Brookfield Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 1.1 miles (1.8 km) south-southeast of Brookfield, Ohio. It was closed in 1959.

Brookfield Air Force Station
Part of Air Defense Command (ADC)
Brookfield AFS is located in Ohio
Brookfield AFS
Brookfield AFS
Location of Brookfield AFS, Ohio
Coordinates41°13′09″N 080°33′43″W / 41.21917°N 80.56194°W / 41.21917; -80.56194
TypeAir Force Station
CodeADC ID: P-62
Site information
Controlled by United States Air Force
Site history
Built1923
In use1952-1959
Garrison information
Garrison662d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
Emblem of the 662d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron

History

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Brookfield Air Force Station constructed as part of the Air Defense Command permanent network it was opened in April 1952.

The 662d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron began operations with AN/FPS-3 and AN/FPS-5 radars, 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. This operation allowed Lashup site L-18 at Ravenna, Ohio, to shut down. In 1957 the AN/FPS-5 height-finder radar was replaced with an AN/FPS-4, and then the AN/FPS-4 was replaced with an AN/FPS-6 in 1958.

In addition to the main facility, Brookfield operated two unmanned AN/FPS-14 (P-62B) and AN/FPS-18 (P-62A) Gap Filler sites

The P-62 site designation and the 662d Radar Squadron were transferred to Oakdale AFS, Pennsylvania, when radar operations ceased at Brookfield AFS on 1 Nov 1959 due to budget considerations. This site at Brookfield became a gap-filler radar site (RP-62E) for Oakdale. The Brookfield site operated as a gap-filler annex from Feb 1964 until June 1968. Its Ground Air Transmit Receive (GATR) site (R-12) also remained in operation.

After the site was closed by the military, the property was acquired by Trumbull County, Ohio, and the buildings were turned into the Trumbull County Nursing Home Facility. In the early 1980s, the nursing home was closed due to budget issues, and the Air Force closed down the R-12 GATR site. Today, the site is abandoned, with buildings in a severe state of decay. Roofs are collapsing, floors and roofs are caving in and concrete is deteriorating. Animals are frequently found in the buildings as well as the occasional human vandal.

In September 2012, the property was sold to a private entity. It is patrolled by the police, and is not open to the public The owners are not friendly to trespassers.

In 2011, Brookfield Police officiated the release for a student-made independent short film to be filmed on the premises which filmed primarily in summer of 2012. The set was of interest to the filmmakers due to its publicity from the infamous 1994 alleged UFO sightings.

Air Force units and assignments

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Units

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  • 662d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron,
Activated at Selfridge AFB, MI (L-17), 18 April 1950, not operational
Moved to Lashup site L-18 at Ravenna, OH, 1 January 1951
Moved to Brookfield AFS on 1 October 1951
Moved to Oakdale AFS, PA, 1 November 1959 when site inactivated.

Assignments

See also

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References

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  This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

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