Palermo Air Force Station
Palermo Air Force Station
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| Part of Air Defense Command (ADC) | |
 Palermo AFS
Location of Palermo AFS, New Jersey
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| Coordinates | 39°13′19″N 074°41′14″W / 39.22194°N 74.68722°WCoordinates: 39°13′19″N 074°41′14″W / 39.22194°N 74.68722°W |
| Type | Air Force Station |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |
 United States Air Force
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| Site history | |
| Built | 1948 |
| In use | 1948-1970 |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 770th Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron (1952-1961) 680th Radar Squadron (1961-1970) |
Palermo Air Force Station (ADC ID: P-54, NORAD ID: Z-54) is a closed United States Air Force (USAF) General Surveillance Radar station. It was located in Palermo, New Jersey, 4.8 miles (7.7 km) north of Sea Isle City, in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It was closed in 1970.
In 1948 USAF directed Air Defense Command (ADC) to take radar sets out of storage for operation in the Northeastern United States. By August. a radar had been placed in operation at Palermo, NJ. This hasty program was appropriately named "Lashup." The AN/TPS-1B long-range search radar at Palermo (Lashup Site L-14) fed into a primitive control center established at Roslyn Air Warning Station, New York.
Prompted by the start of the Korean War, on July 11, 1950, the Secretary of the Air Force asked the Secretary of Defense for approval to expedite construction of additional stations, and it received the Defense Secretary’s approval on July 21, the Air Force directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with construction of Palermo Air Force Station. The 770th Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron was activated to control the site.
Because of difficulties with new production radar equipment, Palermo AFS initially received radar equipment from the former Lashup site to expedite operational status. Thus it was designated as site LP-54, and initially 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 1951 AN/CPS-5 and AN/TPS-10A height-finder radars were added to the site. By April 1952 the 770th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was operating AN/CPS-4 and AN/FPS-3 radars. In the spring of 1957, Palermo was one of the first to deploy an AN/FPS-20 radar. Palermo also received two AN/FPS-6 height-finder radars at this time.
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