This is a list of White Alice Communications System sites. The White Alice Communications System (WACS) was a United States Air Force telecommunication link system constructed in Alaska during the Cold War. It featured tropospheric scatter links and line-of-sight microwave radio links.
These sites were part of the initial White Alice system and connected Aircraft Control and Warning (AC&W) sites with central command and control facilities. The Boswell Bay to Neklasson Lake link was both the first and last operational link in the White Alice system, serving from 1956 to 1985.
| Location | Operational | Colocated with | Coordinates | Notes |
| Aniak, Alaska | 1958–1979 | N/A | 61°34′58″N159°35′33″W / 61.58278°N 159.59250°W | In flight path for Aniak Airport and antennas were painted with a red and white checkerboard pattern. |
| Anvil Mountain, Alaska | 1958–1978 | N/A | 64°33′52″N165°22′25″W / 64.56444°N 165.37361°W | 7½ km (4.7 mi.) north of Nome, Alaska. Last intact existing site 2016.* |
| Bear Creek, Alaska | 1958?-1979? | N/A | 65°10′49″N152°13′22″W / 65.18028°N 152.22278°W | Stand-alone site with a 5,200 sq ft (480 m2) dormitory and a 7,200 sq ft (670 m2) equipment and power building approximately six miles northeast of Tanana, Alaska |
| Bethel, Alaska | 1958–1979 | Former AC&W site | 60°44′36″N161°39′58″W / 60.74333°N 161.66611°W | Originally six antennas. Last antenna demolished in August 2011. |
| Big Mountain, Alaska | 1957–1979 | N/A | 59°23′25″N155°13′39″W / 59.39028°N 155.22750°W | Demolished 2003–2005 [1] |
| Boswell Bay, Alaska | 1956–1985 | N/A | 60°25′01″N146°09′12″W / 60.41694°N 146.15333°W | Demolished 1987 after extensive historical documentation. |
| Fort Yukon, Alaska | 1958-UKN | 709th AC&W | Est. 66°34′10″N145°14′26″W / 66.56944°N 145.24056°W | 120 ft antennas added in 1962 to Barter Island. Demolished Summer of 1999. |
| Granite Mountain, Alaska | 1957–1976 | N/A | 65°25′55″N161°14′9″W / 65.43194°N 161.23583°W | Lease to Alascom 1976. 4×60 ft, 2× 30 ft (9.1 m) dishes |
| Indian Mountain, Alaska | AC&W / Long Range RADAR | 66°04′07″N153°41′23″W / 66.06861°N 153.68972°W | Top camp was around 4,200 ft (1,300 m) and 10 miles (16 km) away from bottom camp, which contained airfield and Geodesic dome support buildings. | |
| Kalakaket Creek, Alaska | 1957- | N/A | 64°25′48″N156°50′19″W / 64.43000°N 156.83861°W | Originally Tropo only, TD-2 microwave link added later. |
| King Salmon, Alaska | 1957–1979 | King Salmon Air Force Station/LRR | 58°42′19″N156°40′08″W / 58.70528°N 156.66889°W | |
| Kotzebue, Alaska | 1957–1979 | AC&W station / FAA | 66°50′34″N162°36′13″W / 66.84278°N 162.60361°W | 3 miles south of Kotzebue |
| Cape Lisburne, Alaska | 1957–1979 | AC&W / Long range radar site | 68°52′11″N166°08′56″W / 68.86972°N 166.14889°W | Northernmost and only seasonal WACS, closed during winter. A $6.5 million composite building was constructed in 1970. |
| Middleton Island, Alaska | 1956–1985 | AC&W station / FAA | 59°27′36″N146°18′21″W / 59.46000°N 146.30583°W | 30 ft parabolic dish |
| Cape Newenham, Alaska | 1958–1979 | Originally AC&W, now Long Range RADAR | Est. 58°38′46″N162°01′48″W / 58.64611°N 162.03000°W | Revamped in 1974 for $6 Million. Demolished by 1987. |
| North River, Alaska | 1958–1978 | Near a former AC&W site | 63°53′00″N160°31′50″W / 63.88333°N 160.53056°W | Demolished 1993–1995 |
| Northeast Cape, Alaska | 1958- | AC&W | 63°17′34″N168°42′05″W / 63.29278°N 168.70139°W | A very remote site, demolished in 2003 for $10.5 million. The White Alice site was located about 1/2 mile from the USAF AC&W site. |
| Pillar Mountain, Kodiak, Alaska | 1957–1979 | N/A | Est. 57°47′19″N152°26′12″W / 57.78861°N 152.43667°W | Dismantled in 1997 |
| Cape Romanzof, Alaska | 1958–1979 | AC&W / Minimally attended RADAR | 61°46′53″N165°57′04″W / 61.78139°N 165.95111°W | Upper camp was accessible via tramway and by road. The AC&W site was located in the crater of an extinct volcano. The White Alice site was perched on, I believe, the west rim of the crater. |
| Sparrevohn, Alaska | 1957–1979 | AC&W | 61°06′22″N155°36′36″W / 61.10611°N 155.61000°W | Demolished prior to 1987. Very costly construction, dangerous runway. Long Range RADAR still at site. |
