Evaluating and managing Cold War era historic properties: the cultural significance of U.S. Air Force defensive radar systems

摘要

The Cold War (1946-1989) was a global conflict that prompted the construction of increasingly complex military technological systems spanning large geographic areas. In the early 1950s, the United States constructed an aircraft early warning radar network across Alaska and extending east along the arctic perimeter of Canada and Iceland. By the end of the decade, the threat of aircraft carrying nuclear bombs was replaced by the threat of missiles armed with thermonuclear warheads, and in the late 1950s, the United States began constructing a ballistic missile early warning network to detect intercontinental ballistic missiles launched from the polar regions. In the 1970s, the response to the threat of sea-based ballistic missiles, the United States constructed another radar warning system with coverage for the Atlantic, pacific, and Gulf/Caribbean coasts. The design, construction, and operation of all of these radar systems represented significant technical accomplishments for the United States.