Cape Charles Air Force Station Cape Charles Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station . It is located south of Townsend , Virginia . It was closed in 1981 . History . The military history of this station begins in 1941 when the United States Army established Fort Winslow at this location as a coastal defense artillery installation to complement Fort Story in Virginia Beach in order to protect Chesapeake Bay . In 1942 it was renamed Fort John Custis . Army artillery included two 16 " guns , four 8 " guns and four 155mm pieces . After the end of World War II the army inactivated the fort . The United States Air Force acquired the Fort Custis site from the army in 1948 as a temporary Lashup radar site , being designated L - 15 . It installed AN / CPS - 5 and AN / CPS - 4 radars when the air force authorized the Air Defense Command to put thirteen radar stations in operation in the Northeastern United States . This temporary system was named Lashup to distinguish it from the interim system for which the air force was seeking appropriations . The 771st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was activated to operate the site . A small airfield was established near the station , to provide logistical support due to its isolated location at the southern end of the Delmarva Peninsula . L - 15 was designated as Cape Charles Air Force Station , and it was one of twenty - eight stations built as part of the second segment of the permanent radar network . Prompted by the start of the Korean War , on July 11 , 1950 , the Secretary of the Air Force asked the Secretary of Defense for approval to expedite construction of the permanent network . Receiving the Defense Secretary ’ s approval on July 21 , the air force directed the Corps of Engineers to proceed with construction . Because of difficulties with the new radar equipment , Cape Charles AFS initially received its radar equipment from the former Fort Curtis Lashup site to expedite operational status . Thus it was redesignated as LP - 56 . The 771st AC & W Squadron , continued operating the AN / CPS - 4 and as of April 1952 an AN / FPS - 3 radar as well . The AN / FPS - 3 remained operational until 1962 . Initially 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 intruders picked up on the unit ' s radar . In 1955 an AN / FPS - 8 was installed , converted to an AN / GPS - 3 , and operated through 1958 . By the end of that year , two AN / FPS - 6 heightfinder radars were activated . During 1959 Cape Charles AFB joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment ( SAGE ) system , initially feeding data to DC - 04 at Fort Lee AFS , Virginia . After joining , the squadron was re - designated as the 771st Radar Squadron ( SAGE ) on 1 October 1959 . The radar squadron provided information 24 / 7 the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine range , direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile . On 31 July 1963 , the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z - 56 . In addition to the main facility , Cape Charles AFS operated several unmanned AN / FPS - 14 Gap Filler sites : In 1963 the site hosted AN / FPS - 7 , AN / FPS - 6 , and AN / FPS - 26 A radars . In 1963 the site also became an ADC / FAA joint - use facility . The facility came under TAC jurisdiction in 1979 with the inactivation of Aerospace Defense Command and the activation of ADTAC . Air Force use ended in 1981 and Cape Charles AFS was replaced by the Naval Air Station Oceana , Virginia , Joint Surveillance System ( JSS ) radar site . Today , the former Cape Charles Air Force Station has been obliterated , and is now part of Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge , although a few minor service buildings remain . The housing area remains and the units are now in private hands . The Gap Filler support buildings at Z - 56A and Z - 56C remain , although the tower and radar are gone . Z - 56B is now part of a golf course .