Ground Observation Corps
The Ground Observation Corps[1] was a Cold War organization of the United States which provided an aircraft tracking network with over 200,000 civilian volunteers. The corps was established in early 1950 to supplement the Lashup Radar Network and a permanent radar network[2] started with "ADC radar site" P-1 (McChord AFB) on June 1, 1950. "Filter centers" (e.g., in New Haven, Connecticut and Baltimore, Maryland)[1] received telephoned voice information from 8,000 posts, and the information was relayed to Air Defense Command ground control interception centers.[3]
By 1952 the program was expanded in Operation Skywatch with over 750,000 volunteers at over 16 thousand posts (98 per post in shifts) and 75 centers. The program ended in 1958[1] prior to the automated 1959 USAF radar network (SAGE) and the automated Army networks (Missile Master).
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 1952 map |
References
- ^ a b "Less Than Half Spotter Time Filled In Week" (Google News Archive). The Gettysburg Times. Times and News Publishing Company. April 5, 1954. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Schaffel, Kenneth (1991). The Emerging Shield: The Air Force and the Evolution of Continental Air Defense, 1945–1960. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.