Guide to the United States. Air Force. White Alice Communications System.
Cathedral and Rabbit Creek site plans
1956-1961
Collection number: HMC-0251.
Creator: Metcalf & Eddy. United States. Army. Corps of Engineers.
Title: United States. Air Force. White Alice Communications System. Cathedral and Rabbit Creek site plans.
Dates: 1956-1961.
Volume of collection: 0.4 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Materials in this collection are in English.
Collection summary: Plans for two White Alice Communications System sites.
Organizational history:
The White Alice Communications System (WACS) was developed in the early 1950’s as part of a North American over-the-pole defense system. The system was developed due to problems in using very high frequency (VHF) communications with the Aircraft Control and Warning System (AC&W). WACS was designed by the Western Electric Company, with construction beginning in 1955, and system dedication in 1958. WACS linked the AC&W and the Distant Early Warning System (DEW-line) with Elmendorf and Eielson Air Force Bases and also linked the Ballistic Missile Early Warning Site (BMEWS) at Clear Air Force Base with the North American Defense Command. 71 systems were installed throughout Alaska, which included a tropospheric scatter system and a microwave relay for shorter line-of-sight links. In 1976, WACS was leased to RCA Alascom. By the end of the 1970s, most of the system was deactivated.
Collection description:
The collection contains site plans for the Cathedral site in BMEWS-Route B, and the Rabbit Creek microwave station. The site plans include architectural, electrical, mechanical, and structural drawings. The Cathedral BMEWS plans were drawn by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the U.S. Air Force. The second set contains three plans for the WACS Rabbit Creek microwave relay site, drawn by Metcalf and Eddy, architects for the Air Force Air Materiel Command, Office of Installations. The Rabbit Creek site was a microwave station and part of the original WACS network.
Arrangement: The collection is arranged by site plan.
Digitized copies: This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights note: Archives does not hold copyright to materials in this collection.
Preferred citation: United States. Air Force. White Alice Communications System. Cathedral and Rabbit Creek site plans, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Separated materials: The White Alice Network: Plan of Operation, a two volume plan prepared by the Defense Projects Division of the Western Electric Company, was removed from the collection and added to the Consortium Library’s Rare Books collection.
Related materials: For other materials on the White Alice Communications System, see our topic guide on Cold War Era (1945-1995) collections.
Acquisition note: This collection was deposited in Archives and Special Collections in 1988 by G. Reynolds of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Processing information: This collection was described by Dennis Walle in 1988. The guide to the collection was converted to current standard by Veronica Denison in 2015.
Container list:
| Oversize Folder | Description | Dates |
| 1 | Cathedral site plans: Schedule of Drawings [cover sheet] | 1961 March |
| 1 | Cathedral site plans: Plot plan and vicinity map, drawing number AS-BLT AW16-06-1488. Roads and grading, drawing number AS-BLT AW 11-01-1017: General plan; Site plan; Sections and details; Access road and profile plans; Excavation sections | 1961 March |
| 1 | Cathedral site plans: Radio Relay Building, drawing number AS-BLT AW 38-17-07: Floor plan and schedules; Elevations; Wall sections and details; Metal panel option; Foundation, floor plan and sections, metal panel; Roof framing plan, section and details, metal panel option; Framing elevations, metal panel; Regid frame, section and details; Heat, vent, and plumbing plan; Elevations, section and detail; Lighting and power plans; Automatic control circuit; Schedules and details; Obstruction light control panel | 1961-1965 |
| 1 | Cathedral site plans: 212 feet, Type “H” Tower, drawing number AS-BLT AW 35-03-115: Foundation plan, section and details | 1961 March |
| 1 | Cathedral site plans: Electrical distribution, drawing number AS-BLT AW 71-03-610 | 1961 March |
| 1 | Cathedral site plans: Pol System, drawing number AS-BLT AW 78-10-17 | 1961 March |
| 2 | Rabbit Creek site plans: Microwave Radio Relay Building: Plans and elevations; Wall elevations and sections; Steel framing plan and details | 1956 |