The cantonment area was about a half mile south of the operations area situated on a relatively flat area overlooking Coast Drive below. Both sites were located off present-day Coastal Drive. This installation was a split site with the radar operations area separate from the cantonment area. Security was provided by 8 to 20 enlisted personnel and one officer from the National Guard. Initial manning consisted of 41 enlisted men and 2 officers. Manning during the active period was typically 45 to 50 men, The site was first operated by a detachment of 653rd Signal Aircraft Warning Company, 4th Air Force (note: the detachment numbers and unit designation changed several times while the site was active). The radar site was operational from 1943 until 1946. The RC-151 IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) set became the primary detection set for locating friendly aircraft requiring assistance. In operation, targets detected by the radar scope operator would be communicated to the adjacent plotting room where they would be tracked on a plotting board and reported by a direct line to a filter station in Berkeley, California.Īfter, the site was used for emergency rescue operations since the threat of air attack from Japan was over. There is no indication that the fixed version of the antenna was installed (no sign of the concrete supports that were normally installed). The Trinidad radar site was sited as a search site with a SCR-270-B mobile radar set which was changed out in December 1943 for the SCR-271, the fixed version of the same equipment. The search radars would pick up and track possible enemy aircraft while the GCI radars would guide U.S. Two types of Air Warning Service (AWS) radar stations were built, long-range search radars (150~ mile range) and short-range Ground Control Intercept (GCI) radars (50~ mile range). SCR-271D Search/GCI/HF Radar Typical Fixed Site Drawing. The threat of further air attacks on the West Coast appeared real as did a possible Japanese invasion of the Pacific Northwest. The radar chain was constructed in late 1942 and early 1943 while the Japanese still had control of the islands and had conducted air raids on the U.S. ![]() These West Coast radar stations were established in response to the June 1942 Japanese invasion and capture of the U.S. This radar network was in addition to the network of search and fire control radars established at each of the West Coast harbor defenses. These secret radar sites were built to provide early warning and interception of approaching enemy aircraft and ships but also served to assist friendly aircraft that were lost or had in-flight emergencies. This radar site was established in 1942-1943 during World War II as a part of a chain of some 65 radar stations along the West Coast of the United States and Canada. Trinidad WWII Radar Site Operations Site in 1972.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |