View source for Texas Towers

{{Short description|Radar stations off the New England coast}}
{{for multi|the lighthouse design|Texas Tower (lighthouse)|the building at University of Texas at Austin|Main Building (University of Texas at Austin)}}
{{Infobox military structure
|name=Texas Tower
|ensign=Air Defense Command.svg
|ensign_size=60px
|partof=[[Air Defense Command]] (ADC)
|location=
|coordinates=
|image= Texas Tower 3.jpg
|image_size= 250px
|caption= [[Texas Tower 3]]
|type=Offshore air defense radar
|code=
|built=
|builder={{air force|USA}}
|materials=Steel
|height=
|used= 1958–1963
|condition=Out of service/demolished
|ownership=
|garrison=
|commanders=
|occupants=
|events=
}}
'''Texas Towers''' were a set of three [[radar]] facilities off the eastern seaboard of the [[United States]] which were used for surveillance by the [[United States Air Force]] during the [[Cold War]]. Modeled on the [[offshore oil drilling platform]]s first employed off the [[Texas]] coast, they were in operation from 1958 to 1963. After the collapse of one of the towers in 1961, the remaining towers were closed due to changes in threat perception and out of a concern for the safety of the crews.

==Planning==
Upon re-formation of the [[Aerospace Defense Command|Air Defense Command]] in 1951 to oversee the nation's developing surveillance radar network, there was concern that shore-based radars along the east coast provided insufficient warning time. A 1952 report from [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]]'s [[Lincoln Laboratory]] looked into the possibility of extending radar coverage by building platforms in the Atlantic using [[offshore oil drilling]] technology.<ref name="Keeney.100">{{cite book
|title=15 Minutes: General Curtis LeMay and the Countdown to Nuclear Annihilation|first=L. Douglas|last=Keeney
|publisher=Macmillan|year=2011|pages=100}}</ref> They concluded that a set of such platforms, equipped with radars, could extend coverage several hundred miles offshore, giving half an hour additional warning of an attack.<ref name="ray" /> Funding for design and construction of the towers was approved in January 1954.<ref name="Keeney.100" />

==Design==
[[File:Texas Tower 2 radar platform in 1956.jpg|thumb|right|[[Texas Tower 2]]; note [[tropospheric scatter]] dish antennae on edge of platform]]

Each tower consisted of a triangular platform, {{convert|200|ft|m}} on each side, standing on three [[caisson (engineering)|caisson]] legs.<ref name="pop.sci">{{cite journal|journal=[[Popular Science]]|title=Radar Island Rises 110 Miles at Sea|first=Hartley E.|last=Howe|date=October 1955|pages=126–129, 268|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LCYDAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA27|access-date=2012-01-22}}</ref><ref name="fortress" /> The structures were constructed on land, towed to site, and [[Jackup rig|jacked up]] to clear the sea surface by {{convert|67|ft|m}}.<ref name="pop.sci" /> Radar and other equipment were then installed on location.
The platform itself contained two floors housing the living areas; two of the legs held fuel oil for diesel generators, while the third held the intake for the [[desalination]] unit. The platform roof served as a helicopter landing area. A rotary gantry was suspended from the platform to allow servicing of its underside.

Each platform was equipped with one [[AN/FPS-3]] (later upgraded to [[AN/FPS-20]]) [[Radar configurations and types#Detection and search radars|search radar]] and two [[AN/FPS-6]] [[height finder]] radars, each housed in a separate spherical neoprene [[radome]] {{convert|55|ft|m}} in diameter.<ref name="fortress">{{cite book|title=Fortress America: The forts that defended America, 1600 to the present|first1=J. E.|last1=Kaufmann|first2=H. W.|last2=Kaufmann|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780306812941/page/371 371]–372|publisher=Da Capo Press|year=2004|isbn=978-0-306-81294-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780306812941|url-access=registration|access-date=2012-01-22}}</ref> Originally the towers were to be linked to shore by submarine cable, but this was eventually rejected as too costly; the AN/FRC-56 [[tropospheric scatter]] [[microwave transmission|microwave link]] was installed instead, with an array of three [[parabolic antenna]]s attached to one edge of the platform.<ref name="ray">{{cite web|url=http://www.texastower.com/a_history_in_texas_towers_air_defense.htm|title=A History of Texas Towers in Air Defense 1952-1964|first=Thomas W.|last=Ray|publisher=Texas Tower Association|access-date=2012-01-23|archive-date=2010-07-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715092242/http://www.texastower.com/a_history_in_texas_towers_air_defense.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> UHF and VHF equipment allowed communication with ships and aircraft as well as providing a backup to the microwave link.

