Minot Air Force Station - History

History

Minot Air Force Station was part of the last batch of twenty-three radar stations constructed as part of the Air Defense Command permanent network. It was activated on 20 May 1951 at Velva, ND, and declared completely operational in 1952.

The 786th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron began operations with AN/FPS-3 and AN/FPS-5 radars in April 1952, 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 was named Minot Air Force Station on 1 December 1953. During 1957 an AN/GPS-3 search radar saw brief use. In 1958 the original radars were replaced by AN/FPS-20 search and AN/FPS-6 height-finder sets. A second height-finder set, AN/FPS-6B, was installed during the following year.

During 1961 Minot AFS joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, initially feeding data to DC-20 at Malmstrom AFB, Montana. After joining, the squadron was redesignated as the 786th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 15 July 1961. The radar squadron provided information 24/7 the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine range, direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile.

By the end of 1961 the search set had been upgraded and redesignated as an AN/FPS-66. On 31 July 1963, the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z-28.

An AN/FPS-26A height-finder radar was installed in 1964, and the AN/FPS-6 was retired. The AN/FPS-6B was upgraded to an AN/FPS-90 also that year. In 1964 the site received an AN/FPS-27 search radar which became fully operational in early 1965. The AN/FPS-66 was removed later in 1965. In 1968 the AN/FPS-90 was retired.

In addition to the main facility, Minot operated three unmanned AN/FPS-14 (P-28A) and AN/FPS-18 (P-28B/C) Gap Filler sites:

• Niobe, ND (P-28A) 48°38′33″N 102°18′15″W / 48.6425°N 102.30417°W / 48.6425; -102.30417 (P-28A)
• Regan, ND (P-28D) 47°06′03″N 100°32′16″W / 47.10083°N 100.53778°W / 47.10083; -100.53778 (P-28D)
• Alexander, ND (P-28E) 47°40′42″N 103°32′50″W / 47.67833°N 103.54722°W / 47.67833; -103.54722 (P-28E)

The Alexander site was reassigned to Minot after Dickinson AFS (Z-177) closed in 1965. The site is now home to the Watford City Joint Surveillance System (JSS) (ARSR-4) LRR site (Z-300/J-76).

Over the years, the equipment at the station was upgraded or modified to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the information gathered by the radars. In early 1979 the Air Force announced that the station would be closing due to what was called "redundancies with more strategically located radars". On 29 September 1979 the 786th Radar Squadron was inactivated and the station was closed.

In 1984, a portion of the station was reopened by the USAF as the Minot Communication Site. It was closed again in 1997 and struck from the USAF property register and liquidated ca. 1998. Minot AFS has been sold to civilian interests, and has been reused as a housing subdivision colloquially known as the Radar Base. The station after standing derelict for decades has now been torn down.