| Tatalina, Alaska | 1957–1979 | AC&W site | 62°55′41″N156°01′30″W / 62.92806°N 156.02500°W | Tram and road used to reach top camp. WACS located east of RADARs in Top camp. |
| Tin City, Alaska | 1958–1975 | AC&W/Long range radar | 65°34′58″N167°56′25″W / 65.58278°N 167.94028°W | Located on Cape Mountain. Tram used to reach top camp. WACS located on a 600-foot plateau 2 miles east of the peak and radar. |
| Location | Operational | Colocated with | Coordinates | Notes |
| Clam Gulch, Alaska | 1957- | N/A | 60°12′51″N151°24′52.4″W / 60.21417°N 151.414556°W | TD-2 Microwave, Acquired by Alascom operating in 1987 |
| Naptowne, Alaska | N/A | 60°31′45.9″N150°35′00.3″W / 60.529417°N 150.583417°W | ||
| Rabbit Creek, Alaska | N/A | 61°05′20.8″N149°44′09.1″W / 61.089111°N 149.735861°W | ||
| R1-N a.k.a. Anchorage | 1956- | Located on Elmendorf Air Force Base | 61°15′38.2″N149°49′52.2″W / 61.260611°N 149.831167°W | Unattended TD-2 microwave link |
| Soldotna, Alaska | N/A | 60°31′55.1″N151°04′59.6″W / 60.531972°N 151.083222°W | ||
| Starisky, Alaska | N/A | 59°52′51.6″N151°47′10.4″W / 59.881000°N 151.786222°W | ||
| Location | Operational | Colocated with | Coordinates | Notes |
| Neklasson Lake, Alaska | 1956–1985 | N/A | 61°37′10.1″N149°15′23″W / 61.619472°N 149.25639°W | Boswell Bay to Neklasson Lake was the last operational link [2] |
| Diamond Ridge, Alaska | 1957- | FAA?/Homer, Alaska | 59°40′14.6″N151°34′07″W / 59.670722°N 151.56861°W | Acquired by Alascom, Micro in use / Tropo removed as of 1987 |
| Pedro Dome, Alaska | 1958-? | N/A | 65°02′2.5″N147°30′07″W / 65.034028°N 147.50194°W | Tropo was demolished prior to 1986. Micro still operated by AT&T. |
Note: There were Tropo Billboards at Soldotna (co-located with the TD2) and at Fire Island, as well. Also, There was a TD-2 site at what is now the Civil Air Patrol Wing Headquarters on Elmendorf AFB—it was called R2N. And, there is a TD-2 site at Rabbit Creek, that was originally, and briefly, called R1S, which linked into the TD-2 site at Naptowne.
The second segment of White Alice was a pair of TD-2 microwave radio links that supported the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) at Clear Air Force Station. This section provided two routes from Alaska to NORAD in Colorado, for this reason it was also known as the Rearward Communications System. [3] The A Route went down the southeast coast of Alaska to a submarine cable and the B Route went east into Canada. Some of the systems were colocated with previous sites.
Aurora, Black Rapids, Boswell Bay, Cape Yakataga, Clear, Donnelly Dome, Duncan Canal, Glennallen, Harding Lake, Hoonah, McCallum, Murphy Dome, Neklasson Lake, Ocean Cape, Paxson, Pedro Dome, Sawmill, Sheep Mountain, Smuggler Cove, Tahneta Pass, Tolsona
Beaver Creek, Canyon Creek, Cathedral, Delta Junction, Gerstle River, Gold King Creek, Knob Ridge, Tok Junction
Project Stretchout began in 1959 and finished in the mid-1960s. It was the extension of White Alice to the Alaska Peninsula including the Aleutian DEW Line system.
| Location | Operational | Colocated with | Coordinates | Notes |
| Cold Bay, Alaska | DEW Line | Est. 55°15′49″N162°53′08″W / 55.26361°N 162.88556°W | About $8 million combined cost for Cold Bay and Cape Sarichef | |
| Driftwood Bay, Alaska | DEW Line | Est. 53°58′12″N166°52′46″W / 53.97000°N 166.87944°W | ||
| Nikolski, Alaska | DEW Line, Navy, FAA | Est. 52°58′12″N168°51′20″W / 52.97000°N 168.85556°W [1] | ||
| Port Heiden, Alaska | DEW Line | Est. 56°58′38″N158°39′09″W / 56.97722°N 158.65250°W | $3.5 million | |
| Port Moller, Alaska | DEW Line | Est. 55°58′41″N160°30′01″W / 55.97806°N 160.50028°W | $4.4 million to construct. | |
| Cape Sarichef, Alaska | late 1950s to the mid-1970s | DEW line / LORAN station / Airfield | Est. 54°35′37″N164°55′06″W / 54.59361°N 164.91833°W | Built atop a levelled cinder cone |
Extension of the White Alice system from Nikolski to Shemya near the end of the Aleutian Islands. Both shots were over 340 miles (550 km), requiring large 120 ft (37 m) antennas and 50 kW transmitters. Both sites were demolished before 1987. In addition to the Aleutian Island extension, Project Bluegrass also included a 50 kW shot from Fort Yukon to Barter Island to connect the northern DEW line to the White Alice system.
