Side A
The Williams Bay Air Force Radar Station, home of the 755th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, was part of a nationwide Cold War effort to defend the continent against possible airborne attack from the Soviet Union. In the years following World War II, as tensions between the United States and Soviet Union escalated, Air Force engineers worked feverishly to develop a sophisticated radar technology suitable for a nationwide network of defensive stations.

Side B
The system did not gain wide support until the Soviet Union exploded their first atomic bomb in August 1949. The Williams Bay station became operational in 1950. Built on one of the highest elevations in the region, its two radomes scanned the skies 24 hours a day for the ten years it was active. The 755th operated in relative secrecy, ready to provide instant communications about suspicious aircraft to the regional processing centers at Truax Field in Madison and O'Hare Field in Chicago. Through the 1950s the Air Force rapidly built a nationwide network of radar stations. By 1957, the system consisted of over 200 stations. That year, the successful Soviet Sputnik satellite launch changed the focus of aerial defense from aircraft to ballistic missiles and the radar defense network was gradually decommissioned and consolidated.

Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.

Show me all markers in:  Lake Geneva, WI  |  Walworth County  |  53147  |  Wisconsin  |  United States of America

The Webster House
Birthplace of "The Greatest Show on Earth"
Delavan's Historic Brick Street
Maple Park
Andy Gump
Delavan's Circus Colony
Wisconsin's First School for the Deaf
Wisconsin's First 4-H Club
John Bruce
Darien Civil War Memorial

• GPX
• KML
• LOC

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.