| Texas Tower 4 | |
|---|---|
| Part of Air Defense Command (ADC) | |
Image of Texas Tower 4 |
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| Type | Long Range Radar Site |
| Built by | United States Air Force |
| In use | 1958–1961 |
| Events | Destroyed 1961 |
Texas Tower 4 (ADC ID: TT-4) is a former United States Air Force Texas Tower General Surveillance Radar station, located 63 miles (101 km) south-southwest off the coast of Long Island, New York in 185 feet (56 m) of water. The tower was the site of a tragic accident and was destroyed by a winter storm on January 15, 1961. None of the twenty-eight airmen and civilian contractors who were manning the station survived. [1]
Texas Tower 4 was one in a series of manned radar stations that were so named because they resembled the oil-drilling platforms of the Gulf of Mexico. Air Defense Command (ADC) estimated that the Texas Towers would help extend contiguous East Coast radar coverage some 300 to 500 miles seaward. In terms of Soviet military capabilities, this would provide the United States with an extra 30 minutes of warning time in the event of an incoming bomber attack.
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Texas Tower 4 began construction in December 1956 at the Bethlehem Steel plant at South Portland, Maine. On 28 June 1957, it was successfully floated and towed to its site and erected. During transportation 2 or 3 structural supports were dislodged in rough seas. The Air Force considered two options: whether to fix the problem before or after erecting the radar platform. The latter was chosen which affected the structural integrity of the platform.
In 1958 enough of the structure was complete that one AN/FPS-3 search radar and two AN/FPS-6 height finder radars developed by Air Force Rome Air Development Center [RADC] New York, were installed.
Personnel from the 646th Radar Squadron, stationed at Highlands Air Force Station, NJ performed the operational use of the tower. The 4604th Support Squadron (Texas Towers) at Otis AFB, MA provided logistical support. Originally 70 personnel manned the station under the command of Lt. Col. Robert Cutler. Life aboard Texas Tower 4 was difficult. Both the structure and its crew suffered from the near-constant vibration caused by rotating radar antennas and diesel generators. The surrounding ocean and tower footings also transmitted distant sounds along the steel legs, amplifying them throughout the entire structure.
By mid-1960 that had been reduced to 14 Air Force personnel and 14 repairmen due to concerns over the inability of successive repairs crews to halt the movement of the structure. Prior to the collapse, the tower had weathered 2 cyclones over a 2-year period.
Texas Tower 4 suffered severe structural damage during Hurricane Donna in September 1960 and, before repairs could be completed, was destroyed by a winter storm on January 15, 1961. None of the twenty-eight airmen and civilian contractors who were manning the station survived. Only two bodies were recovered.[2]
A Congressional Board of Inquiry was convened on Otis AFB to investigate the collapse of Texas Tower 4. The finding that this Tower was constructed with the same specifications as the prior Towers was the prime reason for causing the shaking of the Tower, and its collapse. The prior Towers had much shorter "legs," were built in much shallower water, and were built on a rock base, whereas Texas Tower 4 was built on a sand base.
Today the wreckage of TT-4 remains at the bottom of the ocean, and has become a site for scuba diving. Its depth, however, limits access to the wreckage to advanced divers.
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This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.