For the Air Defense Command radar station in Indiana, see Rockville Air Force Station

Rockville Air Force Station

Rockville Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located west-northwest of Rockville, Indiana. It was closed in 1966.-History:...

Rockville Air Station (ADC/NATO ID: H-1) is a closed United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 2.9 miles (4.7 km) west-northwest of Naval Air Station Keflavik

Naval Air Station Keflavik

United States Naval Air Station Keflavik is a former NATO facility at Keflavík International Airport, Iceland. It is located on the Reykjanes peninsula on the south-west portion of the island...

, Iceland. It was closed on 30 June 1992.

History

Rockville Air Station was established in early 1952, although its origins date to a temporary site at Keflavik Airport set up in 1951 to provide radar coverage over the airport. The permanent site was operated by the 932d Aircraft Control and Warning (later Air Defense, Later Air Control) Squadron

932d Air Control Squadron

The 932d Air Control Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 85th Group, Third Air Force, stationed at Keflavik Air Station, Iceland...

, and was equipped with AN/TPS-1B; AN/FPS-3; AN/FPS-20 and two AN/FPS-6 heigh finder radars.

The Greenland, Iceland and United Kingdom air defense sector, better known as the GIUK gap

GIUK gap

The GIUK gap is an area in the northern Atlantic Ocean that forms a naval warfare chokepoint. Its name is an acronym for Greenland, Iceland, and the United Kingdom, the gap being the open ocean between these three landmasses...

, was routinely utilized by the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

's long range heavy bombers and maritime reconnaissance platforms as a transit point towards the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

. From bases located at Archangel

Archangel

An archangel is an angel of high rank. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Michael and Gabriel are recognized as archangels in Judaism and by most Christians. Michael is the only archangel specifically named in the Protestant Bible...

 and Murmansk

Murmansk

Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...

, Soviet aircraft would stream down to the North Cape in Norway towards the Gap which was use as a doorway to the vast Atlantic. Most of the Soviet missions were destined to probe United States’ air defense along the North Atlantic and after 1960 in the Caribbean where Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, the USSR’s most important satellite state outside continental Europe, was located. Such was the perceived treat from the Soviet incursions that it became a priority for NATO to demonstrate to that the strategic Giuk passage would be monitored at all times.

The mission of the station was to intercept and shadow all Soviet aircraft in transit in and from the Gap which passed through the detection range of its radars and pass the information to interceptor aircraft deployed at Keflavik Airfield. Routine operations continued until 1992 until the site was closed, and a new facility was opened near NAS Keflavik

Keflavik Air Station

Keflavik Air Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located north-northwest of Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland...

.

After the site was closed, the facility was turned over to the Iceland government which used it for some years as the Byrgid