| San Pedro Hill Air Force Station Fort MacArthur Air Force Station |
|
|---|---|
| Part of Air Defense Command (ADC) | |
| Type | Air Force Station |
| Built | 1960 |
| In use | 1960-1997 |
| Controlled by | United States Air Force |
| Garrison | 670th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron |
San Pedro Hill Air Force Station (Also known as Fort MacArthur AFS) (ADC ID: RP-39, NORAD ID: Z-39) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 1.2 miles (1.9 km) southeast of Rolling Hills, California. It was closed in 1997 by the Air Force, and turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Today the site is part of the Joint Surveillance System (JSS), designated by NORAD as Western Air Defense Sector (WADS) Ground Equipment Facility J-31.
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The Air Defense Command facilities at Fort MacArthur, California were established as a replacement for the permanent ADC site at San Clemente Island AFS (P-39), which were established in 1962 and closed in 1960. The facilities were combined with the United States Army Nike missile Army Air-Defense Command Post (AADCP) LA-45DC that controlled the Nike Los Angeles Defense Area.
The radar site, also known as San Pedro Hill Air Force Station was in integrated Army/Air Force facility, with the Army operating an AN/FSG-l Missile-Master Army Radar Direction Center. It was later equipped with the Army AN/TSQ-51 "Missile Mentor" solid-state computer system for Nike operations.
The USAF 670th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was moved From San Clemente Island AFS on 1 April 1961 and was re-designated as the 670th Radar Squadron (SAGE) when assigned to San Pedro Hill AFS, reflecting the new site's part of the SAGE network. San Pedro Hill fed data to the SAGE Data Center DC-17 at Norton AFB, California where it was analyzed to determine range, direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile. In addition to the Army radars, the Air Force provided the height-finder radars; hese radars included AN/FPS-6B and AN/FPS-26A sets. San Pedro Hill Air Force Station was re-designated as NORAD ID Z-39 on 31 July 1963
The AN/FPS-6B was modified to an AN/FPS-90 in 1964. Also in 1964, an AN/FPS-27 radar was installed, then was removed in 1969.
The Army AADCP was inactivated in 1974, and the Air Force 670th Radar Squadron was deactivated in April 1976. Redesignated Detachment 1, 26th Air Defense Squadron,26th NORAD Region, ADCOM. The 26th Air Defense Squadron was based at Luke AFB in Arizona. The AN/FPS-26A was removed in this time frame. The FAA assumed control of the property although the Air Force continued to operate the AN/FPS-90 height-finder, by then modified to an AN/FPS-116 (removed c. 1988). In the late 1990s, when the Navy installed an ARSR-4 radar at San Clemente Island, the Air Force terminated the data-tie at San Pedro Hill, and established a new data-tie with the San Clemente Island ARSR-4. The FAA continues to operate the ARSR-1E search radar at San Pedro Hill, the radar site now being data-tied into the Joint Surveillance System (JSS).
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.