Type Radar Station In use 1953-1961 | Code N-22 Year built 1953 | |
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Controlled by Northeast Air CommandAerospace Defense Command Similar Saint Anthony Air Station, Hopedale Air Station, Winslow Air Force Station, Hutchinson Air Force Station, Kirksville Air Force Station | ||
Red Cliff Air Station (Also known as St. Johns) (ID: N-22, C-22) is a closed General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 5.8 miles (9.3 km) north-northeast of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It was closed in 1961.
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History
The site was established in 1953 as a General Surveillance Radar station, funded by the United States Air Force, one of the many that would make up the Pinetree Line of Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) radar sites.
Northeast Air Command stationed the 642d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at the station on 1 January 1953. The site was the most eastern ground radar site in North America of the USAF. It operated the following radars:
As a GCI base, the 642d's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. These interceptors were assigned to the 64th Air Division at Goose AFB, Labrador.
The station was reassigned to Aerospace Defense Command on 1 April 1957, and was given designation "N-22" (later "C-22."
In addition to the main facility, Red Cliff operated an AN/FPS-14 manned Gap Filler site:
The Elliston Ridge site operated between 1957 and 1961 in a relatively isolated location on the Bonavista Peninsula, about 70 miles northwest of the main station. Today it is visible in aerial photography and it remains intact, although abandoned to the elements since its closure. Broadcasting station CJOZ-FM maintains and transmits from a building and tower on the same property of the Eliston Ridge site.
Red Cliff Air Station was closed on 1 October 1961. Today the site is abandoned, unused since its closure Most of the structures remain, abandoned and deteriorating since its inactivation. It is occasionally used by local militia units as a Fighting in Built-up Areas (FIBA) training area. The area is also used by local graffiti artists, as well as paintball and airsoft players.
USAF units and assignments
Units:
Assignments: