CFS Ramore
Encyclopedia
Canadian Forces Station Ramore (ADC ID: C-10) is a closed General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Ramore, Ontario. It was closed in 1974.
It was operated as part of the Pinetree Line
network controlled by NORAD.
and with the expansion of a North American continental air defence system, Ramore was selected as a site for a United States Air Force
(USAF) radar station, one of the many that would make up the Pinetree Line of Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) radar sites. Construction on the Ramore base began in 1950 and was completed by 1953. The base was manned by members of the USAF's Air Defense Command (ADC) 912th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
, being known as Ramore Air Station.
Ramore contained an AN/FPS-3 search radar, AB/TPS-502 Height finder radar and an AN/FPS-502 Back-Up Search radar. The back-up radar could function as either search or height radar. The operating radius was approximately 180 miles which stretched as far west as Hearst and as far north as Moosonee.
During the late 1950’s, the Mid-Canada Line
was developed as a secondary line of detection in case enemy aircraft penetrated the Distant Early Warning Line
. This consisted of approximately 90 unmanned sites and eight Sector Control Stations located along the 55th parallel. Each site sent out a radio beam to its neighboring site. If an aircraft interrupted the beam, an intruder alarm would sound.
Ramore was chosen as a relay station for signals coming in from the Sector Control Site at RCAF Station Winisk
. The signals would be sent to Ramore via a Tropospheric scatter system and then they would forward the signals via a land-line to the RCC at RCAF North Bay
. This required the installation of a large parabolic antenna on Mount Kempis.
Pinetree stations were also subject to ground attacks. Each station was equipped with a Base Defence Force or BDF whose skills were sometimes tested against army units during practice drills.
Station personnel were often located in rural locations and had to preoccupy themselves during their off time. Many joined sports teams, motorcycling clubs, stamp clubs or amateur radio associations. Civilians were welcomed at the base either as club participants or to the recreational facilities such as the swimming pool. Some of the buildings located on the property included the combined mess hall, officers quarters, NCO’s quarters, OR’s quarters, Supply, Administration & Recreation Building, chlorinator house, guard shack, heated garages and power plant.
The AC&W squadron remained in control of operations at Remore until early 1962 when operation of the radar base was transferred from the Americans to the Canadian military under operation of the Number 35 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron. The RCAF renamed the site RCAF Station Ramore. 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
fighters and take over operation of 12 Pinetree radar bases including Ramore. New equipment was also acquired around that time, with AN/FPS-27, AN/FPS-6B, and AN/FPS-26 radars and then in computers as part of the squadron's automation.
Ramore ceased to be a relay station in April 1965 when the Mid-Canada Line was no longer economically feasible or required due to improvements in technology.
On August 10, 1967 the 35 Radar Squadron became known as Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Ramore when it combined with the Canadian Armed Forces. It continued to serve as an advanced warning system until it’s closure on April 1, 1974 along with two other stations in Ontario when they were deemed no longer necessary. By the 1980s some of the vacuum-tube equipment at the bases had become so obsolete that replacement tubes could only be obtained from factories in the Soviet Union. Two of the radar antennas were donated to the Military Communications and Electronics Museum in Kingston upon Ramore’s closure.
CFS Lowther
near Hearst and CFS Senneterre in Quebec
handled the coverage area that Ramore had previously monitored.
In 1975, the station was sold to the Black Matheson township for $100,000 and was reopened as the Lava Mountain Lodge, a resort and drinking establishment.
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.
History
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, Ramore 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. Construction on the Ramore base began in 1950 and was completed by 1953. The base was manned by members of the USAF's Air Defense Command (ADC) 912th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
912th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
The 912th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Sault Sainte Marie Air Defense Sector, Air Defense Command, stationed at Ramore Air Station, Ontario, Canada...
, being known as Ramore Air Station.
