CFS Yorkton

Last updated
RCAF Station Yorkton
Part of Pinetree Line
Coordinates 51°17′41″N102°36′21.5″W / 51.29472°N 102.605972°W / 51.29472; -102.605972 (Yorkton AS C-51)
Type Radar Station
Site information
Controlled byRoyal Canadian Air Force ensign.svg  Royal Canadian Air Force
Site history
Built 1961-1962
In use 1963-1986

Royal Canadian Air Force Station Yorkton (ADC ID: C-51) was a Long Range Radar (LRR) and Ground Air Transmitter Receiver (GATR) facility of the Pinetree Line. The site was SAGE compatible from day one. It was located near Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Pinetree Line

The Pinetree Line was a series of radar stations located across the northern United States and 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), over half were manned 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early detection of a Soviet bomber attack on North America, but before the early 1950s radar technology quickly became outdated and the line was in full operation only for a short time.

Yorkton City in Saskatchewan, Canada

Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about 450 kilometres north-west of Winnipeg and 300 kilometres south-east of Saskatoon and is the sixth largest in the province.

Saskatchewan Province of Canada

Saskatchewan is a prairie and boreal province in western Canada, the only province without a natural border. It has an area of 651,900 square kilometres (251,700 sq mi), nearly 10 percent of which is fresh water, composed mostly of rivers, reservoirs, and the province's 100,000 lakes.

Construction was started in 1961 and the station was operational in 1963. Radar functions were operated by 46 Radar Squadron under the control of NORAD. The site was renamed Canadian Forces Station or CFS Yorkton in 1967 upon the unification of the three branches of the Canadian military into the Canadian Armed Forces. CFS Yorkton was closed in 1986 as part of the deactivation of the Pinetree Line.

Unification of the Canadian Armed Forces 1968 merger of the Canadian Armed Forces

The unification of the Canadian Armed Forces took place on 1 February 1968, when the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force were merged to form the Canadian Armed Forces.

Canadian Armed Forces combined military forces of Canada

The Canadian Armed Forces, or Canadian Forces (CF), are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."

The White Spruce Youth Treatment Centre took over the site as a youth addiction facility until 1998 and now is the site of Orcadia Youth Residence as a youth custody facility. A lot of the original buildings remain in good condition.


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