-Caveat Lector- from: http://coldwardc.homestead.com/files/index.html Click Here: <A HREF="http://coldwardc.homestead.com/files/index.html";>A Secret Landscape: The Cold War Infrastructure�</A> ----- A Secret Landscape
The Cold War Infrastructure of the Nation's Capital Region Last update: February 14, 2002 at 21:19 * View Update History Please check back often as this site slowly evolves into a guide to the places and systems which helped protect America's security during those perilous years of the Cold War. Some of these facilities are still serving their original purposes, some have new roles, some are disused and neglected, some have been demolished, and a few existed only as proposals. Announcements of updates to this site (and lots more interesting information and discussions) will be posted on the Cold War Communications e-mail list. To join, or to learn more about the list, go to the Yahoo! Groups ColdWarComms web page. If you'd prefer to be notified individually of site updates, just send me an e-mail. If you have information about Washington's Cold War infrastructure you'd like to share, or have any questions about the material posted here, I look forward to hearing from you. I'd also welcome your comments about the implementation of this web site. E-mail: Albert LaFrance, Falls Church, Virginia ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Save "The Cape"!!! Select the logo to learn more ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Special Note Due to concerns for national security resulting from the terrorist attacks of Sep. 11 and the ongoing war effort, the owners of several web sites linked to this site have decided to remove some or all of their content. The links to those sites have been left in place so that readers will be able to view the material as soon as it's restored. Facilities, Systems, and Operating Plans Former troposcatter relay station, Buckingham County, VA A secure, hardened facility which probably supported National Command Authority/Presidential emergency relocation sites U.S. Office of Censorship/Wartime Information Security Program A former classified facility at Western Maryland College Interior Department Bomb Shelter, Harper's Ferry, WV Naval Space Command, Dahlgren, VA * Official Home Page * The Naval Space Surveillance System (by P.A. Crossley) The Joint Emergency Evacuation Plan (JEEP) >From Dec. 23, 1961, with revisions on Feb. 2, 1962 and Feb. 15, 1963) page 1 page 2 page 3 page 4 page 5 page 6 page 7 page 8 page 9 The Joint Air Transportation Service (JATS) Plan >From Jun. 10, 1960 page 1 page 2 page 3 page 4 page 5 page 6 page 7 page 8 page 9 Plans for Control of Transportation During National Emergencies A general discussion of concepts, by the Deputy Assistant Director for Transportation of the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization, presented at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in 1959 The Washington Metropolitan Area Warning System The communications network which activated Civil Defense sirens and alarms in Washington and surrounding jurisdictions The Bomb Alarm System (Can you help identify detector locations?) Western Union Brochure from June 1960 * p. 1 * p. 2 * p. 3 * p. 4 >From the Western Union collection (box 44), Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution The Mount Weather Emergency Assistance Center, Bluemont, VA The legendary emergency relocation site for the federal government. Passive Microwave Repeater Thurmont, MD Mystery solved! A visitor to this web site has positively identified the structure as a passive microwave repeater, part of a Bell Atlantic 6 GHz radio link between Thurmont and Frederick, MD. The link has been decommissioned but the repeater was not removed, due to the expense involved. The web page for the passive repeater has been moved to my Bell System web site; the URL is http://www.addr.com/~longline/places-routes/Thurmont_repeater/index.html . U.S. Air Force 789th Communications Squadron Headquartered at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs, Maryland, this unit provides communications vital to national security. The 789th operates the "Mystic Star" or Special Air Missions Communications (SAMCOM) radio network, which keeps the President and other senior officials in contact while airborne. In addition, the 789th manages the GLOBAL radio network. In a nuclear war, GLOBAL would transmit Emergency Action Messages from the National Command Authority to the U.S. nuclear forces. In peacetime, GLOBAL carries a wide variety of defense communications. Read the Squadron's history. Davidsonville, Maryland Transmitter Site * Welcome page - Describes the site and its activities Brandywine, Maryland Receiver Site * History * Work Centers - Describes the site's activities and the equipment used. Presidential Emergency Facilities * White House Military Office Memorandum on "Cannonball" (Site 2) Radio Relay Station * Pictures of "Cannonball" Public Emergency Radio: the Decision Information Distribution System * "The Last Radio Network" by Bennett Z. Kobb Federal Reserve Communications and Records Center (Mt. Pony) Culpeper, VA * Property sale brochure * "Culpeper Switch" booklet * The Brooking's Institution's Mt. Pony web page * First floor plan * Second floor plan The Alternate Joint Communications Center Blue Ridge Summit, PA Also known as Site R and The Rock, this little-known underground facility is home to the Alternate National Military Command Center. U.S. Army Strategic Communications Command Fort Ritchie Site E Tysons Corner, VA A former microwave station for the Alternate Joint Communications Center The Deep Underground Command Center (proposed) Arlington, VA These documents from the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, highly classified for more than 30 years, discuss a proposal for a nuclear-bomb-proof command post 3,500 feet (1,067 meters) underground, in the vicinity of the Pentagon. Western Union Mention the name "Western Union" and it's likely that most people will think of telegrams and money transfers. Less well known is the role played by The Western Union Telegraph Company in providing communications for national security during the Cold War. As a pioneer in data transmission and microwave radio communications, Western Union built and operated networks which carried important defense traffic. Former employees of Western Union may wish to join The Retired Western Union Employees Association. Western Union supported at least two defense-related communications networks in the nation's capital area: the Washington Area Wideband System (WAWS), and the Automatic Digital Network (AUTODIN). As its name implies, WAWS was limited to the Washington DC area; it linked various defense and intelligence-community facilities. AUTODIN was far more extensive, providing record communications service to military installations around the world. Sources of information about AUTODIN: * The AUTODIN Legacy Project * AUTODIN Discussion Forums * Interviews with former AUTODIN personnel * AUTODIN "mug shots" * Jared Hall's "Reminiscing AUTODIN" The Western Union microwave network consisted of a chain of stations which reaching east and west across much of the country, with several branches going north and south. * Map of the Washington-Pittsburgh-New York City microwave routes (Oct. 22, 1957) This "radio triangle" was America's first commercial microwave network, placed in service in 1947. >From the Western Union collection (box 82), Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution * List of radio stations, as of Feb. 9, 1959 >From the Western Union collection (box 82), Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution * Sheet 1: New York-Washington-Pittsburgh Radio Beam System Marine Reporting Service [VHF, not microwave] Television * Sheet 2: Pittsburgh-Cincinnati-Chicago Radio Beam System * Map of Western Union - CPI Microwave network, from 1977 * Western Union microwave station, Tenleytown, DC * Interview with Western Union engineer Julian Z. Millar * "A Microwave System for Telegraph Service" - an article from the July 1954 issue of the Western Union Technical Review. * Former WU Junction Office near Romney, WV WU's eastern network control station and an AUTODIN switching center * West side of building * North side of building Battery Cove Military Reservation, Alexandria, VA * Images from May 1999 The American Telephone and Telegraph Company - The Bell System Facilities with Cold War Significance The Bell System's nationwide network made the company an obvious choice to provide vital defense communications links during the Cold War. AT&T constructed many dedicated facilities to meet the stringent reliability demands of its national-security customers. Hardened Underground Main Stations in Virginia and Maryland * Moseley, Virginia (web page under development) * Dranesville, Virginia * Monrovia, Maryland * Finksburg, Maryland (web page under development) Above-Ground Facilities * Faulkner, Maryland Important switch for the AUTOVON and FTS networks, with microwave and cable connections * Arlington 2, Virginia Former AUTOVON switch, probably serving the Pentagon General Bell System web pages * The AT&T Coaxial Cable and Microwave Radio Networks The U.S. Army Warrenton Training Center, Warrenton, VA * Chris Smolinski's Warrenton Training Center page The Greenbrier Hotel, White Sulphur Springs, WV A former relocation facility for the U.S. Congress, concealed within a luxury resort hotel. The bunker remained top secret from its construction in 1960 until its existence was revealed by the Washington Post in 1992. U.S. Navy Very-Low-Frequency (VLF) Transmitting Station NSS (demolished) Annapolis, MD * Designing the Giant Antennas - a fascinating discussion of the unique challenges faced by designers of antenna systems for high-powered VLF transmitters. * Jim Hawkins' NSS Naval Radio Transmitting Facility Tour Page * Merle Parten's NSS Annapolis Page General information on defense communications Article on AUTOVON and AUTODIN from the January 1966 issue of the Lenkurt "Demodulator" * p. 1 (cover) * pp. 2-3 * pp. 4-5 * pp. 6-7 * pp. 8-9 * p. 10 (glossary) Fact sheet on COMLOGNET, the predecessor to AUTODIN * p. 1 * p. 2 * p. 3 * p. 4 * p. 5 * p. 6 * p. 7 >From the Western Union collection (box 44), Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution New York Times article on COMLOGNET, Oct. 7, 1960 >From the Western Union collection (box 44), Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution Map of COMLOGNET >From the Western Union collection (box 44), Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution Discussion Forums * Cold War Communications an e-mail list devoted to communications networks and facilities of the Cold War era * The Spooks List an e-mail list focusing on "numbers stations" - mysterious radio transmissions widely believed to contain encrypted messages to clandestine agents to join, send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED], with a blank Subject line and the text "subscribe spooks" * Tom's Cold War Message Board a place to discuss any aspect of the Cold War More information on the Cold War * Web Links * Books * Museums The Cold War in fiction * Movies Other Interesting Topics Anti-Aircraft Artillery Sites in the Washington, DC area Nike Missile Sites of Massachusetts and Rhode Island The 12th Air Force, 1st Radio Relay Squadron (Europe) * Article from "Twelfth Air Force Magazine", Feb. 1956 (courtesy George W. Runkle IV) Gold (an unidentified project or activity - possibly "Operation Gold", the Berlin Tunnel) * 1 Oct. 1951 memorandum on "Gold" ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, All My Relations. Omnia Bona Bonis, Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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