The 755th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
Side A
The Williams Bay Air Force Radar Station, home of the 755th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, was part of a nationwide Cold War effort to defend the continent against possible airborne attack from the Soviet Union. In the years following World War II, as tensions between the United States and Soviet Union escalated, Air Force engineers worked feverishly to develop a sophisticated radar technology suitable for a nationwide network of defensive stations.
Side B
The system did not gain wide support until the Soviet Union exploded their first atomic bomb in August 1949. The Williams Bay station became operational in 1950. Built on one of the highest elevations in the region, its two radomes scanned the skies 24 hours a day for the ten years it was active. The 755th operated in relative secrecy, ready to provide instant communications about suspicious aircraft to the regional processing centers at Truax Field in Madison and OHare Field in Chicago. Through the 1950s the Air Force rapidly built a nationwide network of radar stations. By 1957, the system consisted of over 200 stations. That year, the successful Soviet Sputnik satellite launch changed the focus of aerial defense from aircraft to ballistic missiles and the radar defense network was gradually decommissioned and consolidated.
Erected by
this page online
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, Cold. In addition, it is included in the Wisconsin Historical Society series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1949.
Location. 42° 37.005′ N, 88° 32.421′ W. Marker is in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, in Walworth County. It can be reached from State Highway 67 Ό mile south of Palmer Road, on the right when traveling north. Located off the highway in the entrance to the Highway 67 Industrial Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: N3440 STH 67, Williams Bay WI 53191, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Wisconsin. It is also in the American Midwest, on the Great Lakes, and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture and also the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Veterans Memorial (approx. 2.1 miles away); The Webster House (approx. 3.6 miles away); Hazel Ridge Cemetery Veterans Memorial (approx. 4.2 miles away); a different marker also named Veterans Memorial (approx. 4.3 miles away); Birthplace of The Greatest Show on Earth (approx. 5.1 miles away); Civil War Tree (approx. 5.1 miles away); Civil War Veterans Buried in Pioneer Cemetery (approx. 5.3 miles away); Pioneer Cemetery (approx. 5.3 miles away).
Regarding The 755th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron. The Highway 67 Industrial
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on February 23, 2011, by Paul Fehrenbach of Richfield, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 2,117 times since then and 58 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on February 23, 2011, by Paul Fehrenbach of Richfield, Wisconsin. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
