By Tom Page

1. A Sticky Situation

The Fort Fisher AFS air-defense radar site was (and still is) located in southeastern North Carolina, sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cape Fear River, just south of Kure Beach. I was stationed there from spring 1976 to autumn 1979, experiencing three summers. The mid summers were very hot and sticky, and often accompanied by draught. The site normally operated on commercial electrical power, switching over to diesel-generated electrical power typically only during exercises and forecasted thunderstorms.

During one notably long, hot, and dry summer, we noticed that the number of power "blackouts" and "brownouts" seemed to be quite high - virtually every afternoon. Of course, when the lights went out or even blinked, the radars and data processor "crashed" too. It would take - if I remember correctly - about twenty minutes to bring everything back on-line after power was restored. We had to start bringing the diesels on-line each afternoon for a couple of hours to make sure we didn`t lose coverage. At first, the power company told us that these blackouts and brownouts were caused by substations switching loads due to the high usage of air conditioning, and that caused interruptions in our electrical power. Come to find out, there was another interesting reason.

As it turns out, the commercial electrical power was fed to the site and the neighboring communities via overhead transmission lines that ran parallel to US 421. From Carolina Beach, south to Kure Beach, and on to Fort Fisher, the highway and the power lines ran right next to the shore line. In fact, the only thing separating the road and power-line poles from the ocean was a narrow line of sand dunes. There was a constant on-shore sea breeze that carried the salty spray from the breaking waves a good 50 yards or more on shore. (Corrosion was a constant problem.) The overhead transmission lines, as usual, were bare metal (no insulation). What was happening was this: The sea spray was depositing salt on the wires and the wooden poles. This happened gradually over time. Each rain shower would wash away the salt with fresh water, so the salt deposits had no consequences. However, we were in the middle of a long draught. It had not rained for weeks. The salt deposits became non-trivial. This resulting salt build-up then allowed a conductive path to form from wire to pole, and then to another wire or ground. The electric current was arcing over to another wire (3-phase) or to ground. As soon as it arced, the substation would sense the overload, and either shut down or switch over! So what was the corrective action? The power company enlisted the help of the local fire department, and used the fire trucks to actually drive along US 421 and hose down the poles and overhead lines! (I witnessed this myself.) And it apparently worked! The number of occurrences of these blackouts and brownouts was reduced dramatically. (I wonder if they added that task to the master PM schedule?!!)

2. Carolina Fried Seagull (CFS?)

The `Colonel` had KFC, so I guess our major had "CFS." One afternoon, the Fort Fisher GATR site experienced a power outage. The radio technicians checked all their equipment, found the main circuit breakers had opened, didn`t know why, but they concluded there was no problem. So they closed the circuit breakers. The breakers promptly opened again. At this point, our bright radio techs decided there must be a problem afterall. So they checked all their equipment once again, and still found nothing wrong. Finally, they went outside and inspected the incoming-power transformers. There, on the transformers, with wing one wing attached to one terminal and another wing attached to a second terminal, was a sea gull ... or, what was left of a sea gull!

Apparently, it had alit on top of the transformers, and its outstretched wings had touched two different terminals of the 3-phase power transformer. The electric current instantly conducted through the bird`s oily, salty wings and body, causing an overload and the breakers to open. When the breakers were closed the second time, that bird literally fried! Exploded actually! Yet, interestingly, its seared wings and carcass stayed stick to the transformers - until removed with a broom handle. [There was no known recurrence of the problem.]

3. The Legend of “The Fort Fisher Guns”

How many US Air Force bases are haunted? Some say that one is — Fort Fisher Air Force Station, in Kure Beach, North Carolina. Actually, the entire Fort Fisher area is said to be inhabited by ghosts.

A local legend there maintains that the ghosts of Confederate soldiers at the nearby Civil War fort by the same name, in a brave but futile effort, still fire their cannons at invading Union warships. Fort Fisher was the scene of the largest land-sea battle of the entire Civil War. When Fort Fisher fell to the Yankees in January 1865, the South’s last seaport, Wilmington, NC, was closed. The war would be over in just a few more months.

So, is Fort Fisher haunted? The “Fort Fisher Guns,” as they are called, are indeed real. The booming of the guns and the shaking of the earth have been heard and felt by many witnesses. I know, because I myself am one of those witnesses. During my 3-year tour of duty with the 701st Radar Squadron, Fort Fisher AFS, NC, from April 1976 to August 1979, I heard and felt the Fort Fisher guns on at least three or four occasions. A number of people at the Air Force station — at the same time — all heard the deep booming sounds and felt the ground trembling. It was definitely real, not imaginary.

But just what are these “Fort Fisher Guns”? Are they really produced by the ghosts of Confederate soldiers firing their cannons? As one who has personally experienced the guns, I must confess that they truly do sound like distant cannon fire. Now, there are a few scientific theories with more down-to-earth explanations for the guns. One theory says that these are no more than distant sonic booms from Navy jets conducting war games off the coast. The sound is ducted to the mainline by means of temperature inversions, similar to RF anomalous propagation (AP) seen on radar. Another theory claims that the phenomenon is due to localized seismic tremors associated with an ancient fault, one of many that branch off the mid-Atlantic rift. After all, earthquakes do occur on the East Coast. Rarely, ... but they do occur. A big one hit Charleston, SC, in 1887; it was felt as far north as Boston!

So, what are the “Fort Fisher Guns” really? Are they ghostly cannon fire, sonic booms, localized seismic events, or something else entirely? Personally, I tend to believe the ‘seismic-tremor theory ... but, who’s to say? Whatever the source, the “Fort Fisher Guns” are real.

-- Tom Page