Texas Tower 4
Texas Tower 4
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| Part of Air Defense Command (ADC) | |
Image of Texas Tower 4
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| Coordinates | 39°48′N 72°40′W / 39.800°N 72.667°WCoordinates: 39°48′N 72°40′W / 39.800°N 72.667°W |
| Type | Offshore air defense radar |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1956-1958 |
| Built by |
 United States Air Force
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| In use | 1958–1961 |
| Materials | Steel |
| Fate | Collapsed January 15, 1961 |
| Events | All 28 crewmen lost in collapse |
| Garrison information | |
| Past commanders |
Gordon (Larry) T. Phelan |
Texas Tower 4 (ADC ID: TT-4) was a former United States Air Force Texas Tower General Surveillance Radar station, located 63 miles (101 km) south-southwest off the coast of Long Island, New York in 185 feet (56 m) of water. The tower was the site of a tragic accident and was destroyed by a winter storm on January 15, 1961. None of the twenty-eight airmen and civilian contractors who were manning the station survived.
Texas Tower 4 was one in a series of manned radar stations called "Texas Towers" because they resembled the oil-drilling platforms of the Gulf of Mexico. Air Defense Command (ADC) estimated that the Texas Towers would help extend contiguous East Coast radar coverage some 300 to 500 miles seaward. This would provide the United States with an extra 30 minutes of warning time in the event of an incoming bomber attack by the Soviet Union.
Texas Tower 4 began construction in December 1956 in South Portland, Maine, after construction was awarded to J. Rich Steers, Inc. of New York City in collaboration with Morrison-Knudsen, Inc., of Boise, Idaho. On 28 June 1957, it was successfully floated and towed to its site and erected. During transportation 2 or 3 structural supports were dislodged in rough seas. The Air Force considered two options: whether to fix the problem before or after erecting the radar platform. The latter was chosen which affected the structural integrity of the platform.
In 1958 enough of the structure was complete that one AN/FPS-3 search radar and two AN/FPS-6 height finder radars developed by Air Force Rome Air Development Center [RADC] New York, were installed.
Personnel from the 646th Radar Squadron, stationed at Highlands Air Force Station, NJ performed the operational use of the tower. The 4604th Support Squadron (Texas Towers) at Otis AFB, MA provided logistical support. The Tower communicated with the Highlands Air Force Station via the AN/FRC-56 Tropospheric scatter communications system. Originally 70 personnel manned the station under the command of Lt. Col. Robert Cutler. Life aboard Texas Tower 4 was difficult. Both the structure and its crew suffered from the near-constant vibration caused by rotating radar antennas and diesel generators. The surrounding ocean and tower footings also transmitted distant sounds along the steel legs, amplifying them throughout the entire structure.
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Wikipedia