Santa Rosa Island Range Complex facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Santa Rosa Island Range Complex
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| Part of Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) | |
| Located near: Valparaiso, Florida | |
 Santa Rosa Island
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| Coordinates | 30°23′22″N 086°48′18″W / 30.38944°N 86.80500°W |
The Santa Rosa Island Range Complex is a special testing area for the Eglin AFB (Air Force Base). It's located on Santa Rosa Island, about 17.5 miles west of the main base. You can find it between the towns of Navarre and Okaloosa Island.
Contents
What is the Santa Rosa Island Range Complex?
This complex is part of a huge testing area over the water near Eglin Air Force Base. This area covers about 86,500 square miles of airspace over the Gulf of Mexico. It's used for many different kinds of tests and training exercises.
Special equipment on Santa Rosa Island and other places helps watch these tests. This equipment uses radar and other tools to collect data. The data is then sent to a main control center at Eglin AFB.
The way Santa Rosa Island is used keeps changing. This is because national security threats change, and hurricanes have affected the island. Today, the complex is used for things like:
- Testing how to clear mines from beaches.
- Practicing beach landings and special operations.
- Testing small boats and other military equipment.
- Live fire exercises.
Testing Sites on the Island
There are several important testing sites on Santa Rosa Island. These sites are used for different kinds of military tests. Some of these locations include:
- A-1 * 30°23′21″N 086°31′30″W / 30.38917°N 86.52500°W
- A-2 * 30°23′21″N 086°32′21″W / 30.38917°N 86.53917°W
- A-5 * 30°23′44″N 086°35′49″W / 30.39556°N 86.59694°W
- This site is used for testing and training with electronic warfare equipment.
- A-15 * 30°23′21″N 086°48′15″W / 30.38917°N 86.80417°W
- This site is used for testing surface-to-air missiles. It was also used for launching older missiles like the Tomahawk Sandia and Honest John.
History of the Complex
The Santa Rosa Island Range Complex has a long and interesting history. It was first set up during World War II.
World War II Testing
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World War II JB-2 Launch Site
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JB-2 Weapons Bunker at 80K246
 Remains of JB-2 launch ramp at 8OK246  JB-2 Loon test at 8OK248, 1945 |
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| Location | Fort Walton Beach, Florida |
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| NRHP reference No. | 96000395 |
| Added to NRHP | April 19, 1996 |
During World War II, Germany used a new weapon called the V-1 flying bomb. In 1944, the United States made its own copy of the V-1. It was called the Republic-Ford JB-2. This was America's first guided missile, similar to today's cruise missiles.
Eglin Field (now Eglin AFB) was chosen to test how to launch these new missiles. The first JB-2 arrived for testing in late 1944. Three special sites were built on Eglin's land along the Gulf of Mexico. Each site was designed to test different ways of launching the missiles.
Two of these sites are on Santa Rosa Island. They are known as Florida archeological sites 8OK246 and 8OK248. These sites still have parts of the old JB-2 test areas, including bunkers and pieces of missiles that crashed. These historical sites were added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 19, 1996.
- Site 8OK246 (30°23′57″N 086°42′19″W / 30.39917°N 86.70528°W) is what's left of a mobile JB-2 launch site. It has two concrete pads and a bunker for observation. There's even a crashed JB-2 missile south of where the ramp used to be.
- Site 8OK248 (30°23′54″N 086°41′33″W / 30.39833°N 86.69250°W) has the remains of a JB-2 launch ramp and a concrete blockhouse. Much of this site is covered by sand. Some people believe there are up to 18 JB-2 missiles buried in the area.
Access to these historical sites is limited by the National Park Service and the United States Air Force.
All the JB-2 missiles launched from Eglin were aimed south into the Gulf of Mexico. They targeted buoys placed far out in the water. There is no sign that real explosives were used. Many of the crashed missiles found by archeologists had concrete instead of a warhead.
After the war ended, the Army Air Force had many JB-2 missiles. Testing of the JB-2s on Santa Rosa Island continued until March 1946. Then, the project was stopped. Parts of the sites that could be reused were taken apart. However, debris from crashes was left behind. Some complete JB-2 missiles are also thought to be buried in the sand dunes.
Cold War Missile Testing
As the Cold War began, the Eglin Gulf Test Range became very important. It was used to test many different types of missiles. These included the CIM-10 Bomarc, MGM-1 Matador, ADM-20 Quail, and AGM-28 Hound Dog.
The first BOMARC missile was launched from Santa Rosa Island on January 15, 1959. From 1959 to 1960, the BOMARC A missile was tested at site A-15. It flew against various drone aircraft. In the early 1960s, testing continued with the newer BOMARC B model.
On March 3, 1961, a BOMARC B missile showed it could hit a target over 400 miles away. It also reached an altitude of more than 80,000 feet. The testing program for BOMARC A and B ended in August 1963, after almost 150 launches. BOMARC B launches continued into the 1970s.
Both the military and NASA have also used Santa Rosa Island. They launched special rockets called atmospheric sounding rockets from the island. These rockets helped with their different programs.
Images for kids
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JB-2 Weapons Bunker at 80K246
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Remains of JB-2 launch ramp at 8OK246
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JB-2 Loon test at 8OK248, 1945
