Information for Sault Ste. Marie AFS, MI

Latitude: 46-27-25 N, Longitude: 084-23-13 W

Call Sign(s): Naples

Perm ID	Sage ID	Unit	Location	Early Equip.	Final Equip.	Oper. Date	Inact. Date	Notes
P-66	Z-66	753	Sault Ste. Marie AFS, MI	FPS-3; FPS-5; FPS-20; FPS-35; FPS-6,-6B; FPS-26A	FPS-35; FPS-90; FPS-26A	1952	01-Oct-79	Plans for an AN/FPS-28 FD search radar were cancelled; an AN/FPS-35 FD search radar was installed instead. After site closure, sections of the AN/FPS-35 radar antenna were sent to Montauk AFS to replace corroded sections of the antenna there (1980).
CG27 / P-66C	Z-66C		Batchawana, ON, CN					Planned Gap-Filler Annex. Built. Never operational. Located atop Griffin Lake Peak, northeast of Batchawana Mountain.
CG28 / P-66D	Z-66D		Eaglet River, ON, CN					Planned Gap-Filler Annex. Cancelled prior to construction.
CG9 / P-66E	C-9C / Z-66E		Elliot Lake, ON, CN					Planned Gap-Filler Annex. Built. Never operational.
P-66A	Z-66A		Grand Marais, MI	FPS-18		Feb-60	Jun-68	Gap-Filler Annex. Located at Gypsy Lake Lookout Tower. Replaced LRR site, M-109, at a different location. Both building and radar tower were extant, but have been torn down recently.
P-66B			Fibre, MI					Gap-Filler Annex. Site was on Maple Hill. Facility reportedly was never completed.

Perm ID

Sage ID

JSS ID

Unit

Location

Early
Equip.

Final
Equip.

Oper.
Date

Inact.
Date

Notes

P-66

Z-66

753

Sault Ste. Marie AFS, MI

FPS-3; FPS-5; FPS-20; FPS-35; FPS-6,-6B; FPS-26A

FPS-35; FPS-90; FPS-26A

1952

01-Oct-79

Plans for an AN/FPS-28 FD search radar were cancelled; an AN/FPS-35 FD search radar was installed instead. After site closure, sections of the AN/FPS-35 radar antenna were sent to Montauk AFS to replace corroded sections of the antenna there (1980).

CG27 / P-66C

Z-66C

Batchawana, ON, CN

Planned Gap-Filler Annex. Built. Never operational. Located atop Griffin Lake Peak, northeast of Batchawana Mountain.

CG28 / P-66D

Z-66D

Eaglet River, ON, CN

Planned Gap-Filler Annex. Cancelled prior to construction.

CG9 / P-66E

C-9C / Z-66E

Elliot Lake, ON, CN

Planned Gap-Filler Annex. Built. Never operational.

P-66A

Z-66A

Grand Marais, MI

FPS-18

Feb-60

Jun-68

Gap-Filler Annex. Located at Gypsy Lake Lookout Tower. Replaced LRR site, M-109, at a different location. Both building and radar tower were extant, but have been torn down recently.

P-66B

Fibre, MI

Gap-Filler Annex. Site was on Maple Hill. Facility reportedly was never completed.

History of Sault Ste. Marie AFS, MI

An AN/TPS-1B 'Lashup' radar was operational at this site in 1950, either modified to, or replaced by, to an AN/TPS-1C reportedly in 1951. This radar was later incorporated into the 'Permanent' network. In 1952, the 753rd AC&W Squadron operated AN/FPS-3 and AN/FPS-5 units. During 1956, the Air Force replaced the AN/FPS-5 with an AN/FPS-6 unit. In 1958 the AN/FPS-3 was replaced by an AN/FPS-20 search radar, and soon received a second height-finder radar, an AN/FPS-6B. In 1960 the site provided data to the regional SAGE command center. An AN/FPS-28 FD search radar was planned, but was subsequently cancelled. In 1963, an AN/FPS-35 FD search radar replaced the AN/FPS-20A. The AN/FPS-6 was removed in 1963, and the AN/FPS-6B was modified to an AN/FPS-90. In 1964, an AN/FPS-26A FD height-finder radar was installed. This facility came under TAC jurisdiction in October 1979. The 753rd Radar Squadron (SAGE) was deactivated 1 October 1979.
References: "Searching the Skies"; misc. ADC and ADCOM documents; eyewitness accounts.

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