Kamloops, BC
1961 - Historical Record - Anonymous
HISTORICAL RECORD
of the
825th AC&W Squadron
for the period ending
30 September 1961
1 Unit and Location
825th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, Kamloops, BC, Canada
2 Name and grade of Commander
Garvel R Trimble, Lt. Colonel
3 Chain of Command (Superior Echelons)
825th AC&W Squadron, Kamloops, BC, Canada
Spokane Air Defense Sector, Larson Air Force Base, Washington
25th Air Division (SAGE), McChord Air Force Base, Washington
Air Defense Command, Ent Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Headquarters, United States Air Force, Washington 25, DC
4 Subordinate Units (Down to and including squadrons)
Not Applicable
5 Mission (Give authority and brief statement of primary mission)
Maintain radar surveillance, assign appropriate track numbers and report surveillance information to Spokane Air Defense Sector Direction Center (SPADS DC) for identification and action. Exercise control of allocated interceptors. Report results of tactical action. Lateral tell to adjacent stations and provide all possible navigational assistance to aircraft in distress.
6 Personnel
|
|
Officers
|
Airmen
|
Civilians
|
Total
|
|
Assigned
|
16
|
143
|
20
|
179
|
|
Attached
|
5
|
13
|
0
|
18
|
7 Equipment (Give official nomenclature and quantity of mission-type equipment)
AN/FPS-3A, AN/FPS-6, AN/FPS-6B
Organization and Planning:
During the period of this report, there has not been a significant change in the Commanders evaluation of the organization as reflected in the previous report. As a result of the confirmation of the units impaired mission performance due to the limitations of installed search radar equipment, a re-evaluation of the search radar was performed by the 4754th Radar Evaluation Team during the period 8 to 21 September 1961. The primary verbal recommendations made by the team were a change in the antenna tilt and the use of a new RCI chart; however, an official evaluation report has not been received to date.
The unit mission has not changed during the period.
Overall manning is now at 86% of authorization, and is expected to approach 100% within the next quarter.
The GATR facility is approximately 95% complete. The national telecommunications contractors have installed approximately 70% of the inside and outside equipment/structures but expect delays in installation of the CODAN units as parts for construction have not been received. The diesel back-up for GATR is held up indefinitely pending receipt of wiring diagrams and parts for auto-start hookup from Westinghouse Corporation, as well as by the refusal of Defense Construction Ltd. To accept the wiring accomplished to date by Consolidated Engines, Ltd.
The SAGE annex building is approximately 92% complete. The primary delay at this time is due to shipment of the refrigeration units being held up by strike. The FST/2 installation start date has been slipped to 1 April 1962.
No information is available as to the start date for expansion of the present power facility. Latest information available indicates that a bid for the substation necessary for the power supply power for the SAGE annex has been accepted by DCL.
Surveillance and Detection Network:
Limitations of equipment and excessive clutter on the AN/FPS-6B remains unchanged as previously reported. Interference of radar signals into all radio equipments during the dry season resulted in the discovery of an inadequate site grounding system. A contract is out to bid at this time for correction to this condition.
There was two hours and two minutes of Red time on the search equipment during the period. The primary cause of the outages was commercial power failures; however, Red time did not significantly influence accomplishment of mission.
Combat Operations:
There were three operational exercises during the period. Two of these were 25th NORAD Region Exercises and one was a Spokane Air Defense Sector Exercise. During these exercises a total of 18 fighter commitments were made, resulting in 16 MAs, and 2 MIs.
A total of 235 training intercepts were conducted during the period.
A total of 8 STM exercises including: Desktop IV were conducted during the period.
Miscellaneous:
On 4 July 1961 this squadron received the final joint comprehensive plan for the hand over of Group III Pinetree Radar Sites from the USAF to the RCAF. Tentative squadron plans have been prepared and required phasing actions are being accomplished to meet the scheduled turn over date of 1 April 1962.