Highlands Air Force Station
Encyclopedia
Highlands Air Force Station was a Navesink Highlands
Navesink Highlands
The Navesink Highlands, sometimes referred to as the Highlands of Navesink and also known as the Atlantic Highlands, are a range of low hills and upland areas located along the United States Atlantic coast in New Jersey...

 military installation in Middletown Township
Middletown Township, New Jersey
Middletown Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township had a total population of 66,522...

 near the borough of Highlands, New Jersey
Highlands, New Jersey
Highlands is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 5,005. It is the home town of film maker, director, and comic book writer Kevin Smith. The eastern part of the town is built on a high bluff that overlooks Sandy...

. The station provided ground-controlled interception
Ground-controlled interception
Ground-controlled interception an air defense tactic whereby one or more radar stations are linked to a command communications centre which guides interceptor aircraft to an airborne target. This tactic was pioneered during World War II by the Royal Air Force with the Luftwaffe to follow closely...

 radar coverage as part of the Lashup Radar Network
Lashup Radar Network
The Lashup Radar Network was a temporary post-war United States system for air defense surveillance that initially used World War II equipment. Improved search radars included the Western Electric AN/TPS-1B Radar, which was first used for Lashup in 1948 The Lashup Radar Network was a temporary...

 and the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment network, as well as via radar netting at a United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 command post for surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...

s. The site's 240 acre (97.1 ha) is now the Rocky Point section in Hartshorne Woods Park of the Monmouth County Parks System
Monmouth County, New Jersey
Monmouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 630,380, up from 615,301 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Freehold Borough. The most populous municipality is Middletown Township with...

.

History

The Navesink Highlands had a sea navigation beacon in 1746, and the Twin Lights north tower was built in 1828. The New Jersey Highlands were used for antebellum flag signaling experiments that communicated with Fort Tomkins on Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...

 in 1859, and Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor, known as the father of long distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio, and indeed he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand...

 had a 1899 radio station on the hill near the north tower.

Seacoast defense and 1930s radar testing

In World War I, a mortar battery
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....

 was placed on the Navsink Highlands for seacoast defense. By 1933, Harold A. Zahl
Harold A. Zahl
Harold A. Zahl was an American physicist who had a 35-year career with the U.S. Army Signal Corps Laboratories, making major contributions to radar development.-Career and accomplishments:...

's radio range experiments had begun from the Twin Lights lighthouse, and an August 1935 US Army Signal Corps radar test at the lighthouse allowed a searchlight beam to track an aircraft. An SCR-268 radar
SCR-268 radar
The SCR-268 was the US Army's first radar system. It was developed to provide accurate aiming information and used in gun laying systems and directing searchlights against aircraft....

 assembled in August 1938 was demonstrated at the "Twin Lights, N. J." lighthouse in 1939. Battery Isaac N. Lewis
Isaac Newton Lewis
Isaac Newton Lewis was an American soldier and inventor. He was graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1884 and was commissioned second lieutenant in the Second Artillery...

 on the hill was a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 seacoast defense site.

Twin Lights station

The "Twin Lights station" was an Army radar site with a control center that was used for a November 1939 demonstration to the Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...

  in which radar data was networked from the local SCR-270 radar
SCR-270 radar
The SCR-270 was one of the first operational early warning radars. It was the U.S. Army's primary long-distance radar throughout World War II and was deployed around the world...

 and, via telephone, from one in Connecticut that both tracked a Mitchel Field
Mitchel Air Force Base
Decommissioned in 1961, Mitchel Field became a multi-use complex currently home to the Cradle of Aviation Museum, Nassau Coliseum, Mitchel Athletic Complex, Nassau Community College and Hofstra University.-Origins:...

