Information for Saratoga Springs AFS, NY

Latitude: 43-00-41 N, Longitude: 073-40-57 W

Call Sign(s): Egg Nog, Wonder, Rocky Road

Perm ID	Sage ID	Unit	Location	Early Equip.	Final Equip.	Oper. Date	Inact. Date	Notes
P-50	Z-50	656	Saratoga Springs AFS, NY	FPS-5; FPS-3/-20/-65; FPS-27; FPS-6,-90; FPS-26A	FPS-27; FPS-90; FPS-26A	Apr-52	Jun-77	BUIC-I (manual). A.K.A. 'Schuylerville' and 'Saratoga AFS.' FAA joint-use in 1964, then became FAA beacon-only site after closure. Completely deactivated now.
P-50A	Z-50A		New Preston, CT	FPS-14		Jun-57	Jun-68	Gap-Filler Annex. Located atop 'Above All' mountain. Building is still extant.
P-50B	Z-50B		Andes, NY	(FPS-14 planned); FPS-18		Dec-58	Jun-68	Gap-Filler Annex. Located on Craig Hill, at end of Herr Road extension, WNW of town (the location was originally slated for a site in / near Saugerties, NY). Both building and radar tower are still extant. Radar sail and radome left on site, too. 1955 CONAD History document lists this site as Saugerties, NY.
P-50C			Cherry Valley, NY **					Gap-Filler Annex. ** In early ADC plans, but never was built.
P-50D			Stoddard, NH **	(FPS-14 planned)				** Gap-Filler Annex. In original ADC plans, but never was built. USACE belives site was planned for Pitcher Mountain, NW of Stoddard.
P-50E	Z-50E		New Salem, MA	FPS-14		Jun-57	Jun-68	Gap-Filler Annex. Building is still extant.

Perm ID

Sage ID

JSS ID

Unit

Location

Early
Equip.

Final
Equip.

Oper.
Date

Inact.
Date

Notes

P-50

Z-50

656

Saratoga Springs AFS, NY

FPS-5; FPS-3/-20/-65; FPS-27; FPS-6,-90; FPS-26A

FPS-27; FPS-90; FPS-26A

Apr-52

Jun-77

BUIC-I (manual). A.K.A. 'Schuylerville' and 'Saratoga AFS.' FAA joint-use in 1964, then became FAA beacon-only site after closure. Completely deactivated now.

P-50A

Z-50A

New Preston, CT

FPS-14

Jun-57

Jun-68

Gap-Filler Annex. Located atop 'Above All' mountain. Building is still extant.

P-50B

Z-50B

Andes, NY

(FPS-14 planned); FPS-18

Dec-58

Jun-68

Gap-Filler Annex. Located on Craig Hill, at end of Herr Road extension, WNW of town (the location was originally slated for a site in / near Saugerties, NY). Both building and radar tower are still extant. Radar sail and radome left on site, too. 1955 CONAD History document lists this site as Saugerties, NY.

P-50C

Cherry Valley, NY **

Gap-Filler Annex. ** In early ADC plans, but never was built.

P-50D

Stoddard, NH **

(FPS-14 planned)

** Gap-Filler Annex. In original ADC plans, but never was built. USACE belives site was planned for Pitcher Mountain, NW of Stoddard.

P-50E

Z-50E

New Salem, MA

FPS-14

Jun-57

Jun-68

Gap-Filler Annex. Building is still extant.

History of Saratoga Springs AFS, NY

The 656th AC&W Squadron began operating AN/FPS-3 and AN/FPS-5 radars from this central New York site in April 1952. This site assumed coverage from Lashup site L-7 in Schenectady. This site was one of the first to receive an AN/FPS-20 search radar in the spring of 1957. By 1958 the original radars were gone, and operations continued with an AN/FPS-20 and a pair of AN/FPS-6 height-finder radars. At this time, Saratoga Springs began providing information to the SAGE system. The search radar subsequently was upgraded in 1961 to become an AN/FPS-65. Major equipment changes occurred during 1963 with the arrival of an AN/FPS-27 search radar along with AN/FPS-26A and AN/FPS-90 height-finder radars. The AN/FPS-65 was removed in 1965. In 1964 this site became an ADC/FAA joint-use facility. The 656th Radar Squadron (SAGE) was deactivated in June 1977. The FAA continued using the AN/FPS-27 tower to house beacon (SIF) only for several years after the USAF ceased radar operations.

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

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