Pole Vault Deactivated
The End of an Era
Accurate detail pertaining to the Tropospheric Scatter Communications System, otherwise known as "Pole Vault" in the northeast has proven to be extremely difficult to obtain.
The sources are few, and I was somewhat surprised to see such a large amount of conflicting detail. There is, however a bit of detail which is more or less generally accepted as fact. Pole Vault commenced operations in January 1955. The following chart shows what appears to be the generally accepted progress of the Pole Vault System.
| 6631st Radio Relay Squadron | 1955-1958 |
| 1876th Radio Relay Squadron | 1958-1960 |
| 1933rd Radio Relay Squadron | 1960-1963 |
We have a number of photos of Pole Vault communications equipment which have been taken at a number of locations.
For some unknown reason, I never really gave any thought to the fact that the Pole Vault system would eventually "come tumbling down". I recently came across a reference in the Saglek Air Base Historical Records – dated 1963 – that indicated the Pole Vault equipment was dismantled. It is my intention to cross check other AC&W Squadron Historical Records in the hope of finding some additional reference to the closure of the "Pole Vault" communications system. We will add this information to this file – if, and when, we are able to find any additional detail.
The following detail was extracted from the Historical Records of Saglek Air Station
1 April 1963 to 30 June 1963
Pole Vault equipment was dismantled by a team from Eastern GEEIA in June. Packing and crating will be contracted by 26th Air Division for future removal of the equipment from this installation.
The following detail was extracted from the Historical Records of Stephenville Air Station
1 July 1967 to 30 September 1967
All of the base communications circuits were transferred from the Pole Vault System to a commercial system during this quarter.
The following detail was extracted from the Historical Records of Stephenville Air Station
1 January 1968 to 31 March 1968
Two 100 Kilowatt diesel generators were removed from building 1562 and shipped to Tinker AFB. These units were formerly used as back-up power for the Tropospheric Scatter Radio System which is no longer used at this station.
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http://www.pinetreeline.org/misc/other/misc3h.html
Updated: February 27, 2004