 B-17 bomber formation. From 1942-5, the site had a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 Westinghouse SCR-271 radar for early warning and in 1948, Air Defense Command activated the 646th Aircraft Control Squadron
646th Aircraft Control Squadron
The 646th Aircraft Control Squadron was the operational USAF unit of Highlands Air Force Station and manned a flight at Texas Tower 4, a Highlands offshore radar annex from 1959 until it collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean in 1961, killing 28 people...

 at Highlands AFS with a General Electric AN/CPS-6 Radar
General Electric AN/CPS-6 Radar
The AN/CPS-6 was a medium-range search/hight finder Radar used by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command.The AN/CPS-6 was developed during the later stages of World War II by the Radiation Laboratory at MIT. The first units were produced in mid-1945.General Electric developed and produced...

 providing data to the Manual Control Center at Roslyn Air Warning Station
Roslyn Air National Guard Station
Roslyn Air National Guard Station is a closed United States Air Force station. It is located south of East Hills, New York on Long Island...

, New York. In 1955 a General Electric AN/FPS-8 Radar
General Electric AN/FPS-8 Radar
The AN/FPS-8 Radar was a Medium-Range Search Radar used by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command.The radar was a medium power D-Band search radar designed for aircraft control and early warning, and was installed at commercial airports and military bases both in the United States and...

 for medium range surveillance was installed southwest of the lighthouse (later converted to a General Electric AN/GPS-3 Radar that remained until 1960.) By 1957, the site was 229 acre (92.7 ha) and an additional area was planned for Army housing. In 1958, a height finder
Height finder
A height finder is a ground based aircraft altitude measuring device.Early height finder implementations were optical devices and later migrated to radar devices. Devices combining both optics and radar were deployed by the U.S...

 General Electric AN/FPS-6 Radar
General Electric AN/FPS-6 Radar
The AN/FPS-6 Radar was a Long-Range Height Finder Radar used by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command. The AN/FPS-6 radar was introduced into service in the late 1950s and served as the principal height-finder radar for the United States for several decades thereafter. Built by General...

 was added to the site.

SAGE site

In 1958, Highlands Air Force Station began providing data to SAGE
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...

 direction center DC-01 at McGuire AFB which had Air Defense Command interceptor aircraft
Interceptor aircraft
An interceptor aircraft is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically to prevent missions of enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Interceptors generally rely on high speed and powerful armament in order to complete their mission as quickly as possible and set up...

 and CIM-10 Bomarc surface-to-air missiles. In September 1959, Highlands was the first site with a General Electric AN/FPS-7 Radar
General Electric AN/FPS-7 Radar
The AN/FPS-7 Radar was a Long Range Search Radar used by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command.In the mid-1950s General Electric developed a radar with a search altitude of 100,000 feet and a range of 270 miles...

for long range surveillance. Texas Tower 4
Texas Tower 4
Texas Tower 4 is a former United States Air Force Texas Tower General Surveillance Radar station, located south-southwest off the coast of Long Island, New York in of water. The tower was the site of a tragic accident and was destroyed by a winter storm on January 15, 1961...

 (call sign "Dora") was an offshore radar annex of Highlands operated by a 646th flight from 1959 until it collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean in 1961, killing 28 people. In 1960 the Air Force installed an AN/FPS-6B height-finder radar at Highlands which, along with the AN/FPS-6, had been replaced by 1963 with AN/FPS-26
Avco AN/FPS-26 Radar
The AN/FPS-26 Radar was a height finder radar used by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command. It was an early application of a concept called "Frequency Diversity", which took advantage of a tunable output power device to allow the radar operator to easily and quickly change the frequency...

A and AN/FPS-90 sets. The United States Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...

 announced on November 20, 1964, that the Air Force operations would be closed.