Ramore contained an AN/FPS-3 search radar, AB/TPS-502 Height finder radar and an AN/FPS-502 Back-Up Search radar. The back-up radar could function as either search or height radar. The operating radius was approximately 180 miles which stretched as far west as Hearst and as far north as Moosonee.
During the late 1950’s, the Mid-Canada Line
Mid-Canada Line
The Mid-Canada Line, also known as the McGill Fence, was a line of radar stations across the "middle" of Canada to provide early warning of a Soviet bomber attack on North America. It was built to supplement the less-advanced Pinetree Line, which was located further south...
was developed as a secondary line of detection in case enemy aircraft penetrated the Distant Early Warning Line
Distant Early Warning Line
The Distant Early Warning Line, also known as the DEW Line or Early Warning Line, was a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic region of Canada, with additional stations along the North Coast and Aleutian Islands of Alaska, in addition to the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland...
. This consisted of approximately 90 unmanned sites and eight Sector Control Stations located along the 55th parallel. Each site sent out a radio beam to its neighboring site. If an aircraft interrupted the beam, an intruder alarm would sound.
Ramore was chosen as a relay station for signals coming in from the Sector Control Site at RCAF Station Winisk
RCAF Station Winisk
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Winisk was a military installation located in Winisk, Ontario.RCAF Winisk was one of eight Sector Control Stations on the Mid-Canada Line system of radar stations. Each SCS received signals from a series of unmanned detection sites located approximately 50 km apart...
. The signals would be sent to Ramore via a Tropospheric scatter system and then they would forward the signals via a land-line to the RCC at RCAF North Bay
CFB North Bay
Canadian Forces Base North Bay, also CFB North Bay, is an air force base located at the City of North Bay, Ontario about north of Toronto. The base is subordinate to 1 Canadian Air Division, Winnipeg, Manitoba, and is the centre for North American Aerospace Defense Command operations in Canada,...
. This required the installation of a large parabolic antenna on Mount Kempis.
Pinetree stations were also subject to ground attacks. Each station was equipped with a Base Defence Force or BDF whose skills were sometimes tested against army units during practice drills.
Station personnel were often located in rural locations and had to preoccupy themselves during their off time. Many joined sports teams, motorcycling clubs, stamp clubs or amateur radio associations. Civilians were welcomed at the base either as club participants or to the recreational facilities such as the swimming pool. Some of the buildings located on the property included the combined mess hall, officers quarters, NCO’s quarters, OR’s quarters, Supply, Administration & Recreation Building, chlorinator house, guard shack, heated garages and power plant.
The AC&W squadron remained in control of operations at Remore until early 1962 when operation of the radar base was transferred from the Americans to the Canadian military under operation of the Number 35 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron. The RCAF renamed the site RCAF Station Ramore. 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 including Ramore. New equipment was also acquired around that time, with AN/FPS-27, AN/FPS-6B, and AN/FPS-26 radars and then in computers as part of the squadron's automation.
Ramore ceased to be a relay station in April 1965 when the Mid-Canada Line was no longer economically feasible or required due to improvements in technology.
On August 10, 1967 the 35 Radar Squadron became known as Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Ramore when it combined with the Canadian Armed Forces. It continued to serve as an advanced warning system until it’s closure on April 1, 1974 along with two other stations in Ontario when they were deemed no longer necessary. By the 1980s some of the vacuum-tube equipment at the bases had become so obsolete that replacement tubes could only be obtained from factories in the Soviet Union. Two of the radar antennas were donated to the Military Communications and Electronics Museum in Kingston upon Ramore’s closure.
CFS Lowther
CFS Lowther
Canadian Forces Station Lowther is a closed General Surveillance Radar station. It is located east-southeast of Mattice-Val Côté, Ontario...
near Hearst and CFS Senneterre in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
handled the coverage area that Ramore had previously monitored.
In 1975, the station was sold to the Black Matheson township for $100,000 and was reopened as the Lava Mountain Lodge, a resort and drinking establishment.