COTTONWOOD - Many people in the area here have either forgotten or are unaware of the significant role Cottonwood played during the cold war era. The USAF 822nd Radar Squadron, part of the 25th NORAD Region, operated a base located on Cottonwood Butte and was part of an alert readiness group called the Spokane Air Defense Sector.
This group was made up of a large number of active Air Force personnel who worked and lived on the "Butte," operating and maintaining one of the many "GAP filler" radar sites located across this country and Canada. The site constructed at the 5,730-foot summit, incorporated a Goliath radar called an AN/FPS-24, which was a rotating antenna, 120 ft. wide, weighing in at more than 85 tons.
This antenna assembly was installed on top of an 80 ft. tall massive steel truss tower. The support tower still stands and can be seen for miles around. The entire facility, including the antennas and cantonment area, were all self-contained with their own backup power generators, fuel storage, water systems, and additional cooking/housing facilities.
The AN/FPS-24 was used to detect low-level Soviet bombers approaching from the many river canyons around the area and to fill in the gaps or blind spots that were inherent to the other radar facilities located in the Spokane and eastern Washington areas.
It was a search radar designed and built by General Electric to provide Enhanced Electronic Counter Counter measures (ECCM) capability. The Cottonwood site was one of 12 FPS-24 sites in the country and was one of only two that had a protective enclosure around the antenna called a RADOM.
It looked like a huge golf ball on top of the butte. The large antenna was accompanied by a pair of FPS-6 height-finding radars and together could pinpoint enemy aircraft out as far as 200 miles, giving substantial advance warning time.
The site was commissioned in 1959 and operated until July 1, 1965, when just prior to closing, the main rotating bearing on the massive antenna failed. Due to the cost of repair, the introduction of new satellite technology, along with budget cutbacks, the decision was made to shut the site down. Today only the support tower and other radar footings remain on the butte.
The cantonment area is now home to the North Idaho Correctional Institution (NICI) and the military`s family housing located west of the cemetery is still being utilized for housing.
The successful launch, in 1957, of both a 6,000-mile ICBM and the orbiting satellite "Sputnik" raised concerns about the vulnerability of the North American Air Defenses and instilled a fear that the Soviets were gaining an upper hand over the United States of America.
To counter any Soviet threats, the Gap Filler sites such as the one on the butte landed the USAF, its men, women, and families from around the country, in the middle of the Cottonwood community. It also brought in contractors, workers, and money to local economies. The sheer size of the RADOM, and the fact that it was visible for miles around, along with military personnel ever present was helpful in instilling a sense of security during those unstable times.
It may be interesting to note that Ivan Dannar, USAF MSgt.(ret), who was responsible for the maintenance and operations of Cottonwood Butte, as well as several other radar facilities within the Spokane Air Defense Sector, lives in Grangeville.
He has a wealth of information pertaining to not only the radar and electronics used at the time, but also this country`s uncertainty about its future due to Soviet threats during the late `50s and early `60s. Give Ivan a call and he would be happy to talk with you. Bring your coffee cup, nothing too clean nor too fancy -- and ask for the eight-minute special. |