Kamloops, BC

1961 - Historical Record - Anonymous

RCS: AU-D5


HISTORICAL RECORD

of the

825th AC&W Squadron

for the period ending

30 June 1961

Section I REQUIRED DATA

1 Unit and Location

825th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, Kamloops, BC, Canada

2 Name and grade of Commander

Garvel R Trimble, Lt. Colonel

3 Chain of Command (Superior Echelons)

825th AC&W Squadron, Kamloops, BC, Canada
Spokane Air Defense Sector, Larson Air Force Base, Washington
25th Air Division (SAGE), McChord Air Force Base, Washington
Air Defense Command, Ent Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Headquarters, United States Air Force, Washington 25, DC

4 Subordinate Units (Down to and including squadrons)

Not Applicable

5 Mission (Give authority and brief statement of primary mission)

Maintain radar surveillance, assign appropriate track numbers and report surveillance information to Spokane Air Defense Sector Direction Center (SPADS DC) for identification and action. Exercise control of allocated interceptors. Report results of tactical action. Lateral tell to adjacent stations and provide all possible navigational assistance to aircraft in distress.

6 Personnel

Officers Airmen Civilians Total
Assigned 15 142 20 177
Attached 1 2 0 3

7 Equipment (Give official nomenclature and quantity of mission-type equipment)

AN/FPS-3A, AN/FPS-6, AN/FPS-6B

Section II COMMENTARY

Organization and Planning:

During the period of the report, there have been significant changes in the Commanders evaluation of the organization.

Specifically, a tactical re-evaluation of this unit conducted on 20 and 21 June 1961 further demonstrated and confirmed existing opinions that the unit is seriously impaired in the performance of its assigned mission due to severe limitations of the installed search radar equipment. As a result of this confirmation, and as a result of inspections of equipment and maintenance procedures by 4602nd Support Wing, 25th Air Division and CAR personnel which indicated that the equipment is meeting operating specifications; Spokane Air Defense Sector, through 25th ADIV, has requested the installation of the new programmed search radar be expedited. Consequently, until this action takes place, the unit can perform its mission only within the limitations imposed by installed equipment, and cannot be said to be operating at peak efficiency.

The unit mission has not appreciably changed during this period, except that as indicated in the previous report this unit is now responsible for battle coordination of the Sector Canadian sites.

As was anticipated, manning in the Operations field has become a problem within the quarter. Director wise, the unit is at full strength; however, airman manning is approximately 75% of authorized strength. Manning should improve in the next quarter. The GATR facility is approximately 90% complete, and the equipment is on site though there has been no installation as of the close of this period. The TELCO building is completed, and the SAGE Annex Building is approximately 60% complete. The previously planned Power Annex Building was cancelled as the ADC engineering survey team determined that commercial power is adequate for prime power at this unit. Present plans now call for a 20 foot addition to present emergency-power building with the addition of three 100 KW Deisel units and expansion of the sub-station.

Lt. Colonel Garvel R Trimble assumed command of the Squadron on 5 May 1961, relieving Major John H Farrar.

Surveillance and Detection Network:

As indicated above, though the search radar is apparently meeting operating specification requirements, the limitations of the equipment are jeopardizing the Unit Mission. Excessive clutter due to the radome is still a problem with the AN/FPS-6B.

There was one hour and 31 minutes of Red time on the search equipment during the period. Primary reason for outages were power surges causing resultant component failures; however, Red time did not significantly influence accomplishment of mission.

Combat Operations:

There were five operational exercises during the period. Four of these were 25th NORAD Region Exercises and one was a Spokane Air Defense Sector Exercise. During these exercises a total of seventy-three fighter commitments were made, resulting in thirty-nine MAs, 18 MIs, and 16 break-offs.

A total of 254 training intercepts were conducted during the period and this is considered the minimum requirement necessary for director and associated technician proficiency training.

A total of 35 STM exercises were conducted during the period.

The unit was found satisfactory during the 25th NORAD Regions re-evaluation of the unit on 20 and 21 May 1961.

Miscellaneous:

The relationship with the local community has remained excellent.