Hopedale Air Station

Hopedale Air Station (ADC ID: N-28) is a closed General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 147.8 mi west-northwest of CFB Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It was closed in 1968.

History
The site was established in 1953 as a General Surveillance Radar station, funded by the United States Air Force. It was used initially by the Northeast Air Command as part of the Pinetree Line, which stationed the 923d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at the station on 1 October 1953.

The station was re-assigned to the USAF Air Defense Command on 1 April 1957, and was given designation "N-28". 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. These interceptors were assigned to the 64th Air Division at Goose AFB, Labrador.

It operated the following radars:
 * Search Radars: AN/FPS-3C, AN/FPS-502, AN/FPS-87A, AN/FPS-93A
 * Height Radars: AN/TPS-502, AN/FPS-6B, AN/FPS-90

In addition to the main facility, Hopedale operated an AN/FPS-14 manned Gap Filler sites:
 * Cape Makkovik Air Station   (N-28A): 55.225°N, -59.14583°W

N-28A was built in 1957 about 50 miles east-southeast of the main station and was closed in 1961. The site is very isolated, and its remains are still visible in aerial images. It was serviced by a small dock where supply ships apparently provided logistical support to the station. The remains of a road, probably gravel, remain which goes to the station, where the tower base remains along with some support buildings, including a barracks. The entire facility appears to have been totally abandoned for 50 years.

Personnel stationed at Hopedale lived in the village of Hopedale, about .5 mile south-southeast of the site. An airstrip on Ribback Island provided air support to the station. The squadron was inactivated on 18 June 1968, and the station was closed on 30 June. All US Air Force personnel lived in barracks at the station itself. There were three "tiers" of barracks: Enlisted, NCO and Officer. There were a few Canadian Nationals employed at the base. They lived in the village of Hopedale.

Today the site remains intact, probably due to its isolated location. It apparently has been unused and abandoned since its closure. Since 1992, the Canadian Forces have operated a Short Range Radar facility at a nearby site, a part of the North Warning System.

In 2009, a serious PCB contamination was identified at the former Hopedale station.

USAF units and assignments
Units:
 * Activated as 923d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Grenier AFB, New Hampshire, 13 June 1953
 * Moved to Hopedale Air Station, 1 October 1953
 * Inactivated 18 June 1968.

Assignments:
 * 64th Air Division (NEAC), 1 October 1953
 * 4732d Air Defense Group (ADC), 1 April 1957
 * Goose Air Defense Sector, 1 April 1960
 * 37th Air Division, 1 April 1966-18 June 1968