Richmond Air Force Station
Richmond Air Force Station | |
|---|---|
| Part of Air Defense Command (ADC) | |
  Richmond AFS Location of Richmond AFS, Florida | |
| Coordinates | 25°37′24″N 080°24′16″W / 25.62333°N 80.40444°W |
| Type | Air Force Station |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |
 United States Air Force |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1959 |
| In use | 1960-1988 |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 644th Radar Squadron |
Richmond Air Force Station (ADC ID: Z-210) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 4.7 miles (7.6 km) northwest of Cutler Ridge, Florida. It was closed in 1978. It was later operated by the Federal Aviation Administration as site "J-06" as part of the Joint Surveillance System until being destroyed by Hurricane Andrew on 24 August 1992.
The site was rebuilt by the FAA at Tamiami, Florida 25°38′50″N 080°30′19″W / 25.64722°N 80.50528°W about 1995 designated by NORAD as Eastern Air Defense Sector (EADS) Ground Equipment Facility J-06A, operating an ARSR-4.
History
Richmond Air Force Station was established initially by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1959 when it placed an ARSR-1A Radar on the site and it began to feed data into the Air Defense Command SAGE network Data Center DC-09 Gunter AFB, Alabama via though Homestead AFB. On 26 April 1960 the Air Force activated the 644th Radar Squadron on the site.
The United States Army established Army Air-Defense Command Post (AADCP) HM-01DC at Richmond AFS in 1961 for Nike missile command-and-control functions to support the Homestead-Miami Defense Area. The site was equipped with the AN/GSG-5(V) BIRDIE solid-state computer system. In 1965 it was upgraded to the AN/FSG-l Missile-Master Radar Direction Center.
The Air Force placed two AN/FPS-6 height-finder radars at the site by 1963. In 1965 the search radar was upgraded to an ARSR-1F.
In addition to the main facility, Richmond operated three AN/FPS-18 Gap Filler sites:
- Naples, FL (Z-210A): 26°09′16″N 081°46′10″W / 26.15444°N 81.76944°W
- Long Key, FL (Z-210B): 24°49′18″N 080°49′11″W / 24.82167°N 80.81972°W
- Jupiter, FL (Z-210C): 26°55′58″N 080°04′10″W / 26.93278°N 80.06944°W
Nike missile operations shut down in 1974. One height-finder radar was later removed, and the remaining set was modified to an AN/FPS-116 c. 1977; it was removed c. 1988 with the inactivation of the 644th Radar Squadron.
The FAA continued to operate the site as part of the JSS until 1992 when Hurricane Andrew destroyed the facility. Today it remains derelict.
Air Force units and assignments
Units:
Assignments:
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
- A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
- Winkler, David F. (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.
- Information for Richmond AFS, FL