==Installations==
{{OSM Location map
| coord = {{Coord|41|00|00|N|70|00|00|W}}
| zoom = 5
| float = right
| width = 280
| height = 220
| title =
| mark-size= 11
| label1 =TT-1
| mark-coord1 = {{Coord|42|53|00|N|68|57|00|W}}
| label-pos1 = right
| label-size1 = 11
| mark1 = Blue pog.svg
| mark-size2 = 11
| label2 =TT-2
| mark-coord2 = {{Coord|41|45|00|N|67|46|00|W}}
| label-pos2 = right
| label-size2 = 11
| label-color2 =
| mark2 = Red pog.svg
| label3 =TT-3
| mark-coord3 = {{Coord|40|45|00|N|69|19|00|W}}
| label-pos3 = right
| label-size3 = 11
| label-color3 =
| mark3 = Red pog.svg
| label4 =TT-4
| mark-coord4 = {{Coord|39|48|00|N|72|40|00|W}}
| label-pos4 = right
| label-offset-y4=-5
| label-size4 = 11
| label-color4 =
| mark4 = Red pog.svg
| mark-image4=Texas Tower 4.jpg
| label5 =TT-5
| mark-coord5 = {{Coord|42|47|00|N|65|37|00|W}}
| label-pos5 = right
| label-size5 = 11
| label-color5 =
| mark5 = Blue pog.svg
| label6 =Otis AFB
| mark-coord6 = {{Coord|41|39|31|N|70|31|17|W}}
| label-pos6 = left
| label-size6 = 11
| label-color6 =
| mark6 = Black pog.svg
| caption = Location map; Towers 1 and 5 were planned, but not built. Otis Air Force Base provided the logistical support for the network.
}}
Five towers were planned, in an array off the New England/mid-Atlantic coast. The most northerly two proposed were dropped from plans due to budgetary constraints.<ref name="ray" />

Logistical support for all three towers was provided by the [[4604th Support Squadron]],  based out of [[Otis AFB]] and specifically constituted for this mission.<ref name="ray" /> They were originally equipped with [[Piasecki H-21|H-21B]] helicopters,<ref name="ray" /> which were replaced with three [[Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King|Sikorsky SH-3]] helicopters acquired in 1962.<ref name="flying">{{cite journal|journal=[[Flying (magazine)|Flying]]|title=Rotary Wing Aircraft|pages=117|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S-45uoS-v04C&pg=PA117|date=November 1962|access-date=2012-01-22}}</ref> The {{ship|USNS|New Bedford}} was used to supply the stations, with transfer being effected with a platform called the "donut", consisting of an inflated rubber ring surmounted by a railing, which was lowered from the platform to the waiting ship's deck. These transfers could only take place at slack tide, when the ship could maintain position.<ref name="Life.1">{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Life (magazine)|Life]]|date=July 26, 1963|title=Farewell to the Iron Bastards: Texas Towers Await the Wreckers|first=Evan McLeod|last=Wylie|pages=7, 9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JlIEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA7|access-date=2012-01-22}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left; height: 100px;"
|-
!Tower ID
!Location
!Staffing unit
!Mainland station
!Notes
|-
| [[Texas Tower 1|TT-1]]
| Cashes Ledge off [[New Hampshire]] coast<br>{{Coord|42|53|N|68|57|W |type:landmark_region:US_scale:25000 |display=inline}}
|
|
|Not built
|-
| [[Texas Tower 2|TT-2]]
| [[Georges Bank]] off [[Cape Cod]]<br/>{{Coord|41|45|0.00|N|67|46|0.00|W|scale:25000_region:US|display=inline}}
| [[762d Radar Squadron]]
| [[North Truro Air Force Station]]
|decommissioned 1963
|-
| [[Texas Tower 3|TT-3]]
| [[Nantucket Shoals]]<br/>{{Coord|40|45|00.00|N|69|19|0.00|W|scale:25000_region:US|display=inline}}
| [[773d Radar Squadron]]
| [[Montauk AFS]]
|decommissioned 1963
|-
| [[Texas Tower 4|TT-4]]
| off [[Long Beach Island, New Jersey]]<br/>{{Coord|39|48|N|72|40|W |dim:150km_region:US|display=inline }}
| [[646th Radar Squadron]]
| [[Highlands Air Force Station]]
| collapsed (1961)
|-
| [[Texas Tower 5|TT-5]]
| Browns Bank south of [[Nova Scotia]]<br/>{{Coord|42|47|N|65|37|W |type:landmark_region:CA_dim:250000 |display=inline}}
| 
| 
| Not built
|}

==Operational history==
[[Texas Tower 2]] was the first to become operational, starting limited service in May 1956.<ref name="HSBM">{{cite book|title=History of Strategic and Ballistic Missile Defense: Volume II: 1956-1972|editor-first=Barry|editor-last=Leonard|publisher=DIANE Publishing|year=2011|isbn=9781437921311|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=HoxycYhoKZkC}} p. 305</ref> It became fully operational in 1958, as did Tower 3; Tower 4 followed in April 1959.<ref>Leonard, p. 312</ref> The original plan to integrate these radars into the [[Semi-Automatic Ground Environment|SAGE]] system had to be modified when the direct cable connection was eliminated; instead, they were used to provide manual inputs.

All the towers were noisy and prone to vibration from the equipment. The relative flexibility of the supports also caused them to shake and sway in response to wind and waves.<ref name="Life.1" /> The frequent and sustained sounding of the platform's [[foghorn]]s was also an annoyance to the crew.<ref name="ray" />

=== Texas Tower 4 ===
[[File:Texas Tower 4.jpg|thumb|right|[[Texas Tower 4]] before installation of cross-braces]]
{{Main|Texas Tower 4}}Tower 4 was plagued with structural problems from the start. It stood in much deeper water than the other two - {{convert|185|ft|m}}, compared to {{convert|80|ft|m}} for Tower 2 - and it was held that the simple cylindrical leg design would not be sturdy enough given the length of the legs. Therefore, three sets of cross braces were added between the legs, attached with pin joints.<ref name="ray" /><ref name="Keeney.150">Keeney, pp. 150-152</ref> These made it impossible to tow the platform on the level; instead, the structure was laid on its side for transport and then tipped upright at the site.<ref name="Keeney.150" /> These braces proved to be frail and the joints prone to loosening: two braces broke loose during transport, and a third was lost when the tower was being placed on the bottom.<ref name="Keeney.190">Keeney, p. 190</ref> Divers were brought in several times to inspect the structure and to perform repairs, and an additional set of crossbraces was installed immediately below the platform, above the waterline, in 1960.<ref name="Keeney.226">Keeney, pp. 226-228</ref> Crewmen were frequently seasick from the swaying, and Tower 4 was nicknamed "Old Shaky".<ref name="ray" />

On September 12, 1960, [[Hurricane Donna]] passed over Tower 4, causing severe structural damage, including the loss of the flying bridge hanging beneath the platform, and one of the communications dishes.<ref name="Keeney.229">Keeney, pp.229-232</ref> After assessment of the damage and initial repairs it was decided to reduce staffing to a skeleton crew and prepare to dismantle the station.<ref name="Keeney.229" /> The site could not simply be abandoned for fear that the Soviets would board it and remove sensitive equipment and documentation.<ref name="Keeney.229" /> Dismantling of the tower was therefore protracted. At the approach of another storm in January 1961, evacuation of the station was impeded by the inability of the commander to make contact with any of his three immediate superiors; nonetheless the ''New Bedford'' set out for the platform.<ref name="Keeney.262">Keeney, pp.262-275</ref> As the storm built, {{USS|Wasp|CV-18|6}}, which was in the vicinity, was also dispatched with the intent of evacuating the station via helicopter, shore aircraft being unable to take off.<ref name="Keeney.262" /> Both ships reached the vicinity but could do no more than watch the station disappear from their radar. No survivors were recovered, though divers were sent down on the chance that some might have been trapped in the wreckage.<ref name="Keeney.262" /> Twenty-eight airmen and civilian contractors perished.<ref name="Southhall, 2011">Southall, Ashley, "[https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/us/politics/10tower.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1297641654-CwC4+jOKYRy8IaPl0dOqdQ Obama Recognizes Men Who Died in the Collapse of a Radar Tower in 1961]", ''[[New York Times]]'', 9 February 2011; retrieved 14 February 2011.</ref> Only two bodies were recovered.<ref name="Southhall, 2011"/>

