THE HISTORY OF MONTAUK AIR FORCE STATION
(Source Unknown)
The
area of Montauk is known for having played a role in every war in which the
United States has had involvement. In 1776, during the Revolutionary War,
the infamous Battle of Long Island had many effects on the town and people.
Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders utilized Montauk during the
Spanish-American War, to recover from Yellow Fever before he and his troops
returned to New York. During World War I, the Army stationed dirigibles, an
aeroplane, troops and Coast Guard
personnel at Montauk. Fort Hero, which was the original name for Montauk Air
Force Station, was built by the Army during this time to house and train
troops.
World
War II brought many more changes to the quiet peninsula. The Navy acquired
Fort Pond, a small area west of Montauk, and relocated the entire village to
another area. The Navy also took over the Tower and Montauk Manor, as well
as built
new facilities to support their troops and operations. Docks, hangars,
barracks, and other buildings sprang up quickly.
The
Army built up Fort Hero, renaming it Camp Hero, the whole of which
eventually consumed 278 acres. Camp Hero supported the coastal gun
emplacements and other Army operations. Four 16-inch guns were placed there
to protect the coast
from enemy attack and invasion.
Camp
Hero itself was designed and built in the style of a small village to avoid
detection from the air. Most of the original buildings were designed to give
a false impression when viewed from above, such as the gymnasium, which was
built to look like a church.
After
the end of World War II, the base was deactivated and used by the Army
Reserve for summer training periods. In November of 1950, the Eastern Air
Defense Force activated the 773rd Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron,
which occupied
the western portion of Camp Hero and provided basic aircraft mapping
information. In 1952, the 773rd was transferred to the 26th Air Division and
operated as an Air Defense Direction Center. Their mission was to supply
surveillance, detection and
interception of all aircraft entering their area of responsibility.
In
November of 1957, the Army transferred Camp Hero and all property to the
ownership of the Air Force. At that time Camp Hero was officially renamed to
Montauk Air Force Station, and the Army ceased all operations there.
In
1958 SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment) was installed at Montauk. The
enormous radar dish, a large parabolic reflector array, was officially
commissioned on Camp Hero in 1962. The reflector was 126 feet long and 38
feet tall, weighing 40 tons. The rotor base weighed 30 tons. The reflector
was serial number two.
From
this point, until the Air Force officially shut down its radar operations on
July 1, 1980, the role of the 773rd remained the same: provide IFF (Identify
Friend or Foe), height determination and radar mapping to other Air Defense
SAGE units. The 773rd provided this data directly to the 21 st North
American Air Defense Command Region Control Center, which was McGuire Air
Force Base in New Jersey.
The
Air Station was closed in 1980 and a small care-taking detail was left in
charge. On February 8, 1984, the General Services Administration (GSA)
auctioned off all the surrounding property. The Air Force Station itself was
donated to the New York Parks Department. Some military living quarters,
located along Montauk Highway, were converted into limited income housing in
1983. With the exception of this housing area, the remains of the Montauk
Air Force Station are completely enclosed by Montauk State Park. The
majority of this area is accessible to the general public. The base itself
is considered off-limits.
It
is interesting to note that currently portions of the Montauk Air Station
are being demolished. A minimum of five structures are known to have been
destroyed thus far, including the power station, the heating building, the
enlisted man's club and two other buildings of unknown use. According to the
Montauk Historical Society, the base is still under the control of New York
State Parks Department and is being cleared of hazardous materials. It is
unknown whether the station will be made part of
the park, and opened to the public for use. Why it took the New York Parks
Department ten years to begin demolition has never been satisfactorily
explained.
THE HISTORY OF SAGE
The
roots of the SAGE radar system installed on Camp Hero are deeply imbedded in
a little known project called Whirlwind. Whirlwind is well hidden within the
pages of history, which will prove to be odd, given the significance of the
technologies that were developed to complete the project. Most of the
available information on Whirlwind comes from a variety of works detailing
the history of the computer, as well as bits and pieces from those who still
remember the project.
Whirlwind
was born in December 1944 when the Navy approached the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) to begin a feasibility study of a general
purpose flight trainer. The system would be used to train pilots and test
new airplane
designs. To fulfill its purpose, the trainer would have to respond instantly
to a variety of real-time data and simulated tests. The system would have to
interact with the pilot in real time.
Real-time
operation was not a new idea. There were the emerging developments in
digital ideas such as ENIAC and von Neumann's IAS machine. Yet the
prevalence of operational and testing facilities was geared to analog
technologies. Jay Forrester, the young engineer from Nebraska who headed
Project Whirlwind, decided early on that the machine must operate in real
time. The analog technology of the era was slow and tedious to program.
Forrester saw the advantages of using the new, emerging digital designs,
which solved many of the problems he would have faced with an analog
solution.
