Rye Air Force Station
Encyclopedia
Rye Air Force Station (ADC ID: M-104) is a closed United States Air Force
General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 3.1 miles (5 km) southeast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire
. It was closed in 1957.
and to support the permanent deployment of the 75 stations of the ADC radar network around the perimeter of the country. This deployment had been projected to be operational by mid-1952. Funding, constant site changes, construction, and equipment delivery delayed deployment.
Constructed at the former Fort Dearborn coastal artillery site, the station became operational in 1956 when the 644th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron activated an AN/TPS-1D radar at the site, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and warning station. As a GCI station, the squadron's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes.
It shortly was closed due to budget reduction in 1957. The site was re-equipped with an AN/FPS-14 and became an unmanned Gap Filler for North Truro AFS, Massachusetts, as site Fort Dearborn, P-10B. It was finally closed in June 1968.
Today, the site is the location of Odiorne Point State Park
. Many former parts of Fort Dearborn remain. Rye AFS has been obliterated.
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 3.1 miles (5 km) southeast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
. It was closed in 1957.
History
Rye AFS was part of the planned deployment of 44 mobile radar stations by Air Defense Command in 1952 to provide protection for Strategic Air Command BasesStrategic Air Command Bases
-United States:*Present name , Location. = Tenant, =Host.* Present name and date of name change. Location...
and to support the permanent deployment of the 75 stations of the ADC radar network around the perimeter of the country. This deployment had been projected to be operational by mid-1952. Funding, constant site changes, construction, and equipment delivery delayed deployment.
Constructed at the former Fort Dearborn coastal artillery site, the station became operational in 1956 when the 644th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron activated an AN/TPS-1D radar at the site, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and warning station. As a GCI station, the squadron's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes.
It shortly was closed due to budget reduction in 1957. The site was re-equipped with an AN/FPS-14 and became an unmanned Gap Filler for North Truro AFS, Massachusetts, as site Fort Dearborn, P-10B. It was finally closed in June 1968.
Today, the site is the location of Odiorne Point State Park
Odiorne Point State Park
Odiorne Point State Park is a New Hampshire state park located on the seacoast in Rye near Portsmouth. The location of the first settlement in New Hampshire, the point got its name from the Odiorne family, who settled on the land in the mid-1660s....
. Many former parts of Fort Dearborn remain. Rye AFS has been obliterated.