Type Air Force Station Year built 1959 | In use 1959-1963 Controlled by United States Air Force | |
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Garrison 813th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron People also search for Killeen Air Force Station | ||
Rockport Air Force Station (ADC ID: TM-191) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 4.1 miles (6.6 km) southwest of Lamar, Texas. It was closed in 1963.
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History
Rockport Air Force Station came into existence as part of Phase III of the Air Defense Command Mobile Radar program. On October 20, 1953 ADC requested a third phase of twenty-five radar sites be constructed.
The 813th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was assigned on 1 July 1958. It operated an AN/FPS-3 search radar and an AN/FPS-6 height-finder radar at the site. 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.
In addition to the main facility, Rockport operated three AN/FPS-18 Gap Filler sites:
The Air Force inactivated Rockport AFS on 1 August 1963 due to budgetary constraints. Today, not much of the station remains. A few buildings, some disconnected streets in poor repair and most of the area is overgrown grass adjacent to the Aransas County Airport is all that remains. The nearby Air Force housing area remains intact, long-ago sold off and being used as single-family housing.