Information for Aiken AFS, SC

Latitude: 33-38-46 N, Longitude: 81-40-36 W

Call Sign(s): Basket Wool

Perm ID	Sage ID	Unit	Location	Early Equip.	Final Equip.	Oper. Date	Inact. Date	Notes
SM-159	Z-159	861	Aiken AFS, SC	TPS-10D; FPS-3, FPS-20; FPS-7C; MPS-14; FPS-26A	FPS-7C; FPS-26A	Dec-55	Jun-75	First operational Phase-II mobile (SM-) site. Plans for an AN/FPS-27 FD search radar were cancelled; an AN/FPS-7C search radar was installed instead. FAA site after air Force left, but is closed (and razed) now. Located at the Aiken Municipal Airport, originally the Aiken Army Air Field. Earlier planned locations included Augusta, GA, and then Trenton, SC.
SM-159A			Norwood, GA **	(FPS-18 planned)				Gap-Filler Annex. ** In original ADC plans, but never was built. The planned location is unknown, but is speculated to have been at the high point in Warren County County, GA.
SM-159B			Gray Court, SC **	(FPS-18 planned)				Gap-Filler Annex. ** In original ADC plans, but never was built. Possibly would have been located atop Big Knob (945 ft), the highest point in Laurens County, SC.

Perm ID

Sage ID

JSS ID

Unit

Location

Early
Equip.

Final
Equip.

Oper.
Date

Inact.
Date

Notes

SM-159

Z-159

861

Aiken AFS, SC

TPS-10D; FPS-3, FPS-20; FPS-7C; MPS-14; FPS-26A

FPS-7C; FPS-26A

Dec-55

Jun-75

First operational Phase-II mobile (SM-) site. Plans for an AN/FPS-27 FD search radar were cancelled; an AN/FPS-7C search radar was installed instead. FAA site after air Force left, but is closed (and razed) now. Located at the Aiken Municipal Airport, originally the Aiken Army Air Field. Earlier planned locations included Augusta, GA, and then Trenton, SC.

SM-159A

Norwood, GA **

(FPS-18 planned)

Gap-Filler Annex. ** In original ADC plans, but never was built. The planned location is unknown, but is speculated to have been at the high point in Warren County County, GA.

SM-159B

Gray Court, SC **

(FPS-18 planned)

Gap-Filler Annex. ** In original ADC plans, but never was built. Possibly would have been located atop Big Knob (945 ft), the highest point in Laurens County, SC.

History of Aiken AFS, SC

This was the first Phase-II Mobile Radar system to achieve operational status. During December 1955, the 861st AC&W Squadron began operating AN/FPS-3, AN/MPS-14, and AN/TPS-10D radars. In 1958 an AN/FPS-20 search radar and an AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar were operational. An AN/FPS-27 FD search radar was planned, but was subsequently cancelled. Circa 1963 the site received an AN/FPS-7C search radar and an AN/FPS-26 FD height-finder radar which fed data to the SAGE system; the AN/FPS-20 was then deactivated circa 1964. The AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was retired in 1968. The 861st Radar Squadron (SAGE) was deactivated in June 1975. Postscript: The FAA continued to operate the AN/FPS-7C search radar for a few years, while the cantonment area was converted into a minimum-security prison. Dissatisfied with the prison setting, the FAA relocated to Lincolnton, GA, where today they continue to operate an ARSR-3 search radar. The prison was shut down in the mid / late 1990s, and the entire site has since been demolished.

References: "Searching the Skies"; misc. ADC and ADCOM documents; eyewitness accounts.

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