Pinetree Line

Pinetree Line
Pinetree Line
Active	1951–1991
Country	Canada
Branch	Royal Canadian Air Force ; United States Air Force
Type	Early-warning radar
Role	Continental Air Defense
Part of	North American Aerospace Defense Command

Last updated April 11, 2024

The Pinetree Line was a series of radar stations located across southern Canada at about the 50th parallel north, along with a number of other stations located on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Run by North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) (after its creation), over half were staffed by United States Air Force personnel with the balance operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force. The line was the first coordinated system for early detection of a Soviet bomber attack on North America, but before the early 1950s radar technology quickly became outdated and the line was in full operation only for a short time.

History

Plans for what would become the Pinetree Line were underway as early as 1946 within the Permanent Joint Board on Defense (PJBD), a Canadian-U.S. organization. However, the costs of running such a system in the post-war era was too high, and instead Canada concentrated on the areas around Ontario and Quebec, while the United States set up stations in the Midwest and along the eastern seaboard. With the successful test of an atomic bomb in the USSR, plans changed considerably. In 1949 Congress agreed to a $161 million construction program in co-operation with the RCAF, for a continuous line of stations across southern Canada. The USAF's Continental Air Command and the RCAF met in October 1950 to start planning, and in January 1951 the PJBD presented Recommendation 51/1 for the Extension of the Continental Radar Defence System. The USAF later requested an additional set of six (potentially) mobile stations to provide low-level coverage. Later, it was learned the original radar systems performed better than expected, hence a number of the mobile sites were never deployed.

The system was eventually deployed as a series of 33 main stations and 6 smaller "gap fillers". The majority of these ran in a line at about the 53rd parallel in the west (to offer coverage of major Canadian cities) and about the 50th parallel in the east. A second line ran up the eastern seaboard from the southern tip of Nova Scotia to the southern tip of Baffin Island. Of these, 22 of the main stations and all of the gap fillers were paid for by the USAF, leaving 11 to the RCAF. However 16 of the main stations were staffed by RCAF personnel. On 1 January 1955, the system was officially handed over to RCAF command, and over time an additional 10 stations were added. The stations on the east coast used the Pole Vault system for communication.

The Pinetree Line had several technical problems that limited its usefulness almost immediately. For one, the system used a simple pulse radar technique, which made it unable to detect targets close to the ground due to radar clutter as well as being trivially easy to jam using the recently-introduced carcinotron tube. Another was that its location near population centres meant it offered only a last minute warning, and as the USSR moved to jet-powered bombers the warning time was reduced. Studies were already underway in 1951 to build a series of Doppler bistatic radar stations somewhat farther north, which would develop into the Mid-Canada Line. By 1957, just over a year after the Mid-Canada Line was operational, a more advanced long-range search radar, mainly in the Canadian north and Alaska were deployed comprising the Distant Early Warning Line.

The Pinetree stations were kept operational during this period, and most underwent modifications as a part of the deployment of the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE). SAGE dramatically reduced the workload at the stations, cutting staff requirements by well over half. By the later 1950s some were being mothballed as newer systems came on line to the north. Nevertheless, many of the Pinetree stations were kept operational into the 1980s, particularly on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

Radar stations

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Initial sort is based on longitude from east to west.

