Benton Air Force Station
Encyclopedia
Benton Air Force Station 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. 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 and is now part of Ricketts Glen State Park
a Pennsylvania state park.
Earlier stationed at Mud Pond, Pennsylvania, the 648th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron began operations with AN/CPS-6B radar scanners and barracks for the airmen or "scope dopes" who operated the radar station. The radar operators worked around the clock and could scramble jets from Air Forces bases in New York
and New Jersey
. The facility was moved to Ricketts Glen State Park, Pennsylvania by 1 February 1952. On 1 December 1953, the Ricketts Glen facility was redesignated as Benton Air Force Station.
Upgrades to the station in 1958 made it possible for Benton AFS to join the Semi Automatic Ground Environment
(SAGE) system, initially feeding data to DC-02 at Stewart AFB, New York. After joining, the squadron was re-designated as the 648th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 February 1959. In August 1958, the SAGE information feed was switched to DC-03 at Syracuse AFS, then in September 1963 SAGE data was sent back to DC-02. 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 tube
s.
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.
In addition to the main facility, Benton operated two unmanned AN/FPS-14 (P-30E) and AN/FPS-18 (P-30F) Gap Filler sites:
The gap fillers covered areas of mountainous Pennsylvania that could not be scanned by the facilities at Benton Air Force Station. Both building and radar towers are still extant.
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." 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". 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.
as an auxiliary service for the nearby Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport
. The remaining buildings and barracks were converted to the Red Rocks Job Corps Center which is part of the Job Corps
, 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.
Assignments:
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
era Aerospace Defense Command
Aerospace Defense Command
Aerospace Defense Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. Established in 1946 under the United States Army Air Forces, its mission was to organize and administer the integrated air defense system of the Continental United States , exercise direct control of all active...
radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
facility in Colley Township, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania
Sullivan County, Pennsylvania
Sullivan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population is 6,428. Sullivan County was created on March 15, 1847, from part of Lycoming County and named for Charles Sullivan, leader of the Pennsylvania Senate...
. The station was operational from 1951 until 1975.
The radar at Benton Air Force Station scanned skies in the United States from Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
south to Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and east over the Atlantic Ocean. The station was manned by airmen from the 648th Aircraft Control Squadron at Fort Indiantown Gap
Fort Indiantown Gap
Fort Indiantown Gap, also referred to as "The Gap" or "FIG", is a census-designated place and U.S. Army post primarily located in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. A portion of the installation is located in eastern Dauphin County...
.
Benton Air Force Station was converted to the Red Rock Job Corps Center
Red Rock Job Corps Center
Red Rock Job Corps Center is a Job Corps training center in Colley Township, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, USA. Like all Job Corps centers, it provides vocational training and education at no cost to participants, who are 16 to 24 years old...
in 1978 and is now part of Ricketts Glen State Park
Ricketts Glen State Park
Ricketts Glen State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Columbia, Luzerne, and Sullivan counties in Pennsylvania in the United States. Ricketts Glen is a National Natural Landmark known for its old-growth forest and 24 named waterfalls along Kitchen Creek, which flows down the Allegheny...
a Pennsylvania state park.
History
Benton Air Force Station (Also known as Mud Pond) was part of the last batch of twenty-three radar stations constructed as part of the Air Defense Command permanent network. Construction on the 98 acres (39.7 ha) facility began in 1950 and was completed on September 21, 1951.Earlier stationed at Mud Pond, Pennsylvania, the 648th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron began operations with AN/CPS-6B radar scanners and barracks for the airmen or "scope dopes" who operated the radar station. The radar operators worked around the clock and could scramble jets from Air Forces bases in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. The facility was moved to Ricketts Glen State Park, Pennsylvania by 1 February 1952. On 1 December 1953, the Ricketts Glen facility was redesignated as Benton Air Force Station.
Upgrades to the station in 1958 made it possible for Benton AFS to join the Semi Automatic Ground Environment
Semi Automatic Ground Environment
The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment was an automated control system for tracking and intercepting enemy bomber aircraft used by NORAD from the late 1950s into the 1980s...
(SAGE) system, initially feeding data to DC-02 at Stewart AFB, New York. After joining, the squadron was re-designated as the 648th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 February 1959. In August 1958, the SAGE information feed was switched to DC-03 at Syracuse AFS, then in September 1963 SAGE data was sent back to DC-02. 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 tube
Cathode ray tube
The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...
s.
