CFS Armstrong
Encyclopedia
- For the civil airport, see Armstrong AirportArmstrong AirportArmstrong Airport, , is located east southeast of Armstrong, Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada.-External links:* on COPA's Places to Fly airport directory...
Canadian Forces Station Armstrong (ADC ID: C-15) is a closed General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 1.1 miles (1.8 km) east of Armstrong, Ontario
Armstrong, Ontario
Armstrong is a township in the Timiskaming District of Ontario. The community of Earlton is part of Armstrong Township.-References :**...
. It was closed in 1974.
It was operated as part of the Pinetree Line
Pinetree Line
The Pinetree Line was a series of radar stations located across the northern United States and southern Canada at about the 50th parallel north, along with a number of other stations located on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Run by NORAD , over half were manned by United States Air Force...
network controlled by NORAD.
Origins
There was military activity in Armstrong during the Second World War. The community was the site of a detachment of the US Army's 671st Signal Aircraft Warning Company (Reporting), established to detect an enemy air attack on the locks at Soo LocksSoo Locks
The Soo Locks are a set of parallel locks which enable ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. They are located on the St. Marys River between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, between the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario...
in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie is a city in and the county seat of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the north-eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on the Canadian border, separated from its twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by the St. Marys River...
. The site was opened in 1942 and abandoned in 1943 as an attack seemed less likely. It is believed that the facility was situated in the same place as CFS Armstrong and no trace of it remains.
Cold War
As a result of the Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
and with the expansion of a North American continental air defence system, Armstrong was selected as a site for a United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
(USAF) radar station, one of the many that would make up the Pinetree Line of Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) radar sites.
This second period began with construction starting in 1952 and completed in 1954. The site was originally known as Armstrong Air Station in the early 1950s and it was home to the USAF's Air Defense Command (ADC) 914th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
914th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
The 914th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Duluth Air Defense Sector, Air Defense Command, stationed at Armstrong Air Station, Ontario, Canada...
. ADC designated the site "C-15". Initial radars installed were AN/FPS-3C, AN/FPS-502, AN/TPS-502, and an AN/FPS-6B set.
As a GCI base, the 914th's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. These interceptors were based at the 29th Air Division at Great Falls (Malmstrom) AFB, Montana.
On 1 April 1963 Armstrong AS was connected to the Semi Automatic Ground Environment
Semi Automatic Ground Environment
The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment was an automated control system for tracking and intercepting enemy bomber aircraft used by NORAD from the late 1950s into the 1980s...
(SAGE) system, and the station became a long-range radar site. It would no longer guide interceptors but only look for enemy aircraft, feeding data to the Duluth Air Defense Sector
Duluth Air Defense Sector
The Duluth Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 30th Air Division, being stationed at Duluth Airport, Minnesota...
SAGE DC-10 Data Center of the 30th NORAD Region at Duluth AFS, Minnesota
Later that month, the American station was handed over to the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
and renamed the site as RCAF Station Armstrong. This was part of an arrangement with the United States that came as a result of the cancellation of the Avro Arrow. Canada would lease 66 F-101 Voodoo
F-101 Voodoo
The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was a supersonic military jet fighter which served the United States Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force...
fighters and take over operation of 12 Pinetree radar bases. The new radar unit, 38 AC&W Squadron, continued in the early warning role. It would later be known as 38 Radar Squadron. It was also upgraded with the following radars:
- Search Radar: AN/FPS-3C, AN/FPS-502, AN/FPS-27
- Height Radar: AN/TPS-502, AN/FPS-6B, AN/FPS-26
Popular by virtue of being the only radio station, CFAO began broadcasting from the trailer court on the station in the early 60's with a 10 watt transmitter. It was run by a core of 20 volunteers offering music and news to the station and surrounding area seven days a week on 1450 kilocycles. Armstrong had up to three deHavilland Canada Otters operating from the DOT run airfield at any one time. The Otter Flight's duties ranged from logistical support, search and rescue, to "Flying Doctor" services. The "Flying Doctor" service was offered on a weekly and monthly basis to personnel stationed at Pagwa and Sioux Lookout. Medical evacuations were carried out as necessary. Dental services were provided on a bi-monthly visit by a Royal Canadian Army Dental Corps detachment. The station had limited recreational facilities, so hunting and fishing became quite popular, as did snowmobiling.
With unification of the Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
, the facility was renamed Canadian Forces Station Armstrong in 1967. Improvements in radar technology made the site redundant, and on 1 September 1974, the main gate at CFS Armstrong was swung shut for good and CFS Armstrong was disbanded on 1 October 1974.
The site was sold to private owners, and today the site appears to be unused. The station buildings remain and generally the site is maintained to the degree that the buildings are not vandalized and the landscaping is maintained. Several Radar towers are standing. The airfield is now run by the provincial government. Some of the buildings remain occupied and some are in better condition than others.
See also
- List of Royal Canadian Air Force stations
- List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations