Site: POW-3

POW-3
Flaxman Island,  Alaska
(AKA Bullen Point)

 

DEWLINE HISTORICAL DESCRIPTION

Topography

  • POW-3 at BULLEN POINT Alaska, is situated at an altitude of approximately 6 feet above sea level. Bullen Point, on the mainland, faces Flaxman Island (the radio call name for POW-3) and consists of generally low swampy tundra. this Auxiliary Radar Station occupies 620 acres and is the lowest site insofar as elevation is concerned on the DEW Line. The airstrip lies on higher ground, some 10 feet above the terrain at the module train.

Climate

  • Annual precipitation, including snowfall is approximately 11 inches. Snowfall, greatest during January and October is about 25 inches a year. Mean daily temperatures run between a minimum of plus 3.8 to a maximum of plus 15 degrees Fahrenheit.

Water

  • To provide a constant source of potable water during the cold season, a round trip water haul of approximately 3 miles is maintained during the summer. A 250,000 gallon steel water tank located near the module train is filled during this period. The content of the tank is kept from freezing by circulating water through it from a hot water boiler rated at 1,500,000 BTU per hour capacity.

2017 Update
By Clive Beckmann

POW-3 is listed as ‘DEW Operations ceased Apr 1995’. Ref ‘Surestop Tropo Upgrades’, FOX-1 was closed and the FRC-102 equipment was shipped to Alaska to upgrade the BAR Main/POW-2 link, thereby allowing the closure of POW-3. This happened in 1971. The new link became operational in 1972, so POW-3 ceased DEW Operations shortly prior to then. I don’t remember the month but I was stationed at POW Main at the time and recall the switch.

PHOTOS

Satellite Image.

Our temporary construction camp at Bullen, old Dew site in background. Photo taken in the “spring” after we shoveled out the drifts a bit to get the camp fired back up for another construction season. Courtesy John Conway.

SRR Power Generation Sub-System for one of the sites. Lister air-cooled diesels. Mechron Energy did the PGSS install in Alaska too. Courtesy John Conway.

Base of the tower at Bullen. We had to fly in in 1995 to reset the SAT-Com gear after the sun transients blipped the link. Also someone had tried to break-in and the intrusion detection system had gone off. Mind you, it took three days to get there due to weather. Nobody made it inside, just rattled the door a bit. Courtesy John Conway.

Short Range Radar Equipment. Courtesy Chad Garber.

Construction Era Photos for POW-3.
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.)