Site: BAR-Main


BAR-M Layout

 

DEWLINE HISTORICAL DESCRIPTION

Topography

  • BAR-MAIN on BARTER ISLAND, Alaska, is situated in 4500 acres of low lying, tundra covered terrain at an altitude of 50 feet above sea level. This Main Radar Station is the eastern most site in Alaska and is the headquarters for BAR Sector. During the thaw period the land surrounding BAR-M is swampy. The airstrip runs in an easterly direction along a narrow spit that is constantly being eroded by the sea. The highest elevation on Barter Island does not exceed 100 feet.

Climate

  • Annual precipitation including snowfall is approximately 11 inches. Snowfall is greatest in January and October and averages about 24 inches a year. Mean daily temperatures run between a minimum of plus 3.8 to a maximum of plus 15 degrees Fahrenheit.

Water

  • A two mile round trip potable water haul is maintained summer and winter.

PHOTOS

Satellite Image – High level.

Satellite Image – Close-up.

Trip Report: “A (1957/58) Visit to the BAR Sector” by Lynden (Bucky) Farris.

Four photos of the DEWLine cleanup project “Operation Clean Sweep.”
(Click to enlarge.)

Miscellaneous Photos.
(Click to enlarge).

Full size photos (below).

Original DEWLiners: Danny Gordon. Taken in the village of Kaktovik Christmas 2006.

Original DEWLiners: Isaac Akootchook. Taken in the village of Kaktovik Christmas 2006.

Sunbathing at BAR-M circa 1964, courtesy Stretch Grant.

Construction Era Photos for BAR-Main.
The pictures below were selected from the extensive collection of Markham Cheever, the DEWLine’s Superintendent of Construction from 1953 to 1957, before the Line went operational. (Click on picture to enlarge.)

The People.
The people in the photos below, also from the Markham Cheever collection, are displayed in the hopes that someone may recognize a father, grandfather, or friend who was involved in the construction of this particular DEWLine site. (Click on picture to enlarge.)