Further improvements in the 1960s included the installation of an AN/FPS-35
AN/FPS-35
The AN/FPS-35 radar was a long range radar used in the early 1960s.Sperry Corporation built 12 long range radars in the 1960s to succeed existing Semi Automatic Ground Environment to provide enhanced electronic countermeasures . The systems operated at 420 to 450 MHz. The antennas weighed 70...
radar atop a five-story structure that still stands. The new unit weighed 70 tons and was painted in a red/white checkerboard
Checkerboard
A checkerboard or chequerboard is a board of chequered pattern on which English draughts is played. It is an 8×8 board and the 64 squares are of alternating dark and light color, often red and black....
pattern.
In addition to the main facility, Benton operated two unmanned AN/FPS-14 (P-30E) and AN/FPS-18 (P-30F) Gap Filler sites:
- Ulysses, Pennsylvania (P-30E) 41°52′48"N 077°42′51"W
- Joliett, Pennsylvania (P-30F) 40°36′32"N 076°27′42"W
The gap fillers covered areas of mountainous Pennsylvania that could not be scanned by the facilities at Benton Air Force Station. Both building and radar towers are still extant.
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
Sperry Corporation
Sperry Corporation was a major American equipment and electronics company whose existence spanned more than seven decades of the twentieth century...
, 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." The jamming of the radar made it impossible to read the radar. Investigators stopped traffic on nearby Pennsylvania Route 487
Pennsylvania Route 487
Pennsylvania Route 487 is a long, north–south state highway running from PA 61 in Shamokin Township, Northumberland County to PA 87 in Dushore, Sullivan County. In Bloomsburg, PA 487 and US 11 share a brief wrong-way concurrency...
and questioned drivers. Ultimately, direction-finding equipment pointed to a malfunctioning UHF
Ultra high frequency
Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...
tuner on a television set in the housing area where "the lady of the house sometimes watched a soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
on one of the local channels". 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.
Closing and conversion
Benton Air Force station was deactivated in June 1975. The radar facilities remain and are operated by the Federal Aviation AdministrationFederal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
as an auxiliary service for the nearby Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport is an airport located in Pittston Township, Pennsylvania, near the border of Luzerne County and Lackawanna County, halfway between the cities of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton...
. The remaining buildings and barracks were converted to the Red Rocks Job Corps Center which is part of the Job Corps
Job Corps
Job Corps is 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.-Mission and purpose:...
, a program administered by the United States Department of Labor
United States Department of Labor
The United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. Many U.S. states also have such departments. The...
that offers free-of-charge education and vocational training
Vocational education
Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...
to youth ages 16 to 24.
Air Force units and assignments
Units:- 648th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, activated on 30 Apr 1948 at Pine Camp, New York
- Moved in December 1949 to Indiantown Gap AINFort Indiantown GapFort Indiantown Gap, also referred to as "The Gap" or "FIG", is a census-designated place and U.S. Army post primarily located in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. A portion of the installation is located in eastern Dauphin County...
, Pennsylvania - Moved ca. 1 January 1951 to Mud Pond, Pennsylvania
- Moved to Ricketts Glen State Park, Pennsylvania on 1 February 1952
- Site redesignated Benton Air Force Station, 1 December 1953.
- Redesignated 648th Radar Squadron (SAGE), 1 February 1959
- Redesignated 648th Radar Squadron, 1 February 1974
- Inactivated on 30 June 1975
Assignments:
- 503d Aircraft Control and Warning Group, 20 April 1948
- 26th Air Division, 6 February 1952
- 4710th Defense Wing, 10 February 1953
- 4709th Defense Wing, 30 June 1953
- 4707th Air Defense Wing4707th Air Defense WingThe 4707th Air Defense Wing is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 26th Air Division, being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York...
, 8 July 1956 - 4622d Air Defense Wing, 18 October 1956
- Boston Air Defense SectorBoston Air Defense SectorThe Boston Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force Air Defense Command organization. Its last assignment was with the ADC 26th Air Division, being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York.-History:...
, 8 January 1957 - Syracuse Air Defense SectorSyracuse Air Defense SectorThe Syracuse Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 26th Air Division, being stationed at Syracuse Air Force Station, New York.- History :...
, 15 August 1958 - Boston Air Defense SectorBoston Air Defense SectorThe Boston Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force Air Defense Command organization. Its last assignment was with the ADC 26th Air Division, being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York.-History:...
, 4 September 1963 - 35th Air Division, 1 April 1966
- 21st Air Division, 19 November 1969-30 June 1975