Vint Hill Farms Station
| Vint Hill Farms Station | |
|---|---|
| Fauquier County, Virginia | |
 Vint Hill Farms Station
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| Coordinates | 38°44′53″N 77°40′19″W / 38.748°N 77.672°W |
| Type | Signals intelligence and electronic warfare facility |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1942 |
| Built by | United States Army |
| In use | 1942–1997 |
| Demolished | 1999 |
Vint Hill Farms Station (VHFS) was a United States Army and National Security Agency (NSA) signals intelligence and electronic warfare facility located in Fauquier County, Virginia, near Warrenton. VHFS was closed in 1997 and the land was sold off in 1999. Today the site hosts various engineering and technology companies, as well as two Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control facilities.
Vint Hill Farms Station was established during World War II in 1942 by the Army's Signals Intelligence Service (SIS). The 701-acre (284 ha) facility was built because the Army needed a secure location near SIS headquarters in Arlington Hall to serve as a cryptography school and as a refitting station for signal units returning from combat prior to redeployment overseas. The unit on station had a World War II Monitoring Station Designator of MS-1. VHFS was one of the United States' most important intelligence gathering stations during the war, playing a pivotal role in eavesdropping on enemy communications. In 1943, the VHFS intercepted a message from the Japanese ambassador in Berlin to his superiors in Tokyo. It also provided a detailed description of Nazi fortifications along the French Coast, and General Dwight D. Eisenhower later said the information made a significant contribution to the D-Day invasion at Normandy.
After the war, VHFS became the first field station of the Army Security Agency, a subordinate to the NSA, and the facility conducted signals intelligence operations and served as a training center for radio-intercept operators, cryptanalysts, and radio-repair technicians. During the Cold War, VHFS intercepted key Soviet diplomatic and military communications sent over FISH teleprinters. The Army Electronic Material Readiness Activity moved to VHFS in 1961 and managed signals intelligence and electronic warfare equipment and systems maintenance for the Army Security Agency and other signals intelligence and electronic warfare units worldwide.
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