| Location | Operational | Colocated with | Coordinates | Notes |
| Shemya island, Alaska | Late-60s to late-70s | AC&W / FAA | 52°43′25″N174°08′21″E / 52.72361°N 174.13917°E | Shemya to Adak shot was 393 miles (632 km) |
| Adak, Alaska | Late-60s to late-70s | Navy and others | Est. 51°54′25″N176°38′26″W / 51.90694°N 176.64056°W | Adak to Nikolski shot was 341 miles (549 km). |
Tropospheric scatter, also known as troposcatter, is a method of communicating with microwave radio signals over considerable distances – often up to 500 kilometres (310 mi) and further depending on frequency of operation, equipment type, terrain, and climate factors. This method of propagation uses the tropospheric scatter phenomenon, where radio waves at UHF and SHF frequencies are randomly scattered as they pass through the upper layers of the troposphere. Radio signals are transmitted in a narrow beam aimed just above the horizon in the direction of the receiver station. As the signals pass through the troposphere, some of the energy is scattered back toward the Earth, allowing the receiver station to pick up the signal.
Reeve Aleutian Airways was an airline headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. It ceased operations on December 5, 2000.
The Distant Early Warning Line, also known as the DEW Line or Early Warning Line, was a system of radar stations in the northern Arctic region of Canada, with additional stations along the north coast and Aleutian Islands of Alaska, in addition to the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. It was set up to detect incoming bombers of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and provide early warning of any sea-and-land invasion.
The North Warning System is a joint United States and Canadian early-warning radar system for the atmospheric air defense of North America. It provides surveillance of airspace from potential incursions or attacks from across North America's polar region. It replaced the Distant Early Warning Line system in the late 1980s.
Shemya or Simiya is a small island in the Semichi Islands group of the Near Islands chain in the Aleutian Islands archipelago southwest of Alaska, at 52°43′27″N174°07′08″E. It has a land area of 5.903 sq mi (15.29 km2), and is about 1,200 miles (1,900 km) southwest of Anchorage, Alaska. It is 2.73 miles (4.39 km) wide and 4.32 miles (6.95 km) long.
Clear Space Force Station is a United States Space Force radar station for detecting incoming ICBMs and submarine-launched ballistic missiles to NORAD's command center and to provide Space Surveillance data to the United States Space Force. Clear's AN/FPS-123 Upgraded Early Warning Radar is part of the Solid State Phased Array Radar System (SSPARS) which also includes those at Beale AFB, Cape Cod Space Force Station, RAF Fylingdales and Thule Site J. The "historic property" was one of the Alaska World War II Army Airfields and later a Cold War BMEWS site providing NORAD data to Colorado's BMEWS Central Computer and Display Facility (CC&DF).
The Eleventh Air Force (11 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska.
The Alaskan Air Command (AAC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command originally established in 1942 under the United States Army Air Forces. Its mission was to organize and administer the air defense system of Alaska, exercise direct control of all active measures, and coordinate all passive means of air defense. In addition, the command also supported Strategic Air Command elements operating through and around Alaska. It was redesignated Eleventh Air Force on 9 August 1990 and, concurrently, status changed from a major command of the United States Air Force to a subordinate organization of Pacific Air Forces.
The White Alice Communications System was a United States Air Force telecommunication network with 80 radio stations constructed in Alaska during the Cold War. It used tropospheric scatter for over-the-horizon links and microwave relay for shorter line-of-sight links. Sites were characterized by large parabolic, tropospheric scatter antennas as well as smaller microwave dishes for point-to-point links.
Tatalina Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 13 miles (21 km) west-southwest of McGrath, Alaska.
Tin City Long Range Radar Site is a United States Air Force radar station. It is located 106.3 miles (171.1 km) west-northwest of Nome, Alaska. It is the former Tin City Air Force Station.
Big Mountain Air Force Station is a military use airstrip located near Big Mountain, in the Lake and Peninsula Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. The airstrip was built to support the Big Mountain Radio Relay Station, an abandoned Air Force facility located 220 miles (350 km) southwest of Anchorage on the south shore of Iliamna Lake.
Murphy Dome Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station 20.4 miles (32.8 km) west-northwest of Fairbanks, Alaska.
King Salmon Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 0.4 miles (0.64 km) west of King Salmon, Alaska.
Indian Mountain Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 15.8 miles (25.4 km) east-southeast of Hughes, Alaska.
Cape Lisburne Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 276.5 miles (445.0 km) west-southwest of Point Barrow, Alaska.
Fort Yukon Long Range Radar Site is a radar site of the United States Air Force. It is located 1.6 miles (2.6 km) east-southeast of Fort Yukon, Alaska.
Kotzebue Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Kotzebue, Alaska.
Cold Bay Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 625 miles (1,006 km) southwest of Anchorage, Alaska.
Unalakleet Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It was located 394 miles (634 km) west of Fairbanks, Alaska.
