Cold War Picket Ships

[tylerblakebrandon]

I put in a DB request for the Cold War Guardian Class picket ships.

This site with the ships assigned stations combined with this data from the wiki page about how they were coordinated with other early warning assets could be of use to scenario designers.

https://www.radomes.org/museum/ThePicketShips.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardian- ... icket_ship

"The Contiguous Radar Coverage System's picket stations were about 400–500 miles (640–800 km) off each coast and provided an overlapping radar or electronic barrier against approaching aircraft. While on station, the ships' operational control shifted from the Navy to the Air Force and NORAD. While on station, each ship stayed within a specific radius of its assigned picket station, reporting and tracking all aircraft contacts. Each ship carried qualified air controllers to direct intercept aircraft sent out to engage contacts."

"The AGRs were based on both coasts at Newport, Rhode Island (later Davisville, Rhode Island) and Treasure Island, California near San Francisco, eight on the East Coast and eight on the West Coast. They would spend 30–45 days at sea regardless of weather, alternating with 15 days in port, monitoring aircraft approaching the United States in the Contiguous Radar Coverage System, an adjunct to the Distant Early Warning line under the Continental Air Defense Command. Their primary duty was to warn of a surprise Soviet bomber attack. The AGRs were augmented by twelve radar picket destroyer escorts (DERs) of the Edsall and John C. Butler classes, Lockheed EC-121 / WV-2 Warning Star aircraft, and in the Atlantic, Goodyear ZPG-2W and ZPG-3W blimps and Texas Towers. The DERs and Navy WV-2s were called Barrier Forces, BarLant and BarPac, and operated much further from the US than the AGRs; the Air Force EC-121s operated in "Contiguous Barrier" orbits between the coasts and the AGRs. By 1965, the development of over-the-horizon radar had superseded their function, and the radar picket ships were decommissioned and scrapped by the early 1970s."

[thewood1]

I read a little about them years ago. It was from the perspective of The USAF's navy. Thats good info on them.

[thewood1]

Thats a good double post also.

[kevinkins]

There was the infamous capsize of a Texas Tower 4 off the coast of NJ/Long Island that is frightening to read about to this day. Here is a taste of the incident.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Tower_4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkV1dec4-G4

[tylerblakebrandon]

I also put in a BD request for the AEW blimps since after they picket ships they are the only elements of the system left. I may build an import group with everything eventually.