Historic California Posts, Camps, Stations and Airfields

Moreno Gap Filler Annex P-76E

 

Typical AN/FPS-14 Gap Filler Radar

 

"During the late 1950s another area of progress was the development and deployment of AN/FPS-14 and AN/FPS-18 gap-filler radars. Having a range of around sixty-five miles, these radars were placed in areas where it was thought enemy aircraft could fly low to avoid detection by the longer-range radars of the permanent and mobile radar networks. Gap-filler radar deployment peaked in December 1960 at 131 sites throughout the continental United States. Because the introduction of gap-filler radars alleviated the need for civilians to scan the skies for enemy bombers, the ADC disestablished the Ground Observer Corps on January 31, 1959."

 

Searching The Skies
USAF Air Combat Command
June, 1997

 

Typical floorplan of a Gap Filler Annex

 

 

US Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District History (1991)

Location: The former Moreno Gap Filler Annex P-76E was located near Terri Peak within Lake Perris State Recreation Area in Riverside County, California approximately 18 miles southeast of the City of Riverside and 2 miles northeast of Perris, California. The project site is located within Sections 22, 27, 28 and 34 of T3S,R3W (San Bernardino Meridian). In October 1957, the U.S. authorized acquisition of 11.88 acres through lease agreements from Joseph W. Wolfskill Company. The site consists of a 1.6 mile mountain trail comprised of 11.64 acres and a 0.24 acre parcel for a total of 11.88 acres. The 0.24 acre parcel is situated in the southeast 1/4 of the southeast 1/4 of Section 28. The mountain trail winds through portions of Section 22, 27, and 28, and lies on the borderline between Sections 26 and 27, and 34 and 35.

History: The Moreno Gap Filler Annex P-76E was a US Air Force Air Defense Command installation. The site was an radar site that provided radar coverage in areas blocked from the main radar at Mount Laguna Air Force Station by geography.

 

 

Between 1960 and January 1961 the site was inactivated. Between January 1961 and July 1961 the site was disposed and the equipment was removed. Only the concrete pads remain.

 

 

 

 

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Updated 8 February 2016