| Selfridge AFB radar station | |
| call sign: Silvia | |
| USAF General Surveillance Radar Station | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Michigan |
| Command | Aerospace Defense Command |
| Location | point east of radar tower |
| - coordinates | [1] |
| Annexes | Gap Filler radar sites |
| External images | |
|---|---|
| 1960 radar station w/ tower (bunker site to left) | |
| Missile Master complex in 1961 & c2004 | |
| radar station & "GATR site" | |
| Selfridge AFB Army Air Defense Command Post |
|
| military CCCS facility | |
|
The Selfridge AADCP networked local radars (middle, bottom) and directed Michigan's Nike fire units--each with a network of 3 radars (top) for acquiring the target, tracking the target, and tracking/guiding the Nike missile.
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|
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Michigan |
| Region | Detroit Defense Area |
| Command | Army Air Defense Command |
| Parts | 1957: AN/FSG-1 1967: AN/TSQ-51[2]:136 |
| Location | Missile Master nuclear bunker |
| - coordinates | [3] |
The Selfridge AFB radar station began operations in 1949 with a Bendix AN/CPS-5 Radar test that tracked aircraft at 210 mi (340 km). A height finder MIT AN/CPS-4 Radar was added by March 9, 1950;[1] and the station was site L-17 of the Lashup Radar Network and site LP-17 of the subsequent network during construction of the Air Defense Command permanent network. The 661st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was activated at Selfridge in 1951, and with a pair of General Electric AN/CPS-6 Radars the station became site LP-20 of the permanent ADC network in 1952. In 1957 the station added a height finder General Electric AN/FPS-6 Radar, and the station became part of the Semi Automatic Ground Environment radar network in 1959, supplying radar tracks to SAGE data center DC-06 at Custer Air Force Station, Michigan, for directing interceptor aircraft and CIM-10 Bomarc air defense missiles (e.g., at Kincheloe AFB, Michigan).
By 1960, the AN/CPS-6 radar had been replaced by a Bendix AN/FPS-20 Radar for general surveillance, and the site had an additional General Electric AN/FPS-6A height-finder radar. A Sperry AN/FPS-35 radar installed at the station's tower in 1961 became operational in 1962, and the AN/FPS-6A height-finder was replaced with an Avco AN/FPS-26A Radar c. 1963. On 31 July 1963, Selfridge AFB was redesignated as NORAD site Z-20.
The 661st squadron also operated Gap Filler sites with Bendix AN/FPS-18 Radars before deactivating on July 1, 1974. The radar station was shared with the United States Army for Nike missile command-and-control. The former radar station is the location of a United States Marine Corps Reserve unit and the Selfridge Military Air Museum & Air Park.
The Missile Master bunker was subsequently used as a "RAPCON center"[4] manned by the 2031st Air Force Communications Service (AFCS) Squadron.[2] Documents regarding the bunker (demolished 2005)[3] have been entered in the Historic American Engineering Record.[4]