Othello Air Force Station (ADC ID: P-40, NORAD ID: Z-40) 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 south of

Othello, Washington Othello () is a city in Adams County, Washington, United States. The population was 8,549 at the 2020 census, a 16 percent increase from 2010. It is located in the heart of the Columbia Basin Project, approximately southwest of Spokane. ...

. It was the home station of the 637th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (AC&W Sq) (later the 637th Radar Squadron) and the 637th Air Defense Group, closing in 1975.

History

Othello Air Force Station was one of twenty-eight stations built as part of the second segment 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 ...

permanent radar network. Prompted by the start of the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, on 11 July 1950, the Secretary of the Air Force asked the Secretary of Defense for approval to expedite construction of the permanent network. Receiving the Defense Secretary's approval on 21 July, the Air Force directed the Corps of Engineers to proceed with construction. This site took over coverage once provided by the temporary "Lashup" site L-28, Spokane, Washington, which operated between 1950–1952. The 637th AC&W Sq had moved to Saddle Mountain, Washington by 1 January 1951.Cornett & Johnson, p. 155 The squadron began operating an

AN/FPS-3 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 State ...

long-range search radar and an AN/FPS-5 height-finder radar in January 1952, assuming coverage from the temporary "lashup" sites L-29 at

Larson AFB Larson Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located five miles (8 km) northwest of the central business district (CBD) of Moses Lake, in Grant County, Washington. After its closure in 1966, the airport facility became ...

and L-30 at

Richland, Washington Richland () is a city in Benton County, Washington, United States. It is located in southeastern Washington at the confluence of the Yakima River, Yakima and the Columbia River, Columbia Rivers. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was ...

. 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 site was renamed Othello Air Force Station on 1 December 1953. In 1956 ADC replaced the height-finder radar with 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 ...

. In 1958 the 637th AC&W Sq operated an AN/FPS-20 search radar and added an AN/FPS-6A height-finder radar. In July 1960 the joined the regional

Semi-Automatic Ground Environment The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) was a system of mainframe computer, large computers and associated computer network, networking equipment that coordinated data from many radar sites and processed it to produce a single unified image ...

(SAGE) center, the squadron being redesignated as the 637th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 September. 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-40. In 1963 the AN/FPS-20 radar was replaced by an AN/FPS-7C set featuring an ECCM capability (the AN/FPS-7C was later modified to the AN/FPS-107 version). Also in 1963 the AN/FPS-6 was retired as an

AN/FPS-26 The Avco AN/FPS-26 Radar was an Air Defense Command height finder radar developed in the Frequency Diversity Program with a tunable 3-cavity power klystron for electronic counter-countermeasures (e.g. to counter jamming). Accepted by the Rome Ai ...

A height-finder radar was being installed, completed in 1964. In addition to the main facility, Othello 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 ...

Gap Filler sites: * Wenatchee, WA (P-40B) * Okanogan, WA (P-40C) The 637th Radar Sq was inactivated and replaced by the 637th Air Defense Group in March 1970.Cornett, & Johnson, p.86 The upgrade to group status was done because of Othello AFS' status as a

Backup Interceptor Control Backup Interceptor Control (BUIC, ) was the Electronic Systems Division 416M System to backup the SAGE 416L System in the United States and Canada. BUIC deployed Cold War command, control, and coordination systems to SAGE radar stations to create ...

(BUIC) site. BUIC sites were alternate control sites in the event that SAGE Direction Centers became disabled and unable to control interceptor aircraft. The group was awarded the

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and was the first independent Air Force ...

for the period from 1 March 1970 through 31 May 1971 for exceptionally meritorious serviceAir Force Pamphlet 900-2, Vol. II, p. 86 The group was inactivated and replaced by the 637th Radar Squadron. as defenses against crewed bombers were reduced. The group was disbanded in 1984.Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 575q, 27 Sep 1984, Subject: Disbandment of Units The squadron was inactivated on 31 March 1975 due to a draw-down of ADC and budget constraints. Today, the site is abandoned and deteriorating, and has the look of a ghost town. The site and housing area are deteriorating, with tall weeds, grasses, and shrubs growing everywhere.

Units

* Constituted as 637th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron : Activated 21 May 1947 at Long Beach Municipal Airport, CA : Moved to

McChord Air Force Base McChord Field (formerly and still commonly known as McChord Air Force Base) is a United States Air Force base in the northwest United States, in Pierce County, Washington. South of Tacoma, McChord AFB is the home of the 62nd Airlift Wing, ...

, WA on 16 Apr 1948 : Moved to

Larson Air Force Base Larson Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located five miles (8 km) northwest of the central business district (CBD) of Moses Lake, in Grant County, Washington. After its closure in 1966, the airport facility became ...

, WA on 28 January 1949 : Moved to Saddle Mountain (later Othello AFS), WA ''ca''. 1 January 1951 : Redesignated 637th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 September 1960 : Inactivated on 1 March 1970 : Redesignated 637th Radar Squadron on 1 January 1974 : Activated on 17 January 1974 : Inactivated on 31 March 1975 * Constituted as 637th Air Defense Group on 13 February 1970 : Activated on 1 March 1970 : Inactivated on 17 January 1974 : Disbanded on 27 September 1984

Awards

, 637th Air Defense Group 1 March 1970 – 31 May 1971

Assignments

505th Aircraft Control and Warning Group 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

, ''ca''. 1 January 1951 * 162nd Aircraft Control and Warning Group, 1 May 1951 *

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 Air ...

, 6 February 1952 *

4702d Defense Wing The 4702nd Defense Wing (Def Wg) is a discontinued wing of the United States Air Force, last assigned to the 25th Air Division at Geiger Field, Washington. It was established in 1952 at Hamilton AFB, California in a general reorganization of Air ...

, 1 February 1953 * 9th Air Division, 8 October 1954 * 25th Air Division, 15 August 1958 *

4700th Air Defense Wing The Spokane Air Defense Sector (SPADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 25th Air Division (25th AD) at Larson Air Force Base in Grant County, Washington History SAGE ...

, 1 September 1958 *

Spokane Air Defense Sector The Spokane Air Defense Sector (SPADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 25th Air Division (25th AD) at Larson Air Force Base in Grant County, Washington History SAGE ...

, 1 March 1960 *

Seattle Air Defense Sector The Western Air Defense Sector (WADS) is a unit of the Washington Air National Guard located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Tacoma, Washington. As a state militia unit, the Western Air Defense Sector is not in the normal United States Air Force com ...

, 1 September 1963 * 25th Air Division, 1 April 1966 – 31 March 1975

Notes and references

Notes

Bibliography

*
AF Pamphlet 900-2, Unit Decorations, Awards and Campaign Participation Credits, Vol II
Department of the Air Force, Washington, DC, 30 Sep 1976 Further reading * Grant, C.L., (1961
The Development of Continental Air Defense to 1 September 1954, USAF Historical Study No. 126
* * *
Information for Othello AFS, WA
an
Othello Air Force Station
{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed Installations of the United States Air Force in Washington (state) Aerospace Defense Command military installations Semi-Automatic Ground Environment sites 1951 establishments in Washington (state) Military installations established in 1951 1975 disestablishments in Washington (state) Military installations closed in 1975 Military history of Washington (state)