Minot Air Force Station

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Minot Air Force Station
south of Minot, North Dakota
Type Air Force station
Coordinates 48°00′13″N, 101°17′40″W
Location code QJVM (ILC)
Built
In use May 1951–September 1979, 1984–1997
Current
owner		 civilian
Controlled by United States Air Force
Garrison 786 AC&W Sqdn

Minot Air Force Station (Minot AFS [Permanent Installation Number (PIN): 1445; Installation Location Code (ILC): QJVM]) was a geographically isolated Aircraft Control And Warning (AC&W) facility at approximately 2225' elevation AMSL, located roughly 14 miles south of Minot, North Dakota, and 13 miles north of Max, North Dakota, on the west side of US Highway 83. It was active from May 1951 through September 1979, and a portion of the property was reactivated in 1984 as the Minot Communications Site and served until 1997.

Contents

[edit] History and lineage

  • Activated on 20 May 1951 as Pinetree Line site Velva/P-28;
  • Redesignated c. 1952 as USAF site Velva Air Force Station;
  • Redesignated on 1 December 1953 as USAF facility Minot Air Force Station;
  • Reallocated c. June 1961–c. May 1963 as SAGE site Z-28;
  • Deactivated on 1 July 1979;
  • Closed c. September 1979.
  • Reactivated c. 1984 as USAF facility Minot Communication Site;
  • Deactivated c. 1997;
  • Struck from USAF property register and liquidated c. 1998.

Minot Air Force Station was the first major Air Force installation in North Dakota, even predating the two "large" bases, Minot Air Force Base and Grand Forks Air Force Base.


[edit] Buildings and facilities

Buildings on the Station include: [1]

Gate
The controlled entry point to the Station
Recreation Hall
Transmitter Building
Used for radio contact with airborne aircraft and other ground stations
Search Radar Tower
Height Finder Radar Tower
(2) Radomes
The radome "balloons", made up of several layers of latex rubber-coated nylon, are held up by one-tenth pound of air pressure per square inch. In the event of wind (a common occurrence in North Dakota), the pressure within the "balloon" is automatically adjusted by blowers.
Heating Plant
Steam heat is provided for the entire station by two coal-fired boilers. There is a 70,000-gallon water reservoir fed by two 540' deep wells. The heating plant used approximately 1,000 tons of coal annually.
Hose Houses
Hose houses are insulated huts for fire hydrants. Six are located at strategic locations around the station.
Air Installations Building
This is the building that most of the 17 civilian contractors work out of.
Water Distribution Plant
Water Purification Plant
20,000 gallons of high-alkaline water get processed into potable water daily by using 94%-concentrate sulfuric acid plus other filtering and purifying chemicals.
Living Quarters
(6) Barracks
(9) Houses - Six for officers, Three for senior NCOs
Motor Pool
The pumps are fed by a 4,000-gallon underground gasoline storage tank, and the station uses in excess of 1,000 gallons monthly. Only minor repairs and preventative maintenance are performed here, the rest being contracted to local businesses.
Operations Building
The "Mission Central" of the base where most of the operations of the base are performed.
Chapel
Dining Hall
Dispensary
Although mostly a First Aid station, there is a fully-qualified Medic on duty here 24 hours a day.


[edit] Assigned units


[edit] Current use

Minot AFS has been sold to civilian interests, and has been reused as a housing subdivision colloqually known as the Radar Base.

[edit] See also

Other nearby similar AC&W stations include:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Squadron Activities - Armed Forces Day, Minot Air Force Station: 786th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, 17 May 1958 
  • 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: 48°00′13″N, 101°17′40″W