History of the Aircraft Control and Warning System in Alaska: Air Defense of Arctic Skies

Part of the 611th Air Support Group Resources project

Author(s): G. Williams; J. DePue; M. Whorton; A. Alpert; D. Tomasko

Year: 2002

Summary

This report presents historical background on the development, deployment, and operation of the AC&W system. It first summarizes the historical context of U.S.-Soviet relations that led to the deployment of the AC&W system and the general military buildup in Alaska. It next presents detailed information on the locations, development, and operation of the AC&W system in Alaska and relates the personal recollections of individuals who were stationed at the bases while the radar system was in operation. Additional information on the history, development, and operation of radars in general and AC&W radars in particular is provided in Appendix A. Appendix B contains brief biographic sketches of former AC&W personnel who provided personal recollections of their service in response to a survey conducted for this report.

Most of the individual AC&W installations did not retain sufficient integrity to be eligible for the NRHP, either because they had already been entirely demolished or because critical components of the system were demolished. However, the 611 ASG determined that Cape Lisburne, Kotzebue, Tin City, and Fort Yukon retained enough original structures to be eligible for inclusion in the NRHP. Cape Lisburne was determined to be the best remaining example among the four eligible sites.

Cite this Record

History of the Aircraft Control and Warning System in Alaska: Air Defense of Arctic Skies. G. Williams, J. DePue, M. Whorton, A. Alpert, D. Tomasko. 2002 ( tDAR id: 459179) ; doi:10.48512/XCV8459179

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Keywords

Investigation Types
Architectural Survey • Heritage Management • Historic Background Research • Methodology, Theory, or Synthesis • Records Search / Inventory Checking • Remote Sensing • Site Evaluation / Testing

General
11th Air Force • 611th • 611th Air Support Group • 611th Civil Engineer Squadron • AC&W • Aircraft Control and Warning System • ANL • Argonne National Laboratory • Cold War • Eligible • Historic Context • National Register • National Register of Historic Places • Pacific Air Forces • United States Air Force

Geographic Keywords
Alaska (State / Territory) • Bethel • Campion • Cape Lisburne • Cape Newenham • Cape Romanzof • Fire Island • Fort Yukon • Indian Mountain • King Salmon • Kotzebue • Middleton Island • Murphy Dome • Northeast Cape • Ohlson Mountain • Sparrevohn • Tatalina • Tin City • Unalakleet

Temporal Keywords
Cold War Era

Spatial Coverage

min long: -178.484; min lat: 50.989 ; max long: -139.525; max lat: 71.556 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): 611th Air Support Group CRM Manager

File Information

  Name Size Creation Date Date Uploaded Access
Williams_et_al_2002.pdf 28.95mb Apr 12, 2021 3:48:51 PM Confidential

Accessing Restricted Files

At least one of the files for this resource is restricted from public view. For more information regarding access to these files, please reference the contact information below

Contact(s): 611th Air Support Group CRM Manager