List of White Alice Communications System sites
This is a list of White Alice Communications System sites. The White Alice Communications System 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.
Original White Alice installations
These sites were part of the initial White Alice system and connected Aircraft Control and Warning 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.Tropospheric scatter sites
Microwave sites
Dual Tropo/Micro
Note: There were Tropo Billboards at Soldotna 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.
- Est. indicates location unclear from USGS topo
The BMEWS Network
A Route
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, TolsonaB Route
Beaver Creek, Canyon Creek, Cathedral, Delta Junction, Gerstle River, Gold King Creek, Knob Ridge, Tok JunctionProject Stretchout sites
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. | About $8 million combined cost for Cold Bay and Cape Sarichef | |
Driftwood Bay, Alaska | DEW Line | Est. | ||
Nikolski, Alaska | DEW Line, Navy, FAA | Est. | ||
Port Heiden, Alaska | DEW Line | Est. | $3.5 million | |
Port Moller, Alaska | DEW Line | Est. | $4.4 million to construct. | |
Cape Sarichef, Alaska | late 1950s to the mid-1970s | DEW line / LORAN station / Airfield | Est. | Built atop a levelled cinder cone |
Project Bluegrass sites
Extension of the White Alice system from Nikolski to Shemya near the end of the Aleutian Islands. Both shots were over, requiring large 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 | Shemya to Adak shot was | |
Adak, Alaska | Late-60s to late-70s | Navy and others | Est. | Adak to Nikolski shot was. |