Hopedale, Labrador

1960 – Historical Report – USAF Historical Division


Historical Record
923rd AC&W Squadron
Hopedale, Labrador
1 January 1960 to 31 March 1960

Section I

REQUIRED DATA

  1. Unit and Location

923rd AC&W Squadron,
APO 434, New York, New York.

  1. Name and Grade of Commander

Thomas C Schiebel, Major, USAF

  1. Chain of Command (Superior Echelons)
  2. Headquarters Goose Air Defense Sector, APO 677, New York, New York
    Headquarters 64th Air Division (Defense), APO 862, New York, New York
    Headquarters Air Defense Command, Ent Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado
    Headquarters United States Air Force, Washington 25, DC

  • Subordinate Units (Down to and including squadrons)
  • Detachment #1, 923rd AC&W Squadron, APO 677, New York, New York

  • Mission (Give authority and brief statement of primary mission)
  • The mission of the 923rd AC&W Squadron is to conduct Air Defense Operations within that area assigned by Headquarters 64th Air Division Regulation 55-24 and function as a GCI Station in the Air Defense system. Authorization: Headquarters Goose Air Defense Sector Regulation 20-4, 1 April 1958.

  • Personnel
  •    

    Officers

    Airmen

    Civilians

    Total

     
     

    Assigned

    16

    144

    24

    184

     
     

    Attached

    0

    26

    0

    26

     
                 
  • Equipment (Give official nomenclature and quantity of mission-type equipment)
  • AN/FPS-3C; AN/TPS-502; AN/FPS-502.

    Section II

    COMMENTARY

    General:

    The first quarter of the year 1960 was marked by an important personnel change as Major James R Larkey assumed the duties of Operations Officer on 21 March, 1960, relieving Captain Berryman H Brown who was transferred to the 641st AC&W Squadron, Goose Bay, Labrador. Major Larkey came to the squadron with an extensive background in AC&W site duties for four years in California and with the added experience of an assignment with the Experimental SAGE Air Defense Wing at Lincoln Laboratories, Mass.

    During the week 20-25 March, 1960, the Air Inspector’s team from 64th Air Division visited the squadron for the purpose of conducting the annual squadron inspection. The inspection report noted the squadron’s outstanding operational capability as evidenced by superior ratings in ADC and 64th Air Division tactical evaluations culminating in the 64th Air Division "A" award presented to the squadron in the last quarter of 1959.

    Generally, the Air Inspector’s team found all squadron sections operating at a high degree of efficiency with marked improvement shown over the results of the 1959 inspection.

    Operations:

    Operationally, the squadron functioned at peak level during the first quarter of 1960 as the number of tracks plotted totalled 2,681 with an added 1,566 plotted by the squadron’s detachment #1.

    During this quarter, Operations personnel completed 689 intercepts and participated in a total of 78 missions. Unknown aircraft were logged to a total of 45 while navigational aid rendered checked out at 299. No actual emergency assists were recorded.

    Communications and Electronics:

    In January all site telephone numbers were changed to conform with NORAD Regulation 102-6. In a concurrent move, the communications section published a new telephone directory reflecting all changes. Trouble centers in January concerned the lashing and repairing of cable blown down by high winds and the readjustment of transmitter site frequency antenna, rendered inoperative by severe icing conditions. Strong emphasis was placed during January on training with the accent on review of forms, technical orders, publications, management and supply functions.

    In March, another trouble area was encountered in the radar maintenance field as the back-up search was forced off the air for 28 ½ hours for emergency maintenance.

    Supply:

    As the 1960 first quarter opened, all UAL property was physically inventoried. Plans were made for the beginning of Project Count which commenced February 1, 1960, and continued through March with the adjustment of stock balance and consumption report records.

    With continued good weather in March, the civilian Okanagan helicopters transported 34 personnel to the squadron as compared to 32 passengers in February and 29 passengers in January.

    Installations and Engineering:

    Activities in this section were of a routine nature with one important personnel change as Captain John F Alleman, Installation Engineer, rotated to the ZI for medical reasons. Captain James E Zorn, C&E Officer, assumed the position of Installations Engineer as an additional duty, pending the arrival of a replacement Installations Engineer.

    Typed Name and Grade of Commander

    Thomas C Schiebel, Major, USAF

    Signature