Texas Tower 3
Encyclopedia
Texas Tower 3 is a closed United States Air Force
Texas Tower General Surveillance Radar station. 50 miles (80.5 km) southeast of the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts
in 80 feet of water. The tower was closed in 1963 and dismantled.
Located on Georges Bank
, Texas Tower 3 was one in a series of manned radar stations that were so named because they resembled the oil-drilling platforms of the Gulf of Mexico
. Air Defense Command (ADC) estimated that the Texas Towers would help extend contiguous East Coast radar coverage some 300 to 500 miles seaward. In terms of Soviet military capabilities, this would provide the United States with an extra 30 minutes of warning time in the event of an incoming bomber attack.
plant at Quincy, Massachusetts
. On 7 August 1956, it was successfully floated and towed to its site and erected. Beginning in November 1956 enough of the structure was complete that one AN/FPS-3 search radar and two AN/FPS-6 height finder radars developed by Air Force Rome Air Development Center [RADC] New York, were installed.
Personnel from the 773d Radar Squadron, stationed at Montauk Air Force Station
, NY performed the operational use of the tower. It was manned by a crew of 6 officers and 48 airmen. The 4604th Support Squadron (Texas Towers) at Otis AFB, MA provided logistical support. Life aboard Texas Tower 3 was difficult. Both the structure and its crew suffered from the near-constant vibration caused by rotating radar antennas and diesel generators. The surrounding ocean and tower footings also transmitted distant sounds along the steel legs, amplifying them throughout the entire structure.
The tower, however, was never completed or brought into operational use because of improvements to radar over the area. In addition, with the advent of Soviet ICBMs
, the bomber threat was reduced in importance. Thus due to a lower need and the perceived risk, the tower was decommissioned in 1963 and demolished shortly thereafter.
During the demolition, the remains of the tower sank to the ocean floor. Its remains there and has become a site for scuba diving.
Assignments:
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...
Texas Tower General Surveillance Radar station. 50 miles (80.5 km) southeast of the coast of Nantucket, 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...
in 80 feet of water. The tower was closed in 1963 and dismantled.
Located on Georges Bank
Georges Bank
Georges Bank is a large elevated area of the sea floor which separates the Gulf of Maine from the Atlantic Ocean and is situated between Cape Cod, Massachusetts and Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia ....
, Texas Tower 3 was one in a series of manned radar stations that were so named because they resembled the oil-drilling platforms of the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. Air Defense Command (ADC) estimated that the Texas Towers would help extend contiguous East Coast radar coverage some 300 to 500 miles seaward. In terms of Soviet military capabilities, this would provide the United States with an extra 30 minutes of warning time in the event of an incoming bomber attack.
History
Texas Tower 3 began construction in 1956 at the Bethlehem SteelBethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...
plant at Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
. On 7 August 1956, it was successfully floated and towed to its site and erected. Beginning in November 1956 enough of the structure was complete that one AN/FPS-3 search radar and two AN/FPS-6 height finder radars developed by Air Force Rome Air Development Center [RADC] New York, were installed.
Personnel from the 773d Radar Squadron, stationed at Montauk Air Force Station
Montauk Air Force Station
Montauk Air Force Station was a military base at Montauk Point on the eastern tip of Long Island, New York. It was decommissioned in 1981 and is now owned by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation as Camp Hero State Park....
, NY performed the operational use of the tower. It was manned by a crew of 6 officers and 48 airmen. The 4604th Support Squadron (Texas Towers) at Otis AFB, MA provided logistical support. Life aboard Texas Tower 3 was difficult. Both the structure and its crew suffered from the near-constant vibration caused by rotating radar antennas and diesel generators. The surrounding ocean and tower footings also transmitted distant sounds along the steel legs, amplifying them throughout the entire structure.
The tower, however, was never completed or brought into operational use because of improvements to radar over the area. In addition, with the advent of Soviet ICBMs
Intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
, the bomber threat was reduced in importance. Thus due to a lower need and the perceived risk, the tower was decommissioned in 1963 and demolished shortly thereafter.
During the demolition, the remains of the tower sank to the ocean floor. Its remains there and has become a site for scuba diving.
Units and assignments
Units:- 773d Radar Squadron (Flight), (Operations unit based at Montauk AFS, NY), 1 June 1958-25 March 1963
- 4604th Support Squadron4604th Support SquadronThe 4604th Support Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 26th Air Division, Aerospace Defense Command, stationed at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts...
(Texas Towers) (Logistics support unit based at Otis AFB, MA), 1 June 1958-25 March 1963
Assignments:
- New York Air Defense Sector, 1 June 1958-25 March 1963