CFS Gander

CFS Gander (1953-1990) - A Cold War Pinetree Line Canadian Forces Radar Station first established in 1953 near Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador as RCAF Station Gander. Reamed CFS Gander on 1 Feb 1968 with the reorganization of Canadian forces. Initially assigned an ID of N-25 that later became C-25. Closed in 1990. Cold War Following the outbreak of the Korean War on 25 Jun 1950 and in response to a perceived Soviet bomber threat the United States Air Force (USAF) created the Northeast Air Command (NEAC), as a major command, to defend the Northeastern air approaches to the US. NEAC was responsible for all air defense forces in Newfoundland, Labrador, eastern Canada, and Greenland. The plan for the NEAC area included the construction of 10 permanent radar stations in Canada and 3 stations in Greenland, all as a part of the Pinetree Line. Of the 10 Canadian stations, 9 were to be manned by USAF personnel and one was to be manned by RCAF personnel The sites were selected and construction began in 1951-52. 222 Aircraft Warning Squadron CFS Gander was established in 1952 as a U.S. Air Force funded radar site and became operational on 23 Nov 1953 manned by the Canadian 222 AC&W Squadron. This station initially had both a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and Early Warning (EW) mission. The early warnng mission involved tracking and identifing all aircraft entering their airspace while the GCI mission involved guiding Air Force interceptors to any unknown or enemy aircraft. Controllers at the station vectored fighter aircraft at the correct course, speed and altitude 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 in 1961 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. The 222 Radar Squadron was deactivated on 1 Jul 1990. FGCANRHQ Detachment Gander FGCANRHQ Detachment Gander formed on 6 Jul 1990 from 21 former members of the 226 Radar Squadron. Disbanded on 6 Aug 1993 with only 10 members remaining. The new radar (FPS-117) required only 3 technicians to maintain and they were to be housed in the community. The minimally attended 3D FPS-117 solid state radar set was installed on the site circa 1990-1993 remains in place as a part of the Canadian Costal Radar (CCR) system. 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. 222 AC&W Assignments 1953-1990 CFS Gander Current Status A Canadian Coastal Radar (CCR) now located on the site at Gander with an 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 - Alma Williams, History of CFS Gander 1979 Buss, Lydus H., US Air Defense in the Northeast 1940-1957, Historical Reference Paper No. 1, Office of Information Services, HQ Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), Ent AFB, 1 Apr 1957. Links: Radomes - CFS Gander Air Station Wikipedia - CFB Gander Pinetree Line - CFS Gander Pinetree Line - FPS 117 Gander Installation Visited: No