CFS Gander

CFS Gander (1953-1990) - A Cold War Pinetree Line Canadian Forces Radar Station first established in 1953 near Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador. Named CFS Gander Air Station. Initially assigned an ID of N-25 that later became C-25. Closed in 1990. 222 Aircraft Warning Squadron Established in 1952 as a U.S. Air Force funded radar site and became operational on 23 Nov 1953 as CFS Gander manned by the Canadian 222 AC&W Squadron. The station initially had both a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and early warning misssion. The early warnng mission involved tracking and identifing all aircraft entering their airspace while the GCI mission involved guiding Air Force interceptors to any identified enemy aircraft. Controllers at the station vectored fighter aircraft at the correct course and speed to intercept enemy aircraft using voice commands via ground-to-air radio. Initial equipment included the FPS-3C search radar and an FPS-502 height finder radar. The initial installation did not have a radome installed to cover the radar antenna and the squadron did not have long distance communications with the next echelon. The search radar was later upgraded to an FPS-20A and then to an FPS-93A. A FPS-6B height finder radar was installed and that was replaced with an FPS-26. On 1 Nov 1966, the squadron was reduced to a NORAD Surveillance Station and on 26 July 1978 CFS Gander completed integration with the SAGE System using the FYQ-47 to transmit data to the direction center. CFS Gander and the 222 Radar Squadron were deactivated on 1 Jul 1990. A minimally attended 3D FPS-117 solid state radar set was installed on the site circa 1990-1993 may may still be in place. CFS Gander Major Equipment List Search Radar HF Radar Data Systems FPS-3C FPS-20A FPS-93A FPS-117 TPS-502 FPS-6B FPS-26 FYQ-47 Unit Designations Sep 1953 - 226 Aircraft Warning Squadron 28 Dec 1954 - 226 Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron. 26 July 1978 - 226 Radar Squadron SAGE system hookup completed. 222 AC&W Assignments 1953-1990 CFS Gander Current Status There is a Canadian Coastal Radar now located at the site at Gander, possibly the FPS-117 3D radar. {"selectable":false,"width":"500"} Location: CFB Gander in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Maps & Images Lat: 48.94333 Long: -54.58250 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 496' See Also: Permanent System Radar Sites US Radar Sets Pinetree Line Sources: Pinetree Line - History of CFS Gander 1979 Links: Radomes - CFS Gander Air Station Wikipedia - CFB Gander Pinetree Line - FPS 117 Gander Installation Visited: No