Emblem of the 32d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
Ozona Air Force Station (ADC ID: TM-187) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Ozona, Texas. It was closed in 1963.
History
Ozona Air Force Station came into existence as part of Phase III of the Air Defense Command Mobile Radar program. On 20 October 1953 ADC requested a third phase of twenty-five radar sites be constructed. Ozona Was The Top 30 Air Force Stations.
The 732d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was assigned to Oznoma AFS by the 33d Air Division on 8 November 1956. It began operating an AN/FPS-3 search radar and an AN/FPS-6 height-finder radar at the station, and 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, Ozona operated several AN/FPS-14 Gap Filler sites:
Ozona was closed in 1963 due to budget reductions. Operations ceased on 1 August 1963 and the squadron was discontinued. Today, what was Ozona Air Force Station is privately owned. The station is abandoned, the remaining buildings are frozen in time complete with electrical wires connected to substation which no longer remains. Most of the buildings that remain are in a very deteriorated condition. The former Air Force housing area is in use as single family residences, now called "Crockett Heights". Family's that live in "Crockett Heights" are currently living in old houses that the Military used as the barracks/houses. The houses residences live in, are rebuilt, and are in a perfect condition.
Ozona AFS most important mission was during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Its Radars and radio were used to keep track of the U2's being flown out of Laughlin AFB on their flights over Cuba. The crisis delayed closing the base for another year.
Air Force units and assignments
Units:
732d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, Assigned 25 July 1957 to Ozona Air Force Station
A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
Winkler, David F. (1997), Searching the skies: the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program. Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command.
United States Air Force
