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==Closing and conversion== |
==Closing and conversion== |
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Benton Air Force station was deactivated in 1975. The radar facilties remain and are operated by the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] as an auxiliary service for the nearby [[Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport]].<ref name="radar"/><ref name="domes"/> The remaining buildings and barracks were converted to the Red Rocks Job Corps Center which is part of the [[Job Corps]],<ref name="radar"/><ref name="domes"/> a program administered by the [[United States Department of Labor]] that offers free-of-charge education and [[Vocational education|vocational training]] to youth ages 16 to 24.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://recruiting.jobcorps.gov/en/about.aspx |title=What Is Job Corps? |publisher=[[Job Corps]] |date=September 25, 2009 |accessdate=May 21, 2010}}</ref> |
Benton Air Force station was deactivated in 1975. The radar facilties remain and are operated by the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] as an auxiliary service for the nearby [[Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport]].<ref name="radar"/><ref name="domes"/> The remaining buildings and barracks were converted to the Red Rocks Job Corps Center which is part of the [[Job Corps]],<ref name="radar"/><ref name="domes"/> a program administered by the [[United States Department of Labor]] that offers free-of-charge education and [[Vocational education|vocational training]] to youth ages 16 to 24.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://recruiting.jobcorps.gov/en/about.aspx |title=What Is Job Corps? |publisher=[[Job Corps]] |date=September 25, 2009 |accessdate=May 21, 2010}}</ref> |
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==Air Force units and assignments == |
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'''Units:''' |
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'''Assignments:''' |
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==See also== |
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* [[List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{AFHRA}} |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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* 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 |
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* 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. |
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* [http://www.radomes.org/cgi-bin/museum/acwinfo2x.cgi?site=%22Benton+AFS,+PA%22&key=BentonAFSPA&pic=BentonAFSPA&doc=BentonAFSPA&www=BentonAFSPA Information for Benton AFS, PA] |
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==External links== |
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[[Category:Radar networks]] |
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[[Category:Radar stations of the United States Air Force]] |
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[[Category:Military facilities in Pennsylvania]] |
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[[Category:Aerospace Defense Command]] |
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[[Category:SAGE sites]] |
[[Category:SAGE sites]] |
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[[Category:Closed facilities of the United States Air Force]] |
[[Category:Closed facilities of the United States Air Force]] |
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Revision as of 11:29, 9 January 2011
Benton Air Force Station
 | |
|---|---|
| Part of Air Defense Command (ADC) | |
 The radar dome in 2010, as seen from the Hayfields in Ricketts Glen State Park | |
| Coordinates | 41°21′30″N 076°17′40″W / 41.35833°N 76.29444°W |
| Type | Air Force Station |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | United States Air Force |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1951 |
| In use | 1951-1975 |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 648th Radar Squadron |
Benton Air Force Station (ADC ID: P-30 NORAD ID: Z-30) was a Cold War era Aerospace Defense Command radar facility in Colley Township, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania. The station was operational from 1951 until 1975.
The radar at Benton Air Force Station scanned skies in the United States from Massachusetts south to Virginia and east over the Atlantic Ocean.[1] The station was manned by airmen from the 648th Aircraft Control Squadron at Fort Indiantown Gap.
Benton Air Force Station was converted to the Red Rock Job Corps Center in 1978[1] and is now part of Ricketts Glen State Park a Pennsylvania state park.[2]
Construction and function
Construction on the 98-acre (40 ha) facility began in 1950 and was completed on September 21, 1951. Initially the radar station housed to AN/CPS-6B radar scanners and barracks for the airmen or "scope dopes" who operated the radar station.[1][3] The radar operators worked around the clock and could scramble jets from Air Forces bases in New York and New Jersey.[1]
Operation
Upgrades to the station in 1958 made it part of the Semi Automatic Ground Environment or SAGE system.[3] The system connected a series of long-range radar stations such as the one at Benton Air Force Station with control centers by sending data through the telephone system. Data collected at the control center was sent back to the stations in images on cathode ray tubes.[1]
Further improvements in the 1960s included the installation of an AN/FPS-35 radar atop a five-story structure that still stands. The new unit weighed 70 tons and was painted in a red/white checkerboard pattern. Additionally "gap filler" stations were built near Ulysses and Pottsville.[3] The gap fillers covered areas of mountainous Pennsylvania that could not be scanned by the facilities at Benton Air Force Station.[1]
The AN/FPS-35 was one of the most powerful radar units in the world at the time. But it was not foolproof. Once the AN/FPS-35 was jammed and the men stationed at Benton could not figure out why. Officials from the U.S. government and Sperry Corporation, the manufacturer, had to be called to Colley Township to investigate the situation. Sperry thought that it was impossible to "jam" the radar, but once almost every morning for a half-hour, the "scopes would light up like light bulbs."[1] The jamming of the radar made it impossible to read the radar. Investigators stopped traffic on nearby Pennsylvania Route 487 and questioned drivers. Ultimately, direction-finding equipment pointed to a malfunctioning UHF tuner on a television set in the housing area where "the lady of the house sometimes watched a soap opera on one of the local channels".[1] The UHF tuner was replaced. The power to the radar facilities was separated from the power to the housing and, coupled with the new UHF, the jamming problem was solved.[1]
Closing and conversion
Benton Air Force station was deactivated in 1975. The radar facilties remain and are operated by the Federal Aviation Administration as an auxiliary service for the nearby Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.[1][3] The remaining buildings and barracks were converted to the Red Rocks Job Corps Center which is part of the Job Corps,[1][3] a program administered by the United States Department of Labor that offers free-of-charge education and vocational training to youth ages 16 to 24.[4]
Air Force units and assignments
Units:
Assignments:
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bartizek, Ron (November 13, 2005). "A Cold War outpost: Radar installation was part of North American defense system scanning for sneak attacks". The Times Leader. p. 1B. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
- ^ "Ricketts Glen State Park Official map" (pdf). Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
- ^ a b c d e "Air Defense Radar Stations: Information for Benton AFS, PA". Radomes.org. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
- ^ "What Is Job Corps?". Job Corps. September 25, 2009. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
- 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 Benton AFS, PA
