Montauk Air Force Station Montauk Air Force Station was a US military base at Montauk Point on the eastern tip of Long Island , New York . It was decommissioned in 1981 and is now owned by the New York State Office of Parks , Recreation and Historic Preservation as Camp Hero State Park . History . The eastern tip of Long Island has always had strategic significance , even in the days of the American Revolution . When the Montauk Lighthouse was first authorized in 1792 , part of its mission was to keep a lookout for British ships sailing for New York or Boston , and as such was the first military installation at Montauk . Montauk was always considered a prime location for a possible invasion because of its remoteness and prime location midway between two major American cities . During World War I , the Army stationed reconnaissance dirigibles , an airplane , troops and Coast Guard personnel at Montauk . World War II . Based on its history and location , it was not surprising that the government established Fort Hero in 1942 on the point just south of the lighthouse . The fort was named after Major General Andrew Hero , Jr . , who was the Army ' s Chief of Coast Artillery between 1926 and 1930 . He died in 1942 . In World War II , with German U - boat s threatening the East Coast and Long Island , Montauk was again considered a likely invasion point . The US Army upgraded Fort Hero , and renamed it Camp Hero in 1942 . The Navy also acquired land in the area , including Fort Pond Bay and Montauk Manor . They built docks , seaplane hangars , barracks , and other buildings in the area . There was also a huge torpedo testing facility . The whole facility , with Army , Navy and Coast Guard constituents , was officially known as the " US Military Reservation " but the locals just called it " Camp Hero . " Camp Hero itself swelled to , and included four obsolete 16 - inch naval rifles , originally intended for battleships , installed as expedient coastal artillery pieces in concrete bunkers . The coastal gun emplacements were camouflage d with netting and foliage . A large " Fire Control Center " was built next to the lighthouse to direct the artillery and anti - aircraft guns . Other armaments included quadruple fifty caliber Machine Gun for low altitude defense up to large 90mm and 120mm artillery . The camp was a self - contained town with recreational facilities , barracks and its own power plant . Camp Hero was also used as a training facility and a target range , with guns being fired at offshore targets . To protect it from enemy bombers and the prying eyes of Nazi spies in fishing boats , the entire base was built to look like a typical New England fishing village . Concrete bunkers had windows painted on them and ornamental roofs with fake dormers . The gymnasium was made to look like a church with a faux steeple . When World War II ended , the base was temporarily shut down and used as a training facility by the Army Reserve . The naval facilities were largely abandoned and the gun emplacements were dismantled in 1949 . Cold War . After the 1948 Berlin Blockade in Germany , the Cold War was on and with the appearance of the Soviet Tupolev Tu - 4 intercontinental bomber in 1947 , a major concern of the United States was a possible attack by Soviet long - range bombers . In 1948 , the United States Air Force ( USAF ) directed its Air Defense Command ( ADC ) to take radar sets out of storage for operation in the Northeastern United States . By August , a radar had been placed at Lashup Site L - 10 at Montauk , NY . This program was appropriately named " Lashup " As part of this temporary network , ADC placed an AN / TPS - 1B long - range search radar at Fort Hero in June 1948 and designed the site as Montauk Point , L - 10 . The Montauk site fed into a primitive control center established at Roslyn AFS , New York . In 1950 it activated the 773d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron ( AC & W Sq ) to operate the facility . On 1 December 1953 , the site designation was changed to LP - 45 and the Air Force facilities were renamed Montauk Air Force Station . Montauk AFS was incorporated into the permanent ADC network of General Surveillance Radar Stations . With the establishment of a permanent presence , ADC equipped the site with AN / CPS - 5 and AN / TPS - 10 A height - finder radars . A year later AN / FPS - 3 and AN / FPS - 5 radars were operating . Between 1955 and 1956 an AN / FPS - 8 / GPS - 3 made an appearance at the tip of the site . In the spring of 1957 Montauk AFS received one of the first AN / FPS - 20 units along with a pair of AN / FPS - 6 height - finder radars . In November 1957 , the Army closed the Camp Hero portion of the military reservation as Soviet long - distance bombers could fly well above ground - based artillery . The Air Force continued using the western half of the facility for radar surveillance . The Eastern portion of the site was donated to New York State , but it remained unused because of its close proximity to a high - security facility . During 1958 Montauk AFS joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment ( SAGE ) system , feeding data to DC - 01 at McGuire AFB , New Jersey . After joining , the squadron was redesignated as the 773d Radar Squadron ( SAGE ) on 1 October 1958 . It was also a major part of the NORAD defense system , so security was very tight . Montauk AFS was state of the art and many new systems were developed or tested there including magnetic memory for storage , light pen s , keyboards , WAN s ( Wide area network s ) and modular circuit packaging . Montauk was the operational parent station for Texas Tower 3 ( TT - 3 ) offshore in the Atlantic Ocean from June 1958 - 25 March 1963 . TT - 3 was operated as an annex of the 773d AC & W Sq , with its offshore personnel assigned to a flight of the 773d , although the facility was logistically supported by the 4604th Support Squadron ( Texas Towers ) at Otis AFB . In December 1960 the large , high - power AN / FPS - 35 radar became operational at Montauk . The reflector was long and tall , weighing 40 tons , and was supposedly only the second ever built . It was able to detect airborne objects at distances of well over . It also used " frequency diversity " technology making it resistant to electronic countermeasures . The AN / FPS - 35 was so powerful that it disrupted local TV and radio broadcasts , and had to be shut down several times and re - calibrated . The problems caused this radar to be taken out of service temporarily in 1961 . With the problems resolved , the radar was operational again in 1962 and by 1963 an AN / FPS - 26 had replaced one of the AN / FPS - 6 height - finder radars . In 1963 the site also had become an FAA / ADC joint - use facility . Around 1965 the site was removed from joint - use status . On 31 July 1963 , the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z - 45 . In 1978 the Air Force submitted a proposal to the Carter Administration to close the base , as it was largely obsolete due to the emergence of orbital satellite reconnaissance technology . In September 1979 as part of a general draw down of anti - aircraft forces by Aerospace Defense Command Montauk AFS was transferred to Tactical Air Command and became part of ADTAC . In addition to the main facility , Montauk AFS operated two unmanned AN / FPS - 14 Gap Filler sites : Both sites opened in 1957 . They were closed in June 1968 . The Manorville site remains , although abandoned with vegetation growing over the facility . The Chilmark site is now obliterated . The installation , which had also supplied long - range radar data for the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) since 1962 , was kept operational until a new facility operated by the ( FAA ) in Riverhead , New York was ready for use . The Montauk installation was shut down on January 31 , 1981 . Considering its size , removing the huge antenna was problematic at best so it was " abandoned in place " , with its controlling motors and electronics removed , allowing it to move with the wind to prevent it being torn off its base in a storm . A GATR ( Ground Air Transmitter Receiver ) facility remained in service to direct military aircraft operating within the region . This system was deactivated and removed in 1984 . Riverhead now controls all air traffic in the area . Source