Joelton Air Force Station

Joelton Air Force Station (ADC ID: SM-145) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 8.3 miles (13.4 km) west of Goodlettsville, Tennessee. It was closed in 1960.

Joelton Air Force Station
Part of Air Defense Command (ADC)
Joelton AFS Location of Joelton AFS, Tennessee
Coordinates	36°20′12″N 086°51′40″W
Type	Air Force Station
Site information
Controlled by	United States Air Force
Site history
Built	1956
In use	1956-1960
Garrison information
Garrison	799th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron

Emblem of the 799th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron

History

Joelton Air Force Station (AFS) was initially part of Phase II of the Air Defense Command Mobile Radar program. The Air Force approved this expansion of the Mobile Radar program on 23 October 1952 to provide radar coverage of the Nashville, TN area. Radars in this network were designated "SM."

The station became operational on 1 October 1956 when the 799th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron began operating an AN/MPS-11 search radar and an AN/TPS-10D height-finder radar. Eventually these sets were replaced by more-modern AN/FPS-6 height-finder radar and AN/FPS-8 search radar sets. Initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and warning station. As a GCI station, the squadron's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes.

In addition to the main facility, Guthrie operated an unmanned AN/FPS-18 Gap Filler site:

• Bradyville, TN (SM-145A) 35°42′11″N 086°12′30″W

Joelton AFS was closed on 1 June 1961 due to budgetary constraints. However, the FAA retained the radar, replacing the search radar with an ARSR-1E model. The FAA continues to operate the site as part of the Joint Surveillance System (JSS). Most of the Air Force buildings remain and are in use; the housing area is now private residences.

Air Force units and assignments

Units

• Constituted as the 799th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron

Activated at Wright-Patterson AFB (SM-170), OH on 8 February 1956

Moved to Joelton AFS on 1 October 1956

Discontinued and inactivated on 1 June 1961

Assignments

• 58th Air Division, 1 October 1956
• 35th Air Division, 1 September 1958
• 32d Air Division, 15 November 1958 – 1 June 1961

See also

• List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations
• List of United States Air Force aircraft control and warning squadrons

References

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Mueller, Robert (1989). Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-53-6.

Further Reading

• Cornett, Lloyd H; Johnson, Mildred W (1980). A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946–1980 (PDF). Peterson AFB, CO: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
• Grant, C.L., (1961) The Development of Continental Air Defense to 1 September 1954, USAF Historical Study No. 126
• Leonard, Barry (2009). History of Strategic Air and Ballistic Missile Defense (PDF). Vol. I. 1945-1955. Fort McNair, DC: Center for Military History. ISBN 978-1-43792-131-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
• Leonard, Barry (2009). History of Strategic Air and Ballistic Missile Defense (PDF). Vol. II, 1955–1972. Fort McNair, DC: Center for Military History. ISBN 978-1-43792-131-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
• Winkler, David F.; Webster, Julie L (1997). Searching the skies: The legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program (PDF). Champaign, IL: US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories. LCCN 97020912. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 October 2013.
• Radomes.org Information for Joelton AFS, TN