Zapata Air Force Station
deactivated, (1957-1961)Located 3.2 miles north of Zapata, Texas. Zapata Air Force Station, first established in 1957, was named after the location. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of TM-189. Abandoned in 1961.
A Cold War Air Force Radar Station established in 1957 and became operational in 1959 as Zapata Air Force Station manned by the 742nd AC&W Squadron.
This station was one of eight stations established in the final phase of the Permanent AC&W Radar Program for the 33rd Air Division. The 33rd Air Division would remain a manual operation throughout the transition of the rest of the Air Defense System to the semi-automatic SAGE System. The Oklahoma City Manual Direction Center P-86 remained connected to these sites until they closed down one by one. Because the sites were never destined to become SAGE sites they received older less capable equipment and facilities and they were among the first to be closed when budgets constricted.
The station initially had both a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and early warning mission. The early warning mission involved tracking and identifying all aircraft entering their airspace while the GCI mission involved guiding Air Force interceptors to any identified enemy aircraft. Controllers at the station vectored fighter aircraft at the correct course and speed to intercept enemy aircraft using voice commands via ground-to-air radio.
Initial equipment included the FPS-3A search radar and an FPS-6 height-finder radar.
The physical plant of the site was divided into the main site, a cantonment area, a housing area, and a radio site. The DOD acquired about 100 acres of property for the site between 1955 and 1958. The main site housed the operations buildings, the radar towers, and the backup generators. The cantonment area housed the enlisted barracks, the bachelor officer's quarters, the orderly room, the dining hall, the motor pool, and other support buildings. Apart from the main site was a small 27 unit housing area for married personnel. A separate Ground to Air Transmitter/Receiver (GATR) radio site housed the radio equipment for directing aircraft intercepts.
Zapata AFS and the 742nd were deactivated on 1 Jun 1961. The GSA sold the base on 27 Sep 1961 but reacquired it in 1966 due to a surveying error which had resulted in part of the base being constructed on property other than the land that was acquired. The final disposition of the corrected property took place during 1968 when it was sold to private ownership and the County of Zapata.
Source: Winkler, David F., Searching the Skies: the Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program, USAF. Hq Air Combat Command, 1997.
https://fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/airdef/1997-06-01955.pdf
pg. 157