=== Texas Tower 5 ===
{{Infobox military structure
|name=Texas Tower 5
|partof= [[Aerospace Defense Command]]
|location=
|coordinates={{Coord|42|47|N|65|37|W |type:landmark_region:CA_dim:250000 |display=inline,title}}
|caption=
|type=Long Range Radar Site
|code=
|built=
|builder=U.S. Government
|materials=
|height=
|used=
|demolished=
|condition=
|ownership= [[U.S. Air Force]]
|events=
}}
Texas Tower 5  was planned to be built on Brown's Bank, {{convert|35|nmi}} south of the coast of [[Nova Scotia]] in {{convert|84|ft}} of water.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thetexastowers.com/04-TheLocations/index.html|title=The Texas Towers: Proposed|publisher=The Texas Towers.Com|accessdate=2009-06-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725214257/http://www.thetexastowers.com/04-TheLocations/index.html|archive-date=2011-07-25|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[4604th Support Group]] was supposed to be located at [[Pease Air Force Base]], [[New Hampshire]]. The USAF approved the construction of Tower&nbsp;#5 on January&nbsp;11, 1954, but the tower was never built because of improvements to radar over the area.

=== Closure ===
The loss of Tower 4, together with the increasing emphasis on [[ICBM]]s as the predominant threat, led a reassessment of the remaining towers. Escape capsules were added to the two remaining towers, allowing rapid evacuation.<ref name="ray" /><ref name="fortress"/> Shortly thereafter it was decided to close the remaining towers, and the electronic equipment was removed. Both platforms were expected to be returned to shore for scrap, but Tower 2 sank and could not be recovered. Tower 3 was then filled with foam before being knocked off its support, and it was successfully returned to shore and dismantled. The wreckage of Towers 2 and 4 remains in place on the ocean floor. Radar coverage was taken over by alterations to [[EC-121]] [[airborne early warning]] flights based out of [[Otis Air Force Base]].<ref name="ray" />
<gallery mode=packed widths=160 heights=170 style="line-height:130%" caption="Patches of tower units">
File:Texas Tower 2 - Emblem.png|alt=Patch for Texas Tower 2|Tower 2 patch
File:Texas Tower 3 - Emblem.png|alt=Patch for Texas Tower 3|Tower 3 patch
File:4604th Support Squadron - Emblem.png|alt=Patch for 4604th Support Squadron|4604th Support Squadron patch
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[PAVE PAWS]]
* [[Radar picket]]
* [[Sea-based X-band Radar]]
* [[Semi-Automatic Ground Environment|SAGE]]
* Other Cold War era radar networks:
** [[Lashup Radar Network]]
** [[Pinetree Line]]
** [[Mid-Canada Line]]
** [[Distant Early Warning Line]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commonscat|Texas Towers}}
* {{Internet Archive short film|id=gov.dod.dimoc.24231|name=Georges Bank Radar Station (1957)}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120717003414/http://www.texastower.com/ The Texas Towers Association website via archive.org]
*http://www.radomes.org/museum/documents/TexasTower.html More information about the Texas Towers from http://www.radomes.org.
*{{cite conference|url=https://archive.org/details/inquiryintocolla00wash|title=Inquiry into the Collapse of Texas Tower No. 4|author=United States Senate Committee on Armed Services|publisher=United States Government Printing Office|year=1961}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140703221532/http://e-book.lib.sjtu.edu.cn/otc2002/pdffiles/papers/OTC14193.pdf Analysis on the collapse of Texas Tower 4]

{{Aerospace Defense Command}}

[[Category:Air defence radar networks]]
[[Category:Radars of the United States Air Force]]
[[Category:Marine architecture]]