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buildings were connected by enclosed portals so no one needed to go outside in winter unless absolutely necessary. Tours at the station were limited to one year because of the psychological strain and physical hardships. An apartment building, separate from the connected buildings, provided homes for civilian families of civil service employees.
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481:. It appears to have been abandoned when reliable roads were constructed which linked the station into the Alaska highway system. Mail was usually delivered daily after the road connection to Fairbanks was completed. During the 1950s-70s, a ski slope also operated at the site, the trails still visible in aerial photography
642:
in 1957, Murphy Dome AFS became one of four NORAD Control
Centers in Alaska. The squadron supported, administered and trained assigned personnel to perform air defense missions, support tactical missions as directed by HQ AAC, and operate and maintain the station. The USAF shared its radars with the
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Ground
Intercept Sites were added when they were activated. As an MCC site, its mission was to feed air defense data to the Alaskan Control Center at Elmendorf AFB where it was analyzed to determine range, direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile. The station
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initiated "Operation Clean Sweep", in which abandoned Cold War stations in Alaska were remediated and the land restored to its previous state. After years of neglect the facilities at the station had lost any value they had when the site was closed. The site remediation of the radar, support and
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consisted of a power/heating plant, water and fuel storage tanks, gymnasium and other support office buildings. Two other buildings contained living quarters, work areas, and recreational facilities plus opportunities for such sports as skiing, skating, pool tables, horseshoes, and basketball. The
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In the early 1980s, construction began on a new NORAD Region
Operations Control Center (ROCC) at Elmendorf AFB, which would be responsible for managing all air defense operations in Alaska, making all manned remote radar sites redundant. The 744th ACWS was selected to man the ROCC, which achieved
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Murphy Dome was initially operated by a detachment of the 532nd
Aircraft Control and Warning Group, Ladd AFB (now Fort Wainwright). 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 at
681:. No longer needed, the 744th ACWS was inactivated on l November 1983 and the station re-designated as a Long Range Radar (LRR) Site. This left only contractor personnel to maintain the site radar. In 1990, jurisdiction of the Murphy Dome LRR Site was transferred to
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In 1977, the 744 ACWS was assigned to the newly reactivated 531st
Aircraft Control and Warning Group (531 ACWG). The 531 ACWG was later redesignated the 11th Tactical Control Group (11 TCG) in 1981.
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on Alaska. It was one of the ten original aircraft control and warning sites constructed during the early 1950s to establish a permanent air defense system in Alaska.
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631:. It was inactivated in 1979, and replaced by an Alascom owned and operated satellite earth terminal as part of an Air Force plan to divest itself of the obsolete
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Murphy Dome AFS was a continental defense radar station constructed to provide the United States Air Force early warning of an attack by the
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program. It was designed to transmit aircraft tracking data via satellite to the
Alaskan NORAD Regional Operations Control Center (ROCC) at
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Murphy Dome converted to an air defense
Direction Center (later renamed NORAD Control Center) on 4 March 1953, and exercised control over
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When the 532nd was inactivated in 1951, the site was then operated by a detachment of the 143rd
Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron,
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73:
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The control center station was closed on 1 November 1983, and was re-designated as a Long Range Radar (LRR) site as part of the
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Murphy Dome appeared once on the U.S. Census in 1980 as a census-designated place (CDP) before its closure in 1983.
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A 4,500' airstrip was constructed on a plateau east of the ground support station, with a gravel runway during 1951
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768:. It is generally unattended; a few civilian contractors access the site for maintaining the facilities.
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Today very little of the former Murphy Dome Air Force
Station remains. The site is controlled by the
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was activated at Murphy Dome on 1 February 1953 with an authorized strength of 249 personnel.
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White Alice communication station was carried out by the 611th Civil
Engineering Squadron at
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Communications were initially provided by a White Alice TD-2 microwave A Route radio link to
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toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. Radars operated were an
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521:. A rope tow was constructed to allow for servicemembers to go up and down the slope.
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General Surveillance Radar station 20.4 miles (32.8 km) west-northwest of
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532:'s (HQ AAC) plan to upgrade all remote sites to full squadrons, the
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Air-Defense Command Post (AADCP) for Nike missile-defense system (
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Buildings and structures in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska
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1950s emblem of the 744th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
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11th Tactical Control Group, 1 July 1981 – 1 November 1983
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was active until the Nike sites were inactivated in 1971.
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Murphy Dome Air Force Station (AAC ID: F-02, LRR ID: A-02)
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531st Aircraft Control and Warning Group, 1 October 1977
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532d Aircraft Control and Warning Group, 1 February 1953
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744th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (1953-1983)
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and transfer the responsibility to a commercial firm.
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minimally attended radar under Alaskan Air Command's
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358:A popular aurora viewing area is located nearby.
43:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
697:, and remediation work was completed by 2005.
