Melville Air Station

Melville Air Station
Part of Pinetree Line
Labrador, Canada
Coordinates53°17′44.90″N 060°32′22.59″W / 53.2958056°N 60.5396083°W / 53.2958056; -60.5396083 (Melville AS N-24)
TypeRadar Station
CodeN-24
Site information
Controlled byNortheast Air Command
Aerospace Defense Command
Site history
Built1953
Built byUnited States Air Force
In use1953-1988
Melville AS is located in Newfoundland and Labrador
Melville AS
Melville AS
Location of Melville Air Station, Labrador

Melville Air Station (ADC ID: N-24) was a General Surveillance Radar station. It was located on the summit of Dome Mountain, 5.4 miles (8.7 km) west of CFB Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador.[1] It was closed in 1988.

History

The site was established in 1953 as a General Surveillance Radar station, funded by the United States Air Force. It was used initially by the Northeast Air Command, which stationed the 641st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron on the station on 1 November 1957. 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 equipped with the following radars:

The station was reassigned to the USAF Air Defense Command on 1 April 1957, and was given designation "N-24".[2]

In 1971, the USAF transferred control of the site to the Canadian Forces. It was closed in 1988.

USAF units and assignments

Units:

Moved to Melville Air Station, 1 November 1957
Discontinued 30 June 1971

Assignments

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  1. ^ "The CADIN Pinetree Line Locations".
  2. ^ Information for Melville AS, NL
  • A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
  • Winkler, David F. (1997), Searching the skies: the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program. Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command.