In
1947, Forester and crew completed a design for a high speed digital computer
that could function in real time. Although the original purpose of Whirlwind
was to build a Navy flight trainer, by 1948 the project's only goal was
construction of a
real-time, digital computer. At the end of another year's time, all hell
broke loose and the scope of his project changed once more. It was
September, 1949. The United States had just lost a critical edge in the
theater of world operations. In deep Siberia,
the Russians had just exploded their first successful nuclear weapon.
Long-range bombers also happened to be present on Russian air bases, capable
of delivering a payload deep into the continental United States. It
appeared, to the defense community and others, that we were at a great risk.
They wasted little time in developing both offensive and defensive
strategies.
In
December,1949, the Air Force approached MIT to design and build a
computerized air defense network. This network would have to detect an enemy
attack early enough so appropriate action could be initiated. In 1950,
Forrester's lab and project were taken over by the Air Force to develop this
system. Whirlwind became the cornerstone of SAGE, which in turn became the
cornerstone of the defense of the United States.
In
addition to its sophisticated computer technology, SAGE was different
tactically. The previous defense network was strictly point-and-shoot. It
could indicate that there was an object in U.S. airspace, but the intercept
calculations were manually computed and then fed to the nearest airfield for
intercept by aircraft. Each radar station of both the MEW (Microwave Early
Warning) and earlier systems stood alone. Their control was kept local, as
was all the data they gathered. No other station knew, in real time, what
the other stations were tracking or where they were tracking it. SAGE was
intended to change all of this.
In
1951, the Whirlwind/SAGE hybrid passed its first official test. It correctly
mapped, identified and plotted intercept courses for eight simultaneous
objects over the New England area. This data would have been available to
other installations, had they existed. When the entire network was later
linked to the sophisticated missile installations, it became a formidable
air defense system.
To
facilitate the installation of SAGE, the airspace over the United States and
Canada was divided into 25 distinct sectors. Each sector was to have the
ability to monitor and respond individually, as well as to pass data and act
in accordance with the greater whole. Several main control stations were
planned and built, such as McGuire Air Force Base and Mount Cheyenne, to
funnel and link all sectors together. In 1952, the prime contractor for the
SAGE computer was found: IBM.
By
the late 1950's, SAGE installations were being planned for a variety of
locations. Although nothing has been found docu- menting and describing all
SAGE installations, the scope and intent appears to be primarily coastal.
According to the Air Force Historical Research Agency, the 26th Air Division
became the first fully operational SAGE air defense system within the Air
Defense Command by January 1, 1959.
The
lineage of the 26th Air Division lists 24 squadrons and 18 detachments
designated as SAGE. Public documentation that is available regarding SAGE
locations references only seven actual installations by name. Given the fact
that SAGE operated in the UHF frequency band it only had an effective range
of 300 miles (line of sight), seven installations could not possibly have
covered all of the U.S. coastline. In The Annuals of the History of
Computing (a periodical that was dedicated to documenting the entire history
of computers) the final number of SAGE installations that were completed is
given as 25. Twenty-four of these were in the United States and one was in
Canada. This difference in what was actually installed is an anomaly until
further information surfaces.
Oddity: The announcement of the SAGE Radar Network to the
general public occurred on January l6th, 1956, during a preview of the new
system and its capabilities by Dr. George Valley, Associate Director of
Lincoln Loboratories, and retired Rear Admiral E.L. Cochran, Vice President
of MIT. As reported by the New York Times 2 days later, on January l8th,
Valley and Cochran had ominously described the SAGE system as " ... the
mating of man and machine. "
Also
worth mentioning are the astounding innovations Whirl- wind/SAGE eventually
incorporated. It was the first system to utilize a 16-bit word structure
(short words helped real-time operations) instead of the longer formats
geared for scientific
annotation. Whirlwind was the first digital system to operate in real time
and utilize interactive CRTs. Whirlwind/SAGE became the first system, in
1953, to use magnetic memory for storage instead of electrostatic tubes and
mercury delay lines. This
dramatically increased the machine's speed, over double the previous rate,
and maintenance time dropped dramatically. It was also the first system that
was completely redundant (2 CPUs, 2 Memory's, etc.) due to the nature of its
task. SAGE had to operate twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
Other
contributions on the SAGE-first list are light pens and keyboards, digital
data transmitted over standard telephone lines (this was how the remote
sites, such as Montauk, were connected to the direction centers) and
module-like circuit packaging. Note that, even though Whirlwind/SAGE broke
new ground at every turn and virtually set the pace for our modern
computers, it is a little known leap forward in computing technology.
