Air Defence Command was a

command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * command (Unix), a Unix command * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on A ...

of the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) 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 environmental commands within the unified Can ...

and later the

Canadian Armed Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

, active from 1951 to 1975. Originally, post-war plans called for air defence to be the responsibility of reserve, auxiliary squadrons only. Vampire jet fighters and older

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed ...

s were earmarked for these squadrons. With the rise of the "

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

" and the increasing tension in Europe, a change was seen as necessary and regular, full-time squadrons became the force's frontline. In December 1948, No. 1 Air Defence Group was created in Ottawa, Ontario. In November 1949 Group Headquarters moved to RCAF Station St. Hubert, Quebec. No. 1 Air Defence Group became Air Defence Command in June 1951. The command reached its highest strength in 1955, by which time nine Regular Force squadrons (flying

Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck (affectionately known as the "Clunk") is a Canadian twinjet interceptor/ fighter designed and produced by aircraft manufacturer Avro Canada. It has the distinction of being the only Canadian-designed fighter to ...

s) and ten Auxiliary squadrons (flying Vampires and Mustangs) fell under its control. Among the reserve/Auxiliary squadrons was No. 401 Squadron RCAF, flying from St. Hubert and Montreal.

De Havilland Vampire The de Havilland DH100 Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteo ...

s served in both operational and air reserve units (Nos 400, 401, 402, 411,

438 Year 438 (Roman numerals, CDXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius II, Theodosius and Anicius Acilius Glabrio Faustus, Glabrio (or, less frequ ...

and 442 Squadrons RCAF) until retirement in the late 1950s when they were replaced by the

Canadair Sabre The Canadair Sabre is a Jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft built by Canadair under licence from North American Aviation. A variant of the North American F-86 Sabre, it was produced until 1958 and used primarily by the Royal Canadian Air Force ...

. Among the CF-100 units were: * No. 428 Squadron RCAF, the first CF-100 All-Weather Fighter Squadron, 1954 - 1961. * No. 410 Squadron RCAF, flying CF-100s from RCAF Station Uplands, Ontario (1956-) * No. 414 Squadron RCAF, flying CF-100s and later CF-101 Voodoos from RCAF Station North Bay, 1957–64 * No. 433 Squadron RCAF, flying CF-100s, 1955-1961 * No. 445 Squadron RCAF, flying CF-100s from North Bay, 1 April to 31 August 1953. As equipment capability increased, and the perceived Soviet bomber threat diminished, the requirement for numbers decreased, and the nine CF-100 squadrons were replaced by five CF-101 squadrons, which later fell to three. The auxiliary squadrons also lost their air defence role. At the same time, the Pinetree Line, the Mid-Canada Line and the DEW Line radar stations, largely operated by the RCAF, were built across Canada because of the growing Soviet nuclear threat. On January 1, 1957, the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. joint-service Continental Air Defense Command placed the US defenses in a geometric "Canadian Northeast Area" under the operational control of the Canadian Air Defence Command. Installations affected appear to have included the Hall Beach DEW Line station constructed 1955–1957 and the Hopedale stations set up as part of the 1954 Pinetree Line and 1957 Mid-Canada Line. In September 1957, the Command became part of the new

North American Air Defense Command North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ; , CDAAN), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and pr ...

(NORAD). Air Defence Command headquarters moved to

CFB North Bay Canadian Forces Base North Bay, also CFB North Bay, is an Canadian Forces base, air force base located at the City of North Bay, Ontario, North Bay, Ontario about northwest of Ottawa. The base is subordinate to 1 Canadian Air Division, Winnip ...

, Ontario, in August 1966. In 1968 the units of the command were listed as: *No. 409 AW (F) Squadron CFB Comox, British Columbia. Flew the CF-101B aircraft. *No. 414 (EWOT) Squadron CFB St. Hubert, Quebec. Flew the CF-100 5 aircraft. *No. 416 AW (F) Squadron

CFB Chatham Canadian Forces Base Chatham or CFB Chatham was a Canadian Forces Base located immediately south of the town of Chatham, New Brunswick, Canada. Parts are now operating as Miramichi Municipal Airport since 1974 with a partial runway available ...

, New Brunswick. Flew the CF-101B aircraft. *No. 417 (ST/R) Squadron

CFB Cold Lake Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake , abbreviated as CFB Cold Lake, is a Canadian Forces Base in the City of Cold Lake, Alberta. The facility is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is approximately south of the ...

, Alberta. Flew the CF-104D aircraft. *No. 425 AW (F) Squadron CFB Bagotville, Quebec. Flew the CF-101B aircraft. *No. 445 (SAM) Squadron

, Ontario. Equipped with the Bomarc missile. *No. 447 (SAM) Squadron

La Macaza La Macaza () is a municipality and village in the province of Quebec, Canada. The village is located in the Laurentian Mountains, in the Laurentides (region), Laurentian region, in Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality. Its population was ...

, Quebec. Equipped with the

CIM-10 Bomarc The Boeing CIM-10 Bomarc ("Boeing Michigan Aeronautical Research Center") (IM-99 Weapon System prior to September 1962) was a supersonic ramjet powered long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) used during the Cold War for the air defense of No ...

missile. In 1974 CFB Chatham, St. Margarets Detachment became the site for a Satellite Tracking Unit (SITU). In September 1975 the Command was reduced to Air Defence Group and came under command of Air Command. In 1984 Air Defence Group was renamed as Fighter Group. In 1987 Fighter Group was merged with Canadian NORAD Region to create a unified air defence command for Canada. Fighter Group/Canadian NORAD Region was amalgamated into 1 Canadian Air Division on its formation in 1997.

Notes

References and further reading

* * *Don Nicks
A History of the Air Services in Canada
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140926002302/http://www.canmilair.com/rcafhistory.htm , date=2014-09-26 , CanMilAir.com Canadian armed forces air commands Air defence commands (military formations) Military units and formations established in 1951 Military units and formations disestablished in the 1970s 1951 establishments in Canada