Genesee Mountain Park Training Annex

Summary

Genesee Mountain Park Training Annex (1955–70) was a U.S. Air Force radar station, an outstation of Lowry Air Force Base. It is a Formerly Used Defense Site (# B08CO0493)[1] of 3 acres (1.2 ha)[2] at Genesee Park (Colorado)[3]

Early in the Cold War, Lowry AFB supported Strategic Air Command nuclear bomber training (e.g., B-47, B-52, etc.) with automatic tracking radar (autotrack) and by January 1962, the "Tactical Missile School at Lowry" conducted Matador missile training "in the Black Hangar"[4] (the surface-to-surface missile used Matador Automatic Radar Control for autotrack.) Automatic tracking radar was also used in Korean War ground-directed bombing training for live bomb drops at ranges like the Lowry Bombing and Gunnery Range (the early 1960s Titan 1 sites near Denver also had tracking radars in a "guidance facility".)[5]

Denver Bomb Plot edit

The Denver Bomb Plot was the call sign of an early Cold War automatic tracking radar station established for training and evaluation by August 25, 1949.[6] The station was operated by Detachment A of the 3903rd Radar Bomb Scoring Squadron, was commanded by Capt John A. Schlupp in 1949,[6] and conducted Radar Bomb Scoring of simulated bomb drops on mock Denver area targets by Strategic Air Command aircrews, including those of the 1955 SAC Bombing and Navigation Competition.[7] In 1959 the detachment moved 4 trailers,[8] after being designated Detachment 1, 11th Radar Bomb Scoring Squadron; to the La Junta Radar Bomb Scoring Site at the former World War II La Junta Army Airfield (122 people on 6 acres in FY1984).[9]

References edit

  1. ^ "U.S. General Accounting Office".
  2. ^ "Jefferson County, Colorado - Place Names Directory".
  3. ^ Mueller, Robert (1989). Air Force Bases (PDF) (Report). Vol. I: Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982. Office of Air Force History. p. 600. ISBN 0-912799-53-6. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
  4. ^ "Matador and Mace Tactical Missile Veterans" (military newsgroup). June 14, 2010. Retrieved 2013-03-18. Dennis Schneider Wed, February 8, 2012 2:01 PM I was assigned to the Tactical Missile School at Lowry AFB…in Jan 1962. Upon graduation in June…I received orders assigning us to instructor duty in that very school, which was located in the Black Hangar … at Lowry…from Jan 1962 - Dec 1963…I tought [sic]…in the TAC Missile Maintenance training program. (message 1060)
  5. ^ asuwlink.uwyo.edu/~jimkirk/Lowry1A.doc
  6. ^ a b Schlupp, Capt John A (25 August 1949), Radar Activity (letter), Detachment A, 3903rd Radar Bomb Squadron, retrieved 2012-07-23
  7. ^ "7th WING OPERATIONS HISTORY, 1955-1958". Archived from the original on 2012-10-06. Retrieved 2012-09-27.
  8. ^ "Townsfolk Hope to Shoot Down Military's Bombing-Range Plans". Deseret News. February 21, 1995. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  9. ^ "ALERT" (PDF). dod.mil.