Perrin Air Force Station (ADC ID: RP-78, NORAD ID: Z-78) 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 southeast of North Texas Regional Airport,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. It was closed in 1971.

History

Founded in 1941 as a training site for World War II pilots, Perrin Army Air Field was deactivated in 1946, but reopened as Perrin Air Force Base in April 1948. The base held jet pilot and survival training for flight crews through 1969. Perrin Air Force Radar Station was established during the Korean War in 1952. 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 1962 operation of the radar site was transferred to Air Defense Command and Perrin Air Force Station was established as an annex of Duncanville AFS, TX. It was equipped with an

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 radar. At the end of 1963, the site was performing duty as a joint-use facility for the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

and

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 ...

. In 1964 the 745th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron relocated to Perrin from Duncanville AFS after it was closed. Upon activation it was designated as RP-78, replacing the P-78 site at Duncanville. It was also designated as NORAD site Z-78. Also in 1964 the search radar was upgraded to an

A; in 1965, this radar was further upgraded to an AN/FPS-66. The 745th AC&W Squadron was inactivated on 30 September 1969 and Perrin AFS was closed on 30 June 1971 due to a draw-down of ADC and budget constraints. Today the former radar site is used by small businesses in the area.

Air Force units and assignments

Units: * 745th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, Assigned 1 July 1964 : Inactivated on 30 September 1969 Assignments: *

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 July 1964 *

31st Air Division The 31st Air Division (31st AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, assigned to Tenth Air Force, being stationed at Sioux City Municipal Airport, Iowa. It was inactivated on 3 ...

, 1 April 1966 – 30 September 1969

References

Notes

Bibliography

* 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.
Information for Perrin AFS, TX
{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed Radar stations of the United States Air Force Installations of the United States Air Force in Texas Military installations closed in 1969 Aerospace Defense Command military installations 1964 establishments in Texas 1969 disestablishments in Texas Military installations established in 1964

History

Air Force units and assignments

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography