Caribou Air Force Station, also known as North River Depot and East Loring, is a defunct Air Force Station that operated from 1951 until its absorption into

Loring Air Force Base Loring Air Force Base was a United States Air Force installation in northeastern Maine, near Limestone and Caribou in Aroostook County. It was one of the largest bases of the U.S. Air Force's Strategic Air Command during its existence, and was t ...

in 1962. It was located in

Limestone, Maine Limestone is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,526 at the 2020 census. The town is best known for being the home of the Loring Commerce Centre (formerly Loring Air Force Base; also lying on its former territ ...

, adjacent to Loring. Between 1951 and 1962 Caribou was an Operational Storage Site for

Air Materiel Command Air Materiel Command (AMC) was a United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In 1961, the command was redesignated the Air Force Logistics Command wi ...

(AMC-OSS), one of five in the United States, and the weapons storage and maintenance facility for Loring alert aircraft.

Background

The Nuclear Weapons Storage Area at Loring once operated as a separate, top secret facility. Originally called the North River Depot, the remote area to the northeast of Loring’s property was the first U.S. Operational site allegedly constructed for the storage, assembly, and testing of atomic weapons.

Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

. ''Loring Air Force Base, Weapons Storage Area, Northeastern corner of base at northern end of Maine Road, Limestone vicinity, Aroostook County, ME''. On file with

The Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

. A parallel series of four fences, one of which was electrified, surrounded the heart of the storage area. This area was nicknamed the “Q” Area, which denoted the Department of Energy’s

Q clearance Q clearance or Q access authorization is the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) security clearance required to access Top Secret Restricted Data, Formerly Restricted Data, and National Security Information, as well as Secret Restricted Data. Restri ...

a classified security clearance required to have access to Restricted Data. In June 1962, the

United States Atomic Energy Commission The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President ...

released its custody and ownership of the weapons to the Air Force, and the personnel and property were absorbed into the adjacent Loring Air Force Base.

Units Stationed at Caribou AFS

3080th Aviation Depot Group 3093rd Aviation Depot Squadron 3080th Air Police Squadron *

References

External links

History of Loring as well as the station
*https://www.northriverdepot.com/ {{FmrMEMilitary Installations of the United States Air Force in Maine Military installations closed in 1962 Buildings and structures in Aroostook County, Maine Loring Air Force Base 1951 establishments in Maine 1962 disestablishments in Maine