Finley Air Force Station

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Finley Air Force Station
west of Finley, North Dakota
Type Air Force station
Coordinates 47°30′57″N, 097°52′08″W
Built
In use April 1952–December 1979,
April 1952–current (GATR / JSS)
Controlled by United States Air Force
Garrison 785 AC&W Sqdn

Finley Air Force Station (Finley AFS) was an Aircraft Control and Warning (AC&W) facility at approximately 1550' elevation AMSL, located southwest of Grand Forks, less than one mile west of Finley, in north-eastern North Dakota.

Contents

[edit] History and lineage

  • Activated c. April 1952 as Pinetree Line site P-29;
  • Redesignated as USAF site Finley Air Force Station;
  • Reallocated c. 1961–c. 1963 as Semi Automatic Ground Environment site Z-29;
  • Main site inactivated on 30 December 1979, GATR facility retained as Joint Surveillance System (JSS) operations;
  • Main station equipment, buildings, fixtures, furnishings, and land auctioned off in public auction on 9 July 2000.

The GATR site is still operating with an FAA mandate and equipment (designation Z-303, then J-75).


[edit] Buildings and facilities

The Ground to Air Transmitter-Receiver (GATR) facility was located off-station at 47°30′40″N, 097°54′05″W, roughly one mile northwest of the main station.


[edit] Assigned units


[edit] Current use

The main Station is closed down and auctioned off, but the GATR site is operating an FAA search radar under the Joint Surveillance System.


[edit] References

  • Winkler, David Frank (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, Langley AFB, VA: Headquarters Air Combat Command. LCCN 97-20912. 


[edit] External links

Coordinates: 47°30′57″N, 097°52′08″W

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