{"id":11213,"date":"2014-10-28T07:36:22","date_gmt":"2014-10-28T11:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=11213"},"modified":"2014-10-28T07:36:22","modified_gmt":"2014-10-28T11:36:22","slug":"san-diego-elephant-cage-scheduled-for-demolition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/san-diego-elephant-cage-scheduled-for-demolition\/","title":{"rendered":"San Diego Elephant Cage scheduled for demolition"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SanDiego\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On the topic of Wullenweber antennas<\/a>, SWLing Post<\/em> reader, Mike, points to this article on U-T San Diego’s website<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Navy’s mysterious ‘elephant cage’ retired:\u00a0Cold War-era structure a visual landmark on Silver Strand<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beachgoers will say goodbye this month to the \u201celephant cage\u201d — the mysterious metal structure that has graced the south end of the Silver Strand for 50 years.<\/p>\n

The Navy will demolish the circular cage-like contraption as part of an initiative to get rid of obsolete gear.<\/p>\n

Officially known as the Wullenweber Antenna Array, the 1,300-foot-diameter structure was built in 1964.<\/p>\n

Many details are shrouded in Cold War-era secrecy, Navy officials say.<\/p>\n

[…]In simple terms, the huge circular antenna was used to intercept radio signals and detect which direction they came from.<\/p>\n

With a range up to 3,200 nautical miles, the Silver Strand antenna likely monitored the Pacific Ocean and parts of Central and South America.<\/p>\n

U.S. allies around the world also housed “elephant cages” during the Cold War.<\/p>\n

One was located in the United Kingdom, to intercept signals originating from Warsaw Pact nations in Eastern Europe as well as portions of the former Soviet Union.<\/p>\n

Another array, located in San Vito dei Norrnanni Air Station. ltaly, opened in 1960 to monitor areas of the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Others were built in West Germany, the Philippines, Japan and Canada.<\/p>\n

In order to preserve history, the Navy plans to keep the five tallest screens plus some guy wires and anchorage posts. It is also working on a digital 3-D model of the antenna.<\/p>\n

Read the full article at U-T San Diego…<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the topic of Wullenweber antennas, SWLing Post reader, Mike, points to this article on U-T San Diego’s website: Navy’s mysterious ‘elephant cage’ retired:\u00a0Cold War-era structure a visual landmark on Silver Strand Beachgoers will say goodbye this month to the \u201celephant cage\u201d — the mysterious metal structure that has graced the south end of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,288,43],"tags":[3338,752,3067,3335,3336,3337],"class_list":["post-11213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-radio-history","category-shortwave-radio","tag-circular-receiving-antennas","tag-cold-war","tag-cold-war-radio","tag-elephant-cages","tag-wullenweber","tag-wullenweber-antennas"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-2UR","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11143,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/uncovering-the-wullenweber-elephant-cages\/","url_meta":{"origin":11213,"position":0},"title":"Uncovering Wullenweber’s “Elephant Cages”","author":"Thomas","date":"October 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Bill Patalon, for sharing this article via Gizmodo: In the early days of electronic espionage, the US intelligence community didn't have the benefit of all-seeing spy satellites\u2014it had to intercept and interpret high-frequency radio waves transmitted by the Soviet Union. To do so, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"800px-CDAA_Elmendorf_AFB","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/800px-CDAA_Elmendorf_AFB.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/800px-CDAA_Elmendorf_AFB.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/800px-CDAA_Elmendorf_AFB.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/800px-CDAA_Elmendorf_AFB.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11192,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/tearing-down-an-elephant-cage\/","url_meta":{"origin":11213,"position":1},"title":"Tearing down an Elephant Cage","author":"Thomas","date":"October 26, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"This past week, I posted a couple of articles about\u00a0Wullenweber\u00a0antennas (a.k.a. \"Elephant Cages\"). Many thanks to Andrea Borgnino who shares this article by Joseph Trevithick via Medium.com: The U.S. Air Force Is Tearing Down a Giant Spy Antenna: \u2019Elephant cages\u2019 are a dying breed The U.S. Air Force has started\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"800px-CDAA_Elmendorf_AFB","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/800px-CDAA_Elmendorf_AFB.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/800px-CDAA_Elmendorf_AFB.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/800px-CDAA_Elmendorf_AFB.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/800px-CDAA_Elmendorf_AFB.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24871,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/04\/paul-remembers-the-flr-9-elephant-cage-in-misawa-japan\/","url_meta":{"origin":11213,"position":2},"title":"Paul remembers the FLR-9 “Elephant Cage” in Misawa Japan","author":"Thomas","date":"April 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul, who writes: I was a morse intercept operator in the USAF in the late 1960s. I have a nice picture of a FLR-9 at Misawa Japan (now gone I think): I was at Misawa from 68-70 in the USAF Security Service. I copied\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Copy-of-Miisawa-1-e1490707808454.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Copy-of-Miisawa-1-e1490707808454.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Copy-of-Miisawa-1-e1490707808454.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Copy-of-Miisawa-1-e1490707808454.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11167,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/mike-recalls-visiting-the-original-wullenweber-test-site\/","url_meta":{"origin":11213,"position":3},"title":"Mike recalls visiting the original Wullenweber test site","author":"Thomas","date":"October 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In response to our post Uncovering Wullenweber\u2019s \u201cElephant Cages,\u201d Mike comments: Sometime back around 2005-2009, I was doing maintenance on a NOAA climate station near Bondville, IL, and noticed several tall utility poles in the distance. As I figured they looked suspiciously like an antenna array, I asked the site\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Illinois","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Illinois.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Illinois.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Illinois.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47651,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/the-last-elephant-cage-is-a-fascinating-nsa-documentary-about-the-monolithic-flr-9-antenna-system\/","url_meta":{"origin":11213,"position":4},"title":"“The Last Elephant Cage” is a fascinating NSA documentary about the monolithic FLR-9 antenna system","author":"Thomas","date":"February 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Andrea Borgnino (IW0HK), who shares the following video--a 15 minute NSA documentary--about the FLR-9 \"Elephant Cage\" antenna in Anchorage, Alaska. https:\/\/youtu.be\/uh88Y2_33GI Click here to view on YouTube.","rel":"","context":"In "Antennas"","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/FLR-9-Elephant-cage.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/FLR-9-Elephant-cage.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/FLR-9-Elephant-cage.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/FLR-9-Elephant-cage.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/FLR-9-Elephant-cage.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36571,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/03\/cnn-travel-features-the-abandoned-duga-radar-site-near-chernobyl\/","url_meta":{"origin":11213,"position":5},"title":"CNN Travel features the abandoned Duga Radar site near Chernobyl","author":"Thomas","date":"March 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: CNN Travel via Heath Hall) (CNN) \u2014 The peaceful untouched forest north of Ukraine's capital, Kiev, is a perfect spot to enjoy the outdoors -- save for one fact. It contains the radiation-contaminated Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, established in 1986 after the world's worst nuclear disaster sent a wave of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Duga-3-Woodpecker.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Duga-3-Woodpecker.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Duga-3-Woodpecker.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11213\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}