The
SAGE system became obsolete in the early 1980's with the advent of satellite
technology. In January of 1983 there were only six SAGE systems still
running. By January of the following year, all SAGE installations had been
shut down. Smaller
bases were permanently closed, primarily the remote sites of the SAGE
network, such as Montauk Air Force Station. Facilities the size of Luke and
McGuire Air Force Bases are still operating today, in support of different
missions.
To
state that SAGE was the most important computer system of the twentieth
century would not be far from accurate. It incorporated, for the first time,
many of the technologies that enable current systems to perform as they do.
It also, in all likelihood, holds another significant record: The longest
life span of any computer system-a total of 25 years, from 1958 until 1983-
before technology overtook and put the system out to pasture.
MONTAUK AIR FORCE BASE TODAY
The
investigation of the Montauk Air Force was accomplished over a period of one
year (October 1994 through October 1995) incorporating several different
visits. Armand, my partner in this crime, was a close friend and psychic who
lent invaluable
guidance during the investigations. Armand was responsible for detecting and
documenting the Iey lines that cross the Point, as well as communicating the
ethereal perceptions that still haunt the grounds.
When
I say `crime,' I mean that literally. It is a misdemeanor to be on base
grounds without permission from the New York State Parks Department,
punishable by a couple of days in jail or a fine of fifty dollars. We were
caught, in October 1994, but
were not fined. It is interesting to note that, even though it was a Parks
Department officer who confronted us, he was accompa- nied by a civilian.
The civilian seemed highly upset. The reason for his agitation was not made
clear. It was this civilian who did all the talking. The Parks officer was
very calm and said little. What authority this civilian had is unknown.
During
the investigative trips, we were able to compile a very accurate map of the
base layout which is the only known map of the Montauk Air Force Station.
Although these and other Army Engineering documents should be available in
the National
Archives, the documents from the Montauk Air Force Station are missing, as
well as the World War II Army documents on Camp Hero. This is odd, since an
abundance of data exists for other locations in the Long Island Sound
Defense Sector. We will examine the most important features of Montauk Air
Force Station found during the investigative trips, both through detail and
photographic records. While there is a huge amount of data regarding these
visits, only the most relevant (to the legends of Phoenix) will be covered.
The rest is simply historical information. This information is fascinating,
but has little to do with the scope of this work.
Surrounding Area
The
area surrounding Montauk Air Force Station is an intimidating mix of thick
woodlands and dense underbrush with patches of moorlands woven in and out.
It was these characteristics that saved the base from being turned over to
resort developers in 1984. The GSA had plans to sell the base, four years
after its closure, to the highest bidder. The Montauk Moorlands Association
stepped in and turned up the heat in early 1984 and prevented the sale. The
Association cited the same report the GSA had compiled in 1981, to prevent
the base from being sold initially. The report stated that approximately 215
acres of the land should be kept as open space for environmental reasons.
It
is interesting to note the GSA compiled a report in 1981 to retain the base
under a care-taking detail (remember the big finale of Phoenix occurred in
1983, when it was linked to Philadelphia), but then changed directions at
the end of 1983 and wanted to get rid of the station!
Located
on the furthest tip of Long Island is the Montauk Lighthouse, a mere three
miles from the Montauk Air Station. Situated next to the lighthouse is a
splinter-proof concrete structure. This was the primary Fire Control Station
for the Long Isiand Defense Sector, which included the large 16-inch guns on
Camp Hero.
Just
down the hillside from the lighthouse, located on the beach, is an oddity.
This is an immense, overturned block of concrete, which appears to be an old
dock mooring. No maps of Montauk Point have ever indicated a dock at this
site. Examination of the block reveals it is hollow with a metal rung ladder
inside. Only a quarter of a mile further down the coast is another example
of these concrete moorings, still upright and in place. This could be
evidence of the underground network, so often spoken of in the Phoenix
legends.
Recent
information that has been uncovered suggests that these structures were
actually part of an underwater submarine mooring location. Since the only
relevant location of interest in the area is the Air Station, an underground
connection to the Air Station is almost certain.
The
underground network may stretch from these two moorings, probably with a
connection to the Fire Control Station, then extend outward to the base.
Once on the base, connections would likely be to the bunkers and other
buildings. The network would then traverse into the town of Montauk itself,
ending at the Montauk Tower. The legend states that test subjects, usually
runaways or derelicts, were brought from the streets of Long Island to the
Tower, and then sent via the underground to the base.
More indicators pointing to the existence of an underground network are the location just east of King's Point and is an unexplained outcropping of large boulders. Not only are the size of these boulders out of place along the shores of the Point, but so is their shade and color. One speculation is that they were blasted and hauled out of the under ground at some point during its construction. Also noticeable in this area is a distinctive, and somewhat unpleasant, metallic smell. It reminds me of the smell generated when circuit boards are submersed in etching fluid.
