Canadian Forces Station Saglek is a

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

base in the former

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 Ocean, Atlantic and Pacific coasts. ...

and currently part of the

North Warning System The North Warning System (NWS) is a joint United States and Canadian early-warning radar system for the atmospheric air defense of North America. It provides surveillance of airspace from potential incursions or attacks from across North America' ...

, located near Saglek Bay in

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, north-northwest of

CFB Goose Bay Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay , commonly referred to as CFB Goose Bay, is a Canadian Forces Base located in the municipality of Happy Valley-Goose Bay in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is operated as an air force base by ...

.Pinetree Line Stations
/ref>

History

The site was established in 1953 as a General Surveillance Radar station. It was used initially by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

, one of the many that would make up the

of Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) radar sites. The

Northeast Air Command The Northeast Air Command (NEAC) was a short-lived organization in the United States Air Force tasked with the operation and defense of air bases in Greenland, Labrador and Newfoundland. It was formed in 1950 from the facilities of the United St ...

, the 924th Aircraft Control and Radar Squadron on the station on 1 October 1953. Initial radars installed were

AN/FPS-3 The AN/FPS-20 was a widely used L band early warning and ground-controlled interception radar system employed by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command, the NORAD Pinetree Line in Canada, the USAF CONAD in the continental United States ...

C long Range Search Radar; AN/FPS-502 small surveillance radar, AN/FPS-87A general Surveillance and an AN/TPS-502 height finder radar. As a GCI base, the 924th's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. These interceptors were assigned to the

64th Air Division The 64th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on 1 July 1963. History World War II The organi ...

Goose AFB Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay , commonly referred to as CFB Goose Bay, is a Canadian Forces Base located in the municipality of Happy Valley-Goose Bay in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is operated as an air force base by ...

, Labrador. The station was reassigned to the USAF

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was est ...

on 1 April 1957, and was given designation "N-29". In 1963, the site was connected to the

Semi Automatic Ground Environment The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) was a system of large computers and associated networking equipment that coordinated data from many radar sites and processed it to produce a single unified image of the airspace over a wide area. S ...

(SAGE) Data Centre (DC-31) at

, and the site was upgraded to an AN/FPS-93A and AN/TPS-502 radars. On 30 June 1971, the USAF transferred control of the site to the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

, which closed the radar facility. On 1 August 1970, ADC Headquarters redesignated the 924th AC&W Squadron as OL AE, 4624th Support Squadron (SAGE). On 30 September 1970 the last of the USAF military personnel departed CFS Saglek. Civilian personnel of the

Canadian Marconi Company CMC Electronics Inc. (french: CMC Électronique) is a Canadian avionics manufacturer. The company's main manufacturing facility is located in Montreal, Quebec with additional facilities located in Ottawa, Ontario and Sugar Grove, Illinois. His ...

remained on-site to operate and support an associated

Tropospheric scatter Tropospheric scatter, also known as troposcatter, is a method of communicating with microwave radio signals over considerable distances – often up to and further depending on frequency of operation, equipment type, terrain, and climate facto ...

communications system, which was located approximately 3 miles inland of the radar site. The radar station was used as the living quarters for the Canadian Marconi staff, except for those located at the Lower Camp airfield for runway maintenance and snow clearing.

North Warning System

A long range,

phased array In antenna theory, a phased array usually means an electronically scanned array, a computer-controlled array of antennas which creates a beam of radio waves that can be electronically steered to point in different directions without moving th ...

AN/FPS-117 The AN/FPS-117 is an L-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) 3-dimensional air search radar first produced by GE Aerospace in 1980 and now part of Lockheed Martin. The system offers instrumented detection at ranges on the order of and h ...

3-dimensional air search surveillance radar and a doppler AN/FPS-124 short-range surveillance radar were installed in November 1989 as part of the

to cover any radar surveillance gaps. The new site (LAB-2) consists of a radar towers, communications facility, and storage and tunnel connected buildings for personnel.

USAF units and assignments

Units: * 924th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, Activated at

Grenier AFB Grenier is a surname. It is a French word for ''attic, loft,'' or ''granary''. Notable people with the surname include: * Adrian Grenier * Angèle Grenier, Canadian maple syrup producer * Auguste Jean François Grenier (1814–1890), French doctor ...

, New Hampshire 13 June 1953 : Moved to Saglek Air Station, Labrador, 1 October 1953 : Inactivated 30 June 1971 Assignments: *

4707th Air Defense Wing The 4707th Air Defense Wing is a discontinued United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 26th Air Division of Air Defense Command (ADC) at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts where it was discontinued in 1956. The wing ...

, 25 May 1953 *

(NEAC), 1 October 1953 *

4732d Air Defense Group The 4732nd Air Defense Group is a discontinued United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 64th Air Division of Air Defense Command at Goose Air Force Base, Newfoundland, Canada, where it was discontinued in 1960. The ...

(ADC), 1 April 1957 *

Goose Air Defense Sector The Goose Air Defense Sector (GADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 26th Air Division, being stationed at Goose Air Force Base, Labrador, Canada. It was inactivated on 1 April 1966 and repla ...

, 1 April 1960 *

37th Air Division The 37th Air Division (37th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command at Goose Air Force Base, Labrador, Canada It was inactivated on 30 June 1970. History Strategic Air Command Es ...

, 1 April 1966 *

21st Air Division The 21st Air Division (21st AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Tactical Air Command, being stationed at Griffiss Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on 23 September 1983. History World W ...

, 31 March 1970 – 30 June 1971

References and notes

* A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado * Winkler, David F. (1997), Searching the skies: the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program. Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command.
Information for Saglek AS, NL

External links

Personal Account of final year of operation of 924th ACW Squadron
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saglek Radar stations of the United States Air Force Canadian Forces bases in Newfoundland and Labrador 1953 establishments in Newfoundland and Labrador Military airbases in Newfoundland and Labrador Military installations established in 1953

History

North Warning System

USAF units and assignments

See also

References and notes

External links