Site number	Name	Province	Unit	Service	Activated	Deactivated
N-22	Red Cliff Air Station St. Johns Air Station	NL	642d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron	USAF	1953	1961
N-22B	Elliston Ridge Air Station	NL	642d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron	USAF	1957	1961
N-25	CFB Gander	NL	226 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1953	1990
N-26B	La Scie Air Station	NL	921st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron	USAF	1957	1961
N-26	Saint Anthony Air Station	NL	921st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron	USAF	1953	1968
N-27C	Fox Harbour Air Station	NL	922d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron	USAF	1957	1961
N-27B	Spotted Island Air Station	NL	922d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron	USAF	1957	1961
N-27	Cartwright Air Station	NL	922d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron	USAF	1953	1968
N-27A	Cut Throat Island Air Station	NL	922d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron	USAF	1957	1961
N-23	Stephenville Air Station	NL	105th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron 640th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron	USAF	1952	1971
N-28A	Cape Makkovik Air Station	NL	923d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron	USAF	1957	1961
C-34	CFS Sydney	NS	221 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1954	1991
N-28	Hopedale Air Station	NL	923d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron	USAF	1953	1968
C-24	Goose Air Force Base	NL	Goose Air Defense Sector 21st Air Division 26th Air Division 37th Air Division 59th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron 64th Air Division 95th Strategic Wing 4082d Strategic Wing 4732d Air Defense Group 6603d Air Base Group	USAF	1953	1971
N-24	Melville Air Station	NL	107th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron 641st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron 641 Aircraft Control and Radar Squadron	USAF RCAF	1953	1988
N-29	CFS Saglek	NL	924th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron	USAF	1953	1970
C-11	RCAF Beaverbank	NS	22 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1954	1964
N-30	CFS Resolution Island	NT ^{[lower-alpha 1]}	920th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron	USAF	1951	1961
C-5	CFS St. Margarets	NB	21 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1953	1988
C-102	CFS Barrington	NS	672d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron 23 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	USAF RCAF	1957	1990
C-33	CFS Moisie	QC	211 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1953	1988
N-31	Frobisher Bay Air Base	NT ^{[lower-alpha 1]}	926th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron	USAF	1953	1961
C-6	RCAF St. Sylvestre	QC	13 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1955	1964
C-1	CFS Mont Apica	QC	12 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1952	1990
C-2	CFS Lac St. Denis	QC	11 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1952	1986
C-42	CFS Chibougamau	QC	10 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1962	1988
C-7	RCAF Parent	QC	14 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1954	1964
C-8	CFS Senneterre	QC	34 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1953	1988
C-3	CFS Foymount	ON	32 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1952	1974
C-4	CFS Edgar	ON	31 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1953	1964
C-10	CFS Ramore	ON	912th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron 35 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	USAF RCAF	1953	1974
C-44	CFS Moosonee	ON	15 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1961	1975
C-9	CFS Falconbridge	ON	33 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1952	1986
C-119	CFS Lowther	ON	639th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron 36 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	USAF RCAF	1957	1987
C-14	RCAF Station Pagwa	ON	913th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron 37 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	USAF RCAF	1952	1966
C-15	CFS Armstrong	ON	914th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron 38 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	USAF RCAF	1952	1974
C-16	CFS Sioux Lookout	ON	915th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron 39 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	USAF RCAF	1953	1987
C-17	CFS Beausejour	MB	916th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron 48 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	USAF RCAF	1953	1988
C-49	CFS Gypsumville	MB	47 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1962	1987
C-51	CFS Yorkton	SK	46 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1963	1986
C-52	CFS Dana	SK	45 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1964	1987
C-53	CFS Alsask	SK	44 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1953	1986
C-36	CFB Cold Lake	AB	42 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1954	1991
C-54	CFS Penhold	AB	43 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1964	1986
C-21	RCAF Saskatoon Mountain CFS Beaverlodge	AB	919th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron 57 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	USAF RCAF	1953	1988
C-153	CFS Kamloops	BC	825th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron 56 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	USAF RCAF	1957	1988
C-20	CFS Baldy Hughes	BC	918th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron 54 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	USAF RCAF	1953	1988
C-19	RCAF Station Puntzi Mountain	BC	917th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron 55 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	USAF RCAF	1952	1966
C-35	CFB Comox	BC	51 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron	RCAF	1954	1958
C-36	RCAF Tofino	BC	52 Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron	RCAF	1955	1957
C-18	CFS Holberg	BC	501 Aircraft Control and Warning (later Radar) Squadron 53 Radar Squadron	RCAF	1954	1991

1 2 These stations were originally in the NT but are currently located in Nunavut

Related Research Articles

The Mid-Canada Line (MCL), also known as the McGill Fence, was a line of radar stations running east–west across the middle of Canada, used to provide early warning of a Soviet bomber attack on North America. It was built to supplement the Pinetree Line, which was located farther south. The majority of Mid-Canada Line stations were used only briefly from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s, as the attack threat changed from bombers to ICBMs. As the MCL was closed down, the early warning role passed almost entirely to the newer and more capable DEW Line farther north.

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Canadian Forces Station Sioux Lookout is a closed General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 3.7 miles (6.0 km) west of Sioux Lookout, Ontario. It was closed in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CFS Beaverlodge</span> Radar station in Alberta, Canada 1953–1988

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Makkovik Air Station</span> General Surveillance Gap Filler Radar station

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cut Throat Island Air Station</span> Former US Air Force radar station in Canada

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spotted Island Air Station</span> General Surveillance Gap Filler Radar station

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox Harbour Air Station</span> Canadian radar station

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Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) was a Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense, tasked with air defense for the Continental United States. It comprised Army, Air Force, and Navy components. It included Army Project Nike missiles anti-aircraft defenses and USAF interceptors. The primary purpose of continental air defense during the CONAD period was to provide sufficient attack warning of a Soviet bomber air raid to ensure Strategic Air Command could launch a counterattack without being destroyed. CONAD controlled nuclear air defense weapons such as the 10 kiloton W-40 nuclear warhead on the CIM-10B BOMARC. The command was disestablished in 1975, and Aerospace Defense Command became the major U.S. component of North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).

Royal Canadian Air Force Station St. Sylvestre was a Radar station of the Canadian Pinetree Line, located at Saint-Sylvestre, Quebec, in the Lotbinière Region, sixty-nine kilometres south Quebec City. Construction starting in 1952, the Station opened on 15 September 1953, first as RCAF Station Ste-Marie, being renamed RCAF Station St. Sylvestre, on 1 August 1955.

References

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

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
The Pinetree Line

External links

1997 video documentary by Greg Marshall – Personal stories from Canada's role in the Cold War and NORAD

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Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[fn1-1] 1 2 These stations were originally in the NT but are currently located in Nunavut

[lower-alpha 1]

v t e Canada in the Cold War
Events	1972 Summit Series 1974 Summit Series Gouzenko Affair
Defectors	Igor Gouzenko Mikhail Baryshnikov Tamás Buday Igor Vasilyevich Ivanov Yuri Bezmenov
Alleged Soviet agents	Sam Carr Lauchlin Currie Gordon Lunan E. Herbert Norman Fred Rose John Watkins Emma Woikin
Military	Canadian peacekeeping NORAD DEW Line Mid-Canada Line Pinetree Line Canadian Forces Europe Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow Canada and weapons of mass destruction CIM-10 Bomarc
Government	Canada–Soviet Union relations Emergency Government Headquarters CFS Carp PROFUNC
Other	Radar Station Young Communist League of Canada