666:full operational status on 15 September 1983.
907:Radar stations of the United States Air Force
8:
564:also operated a number of radars, including
791:744th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
534:744th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
343:. Today, it remains active as part of the
932:Military installations established in 1951
762:Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center
704:
349:Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center
85:
74:Learn how and when to remove this message
775:
555:(surveillance). Beginning in 1958, the
912:Stations of the United States Air Force
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148:
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655:B radar was removed in July 1958, the
942:Military installations closed in 1983
7:
841:Air Force Historical Research Agency
669:In 1983, Murphy Dome received a new
880:Information for Murphy Dome AFS, AK
793:, 1 February 1953 – 1 November 1983
161:Location of Murphy Dome AFS, Alaska
714:
14:
633:White Alice Communications System
91:Murphy Dome Long Range Radar Site
937:1983 disestablishments in Alaska
917:Military installations in Alaska
835: This article incorporates
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685:with the re-designation of AAC.
589:Air Force Communications Service
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772:Air Force units and assignments
766:Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson
695:Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson
353:Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson
347:under the jurisdiction of the
1:
927:1951 establishments in Alaska
130:Murphy Dome Air Force Station
89:Murphy Dome Air Force Station
315:GPX (secondary coordinates)
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526:Alaska Air National Guard
310:GPX (primary coordinates)
285:Map all coordinates using
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293:Download coordinates as:
29:This article includes a
855:"U.S. Decennial Census"
622:Murphy Dome White Alice
330:United States Air Force
241:United States Air Force
203:Murphy Dome Radars F-02
58:more precise citations.
837:public domain material
781:
649:Fairbanks Defense Area
611:64.95444°N 148.36500°W
501:64.95389°N 148.35750°W
461:64.94667°N 148.32694°W
417:64.95333°N 148.35972°W
192:64.95250°N 148.35694°W
779:
746:U.S. Decennial Census
706:Historical population
638:With the creation of
305:GPX (all coordinates)
892:Murphy Dome ski area
875:Alaskan Air Defenses
616:64.95444; -148.36500
506:64.95389; -148.35750
472:Murphy Dome Airstrip
466:64.94667; -148.32694
422:64.95333; -148.35972
268:Garrison information
197:64.95250; -148.35694
820:Alaskan Air Command
707:
606: /
545:Indian Mountain AFS
530:Alaskan Air Command
512:Murphy Dome Ski Tow
496: /
456: /
428:Murphy Dome Station
412: /
345:Alaska NORAD Region
341:Alaska Radar System
187: /
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690:Pacific Air Forces
683:Eleventh Air Force
645:United States Army
229:Controlled by
117:Eleventh Air Force
31:list of references
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553:Cape Lisburne AFS
397:The station site
334:Fairbanks, Alaska
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219:Air Force Station
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35:related reading
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557:Fort Yukon AFS
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64:December 2012
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859:. Retrieved
857:. Census.gov
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798:Assignments:
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796:
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783:
759:
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701:Demographics
687:
668:
664:
661:
637:
582:
561:Kotzebue AFS
549:Tin City AFS
538:
523:
440:
396:
372:
368:Soviet Union
365:
357:
338:
328:is a closed
325:
324:
292:
291:
284:
263:1951-Present
247:Site history
70:
61:
50:Please help
42:
764:, based at
614: /
601:148°21′54″W
541:Campion AFS
504: /
491:148°21′27″W
464: /
451:148°19′37″W
420: /
407:148°21′35″W
260:In use
195: /
182:148°21′25″W
170:Coordinates
56:introducing
901:Categories
826:References
675:SEEK IGLOO
671:AN/FPS-117
620: (
598:64°57′16″N
510: (
488:64°57′14″N
470: (
448:64°56′48″N
426: (
404:64°57′12″N
355:, Alaska.
201: (
179:64°57′09″N
585:Clear AFS
574:AN/FPS-20
390:, and an
388:AN/FPS-20
814:See also
688:In 1998
657:AN/FPS-8
653:AN/CPS-6
651:). The
578:AN/FPS-6
570:AN/FPS-8
566:AN/CPS-6
392:AN/FPS-6
384:AN/FPS-8
380:AN/CPS-6
376:Ladd AFB
273:Garrison
115:Part of
861:June 6,
591:(AFCS)
543:(GCI);
362:History
119:(PACAF)
52:improve
785:Units:
711:Census
576:, and
238:
104:
98:
640:NORAD
252:Built
37:, or
863:2013
732:1980
720:Note
715:Pop.
559:and
551:and
255:1951
216:Type
568:B,
382:B,
300:KML
903::
736:72
725:%±
580:.
572:,
547:,
394:.
386:,
351:,
336:.
41:,
33:,
865:.
741:—
624:)
514:)
474:)
430:)
205:)
77:)
71:(
66:)
62:(
48:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