Highlands Army Air Defense Site

The Highlands Army Air Defense Site (HAADS) was the location of the Army Air Defense Command Post (AADCP) for the Nike fire units in the New York Defense Area, replacing the Nike missile "manual operations center" at Fort Wadsworth
Fort Wadsworth
Fort Wadsworth is a former United States military installation on Staten Island in New York City, situated on The Narrows which divide New York Bay into Upper and Lower halves, a natural point for defense of the Upper Bay and Manhattan beyond. Prior to closing in 1994 it claimed to be the longest...

 on Staten Island. The Missile Master Army Installation cost ~$2 million for the new equipment (Martin AN/FSG-1
Martin AN/FSG-1 Antiaircraft Defense System
The Martin AN/FSG-1 Antiaircraft Defense System was an electronic fire distribution center to computerize Cold War air defense command posts from manual plotting board operations to automated command and control of remote surface-to-air missile launch batteries...

 CCCS
CCCS
The Consumer Credit Counselling Service is a debt charity registered in the United Kingdom. The organisation offers debt counselling and money management and can be contacted through its freephone telephone helpline or online through CCCS Debt Remedy, its online debt counselling tool.Its chairman is...

 and AN/FPS-6 & -90 height-finders) and ~$2 million for additional structures such as the 170 by 90 ft (51.8 by 27.4 m) nuclear bunker, 4 radar towers, diesel power plant, and 25 by 17 ft (7.6 by 5.2 m) cinderblock electrical switch building. Isaac Degeneers Construction Co. was the general contractor for the $1.71M construction (C. W. Regan was the lowest bidder at $1.5M.) The 1957 site plan was for 45–50 acre (18.2–20.2 ha); construction began July 10, 1958; the Missile Master was accepted in May 1960; and the dedication was on June 5.

The Army assumed control of the USAF site after the DoD closure had been announced for July 1966 (the USAF squadron deactivated on July 1, 1966.) The AADCP became the direction center for the combined New York-Philadelphia Defense Area when the AADCP near Philadelphia
Camp Pedricktown radar station
The Camp Pedricktown radar station was a Cold War Missile Master installation with a United States Army Air Defense Command Post in a nuclear bunker and associated search, height finder, and identification friend or foe radars. The station's radars were subsequently replaced with radars at...

 was closed in September 1966. AADCP operations ended in 1974 under Project Concise
Project Concise
Project Concise was a United States Army program to close military installations after the Vietnam War . The closures included Nike missile launch sites and command posts such as the Highlands Army Air Defense Site and other Cold War sites such as the Charleston Army Depot, Fort Wolters, and...

 in conjunction with the region's 7 remaining Nike fire units closing in April at Orangeburg
Orangeburg, New York
Orangeburg hamlet , in the Town of Orangetown Rockland County, New York, United States located north of Tappan; south of Blauvelt; east of Pearl River and west of Piermont...

/Mount Nebo, New York (NY-03/04), Amityville/Farmingdale, New York
Farmingdale, New York
The Village of Farmingdale is an incorporated village on Long Island within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York in the United States...

 (NY-24), Fort Tilden
Fort Tilden
Fort Tilden, also known as Fort Tilden Historic District, is a former United States Army installation in the New York City borough of Queens and part of Gateway National Recreation Area. It is located on the Rockaway Peninsula between Jacob Riis Park to the east and Breezy Point to the west...

 (NY-49), Livingston, New Jersey
Livingston, New Jersey
Livingston is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 29,366.Livingston was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 5, 1813, from portions of Caldwell Township and Springfield...

 (NY-79/80), Lumberton, New Jersey (PH-23/25), Erial, New Jersey
Erial, New Jersey
Erial is an unincorporated community located within Gloucester Township, in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. It is home to Timber Creek Regional High School, Erial Elementary School, and Union Valley Elementary School , James W Lilly Elementary school. Erial shares the ZIP code 08081 with...

 (PH-41/43), and Woolwich Township, New Jersey
Woolwich Township, New Jersey
Woolwich Township is a township in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 3,032....

(PH-58).

USAF structures were demolished in the early 1990s, the Missile Master nuclear bunker was razed in 2008, and a few building foundations remain in a small clearing within the site's overgrowth of vegetation.
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