. It was closed in 1961.


History

Killeen Air Force Station came into existence as part of Phase III of the
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 ...
(ADC) Mobile Radar program. On 20 October 1953, ADC requested a third phase of twenty-five radar sites be constructed. It was constructed on the existing Robert Gray AFB to provide radar protection for the
Fort Hood Fort Cavazos is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. The post is currently named after Gen. Richard E. Cavazos, a native Texan and the US Army’s first Hispanic four-star general. The post is located halfway between Austi ...
area. The 814th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was moved to Killeen AFS on 14 February 1957. It operated
AN/FPS-20 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, a ...
search radar and an
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 S ...
height-finder radars at the station, 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. In addition to the main facility, Killeen operated two
AN/FPS-18 The AN/FPS-18 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 ...
Gap Filler sites between April and December 1960: * Schulenburg, Texas (TM-192B): * Normangee, Texas (TM-192C): Killeen was inactivated 1 February 1961 due to budgetary cuts. Today most of the site is unused, but maintained by Fort Hood with most of the buildings being torn down. A radio tower is now on the site. The circular concrete foundation for the AN/FPS-20A search radar tower is clearly visible in aerial imagery.


Air Force units and assignments


Units

* Constituted as the 814th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron : Activated on 8 May 1956 at
Oklahoma City AFS Oklahoma City Air Force Station (ADC ID: P-52, NORAD-ID: Z-52) is a closed Cold War United States Air Force air defense and communications-electronics headquarters and radar station. It was located east-southeast of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, ju ...
, OK (not manned or equipped) : Moved to Killeen AFS on 14 February 1957 : Discontinued and inactivated on 1 February 1961


Assignments

*
33d Air Division The 33rd Air Division (33d AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, assigned to First Air Force, being stationed at Fort Lee Air Force Station, Virginia. It was inactivated on ...
, 14 February 1957 *
Oklahoma City Air Defense Sector The Oklahoma City Air Defense Sector (OCADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command's 29th Air Division at Oklahoma City Air Force Station, Oklahoma. History Oklahoma City A ...
, 1 January 1960 – 1 February 1961


See also

*
List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations United States general surveillance radar stations include Army and USAF stations of various US air defense networks (in reverse chronological order): *Joint Surveillance System (JSS), with radar stations controlled by joint FAA/USAF ROCCs beginnin ...


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 Killeen AFS, TX
{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed Radar stations of the United States Air Force Aerospace Defense Command military installations 1957 establishments in Texas 1961 disestablishments in Texas Installations of the United States Air Force in Texas Military installations established in 1957 Military installations closed in 1961