RCAF Station Cranberry Portage | |
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Mid-Canada Line Sector Control Station 700 | |
Part of Mid-Canada Line | |
Cranberry Portage, Manitoba, Canada | |
Coordinates | 54°35′08″N101°22′17″W / 54.58547°N 101.37139°W |
Site information | |
Controlled by | |
Site history | |
Built | 1957 |
Built by | |
In use | 1957 - January 1964 |
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Cranberry Portage (also RCAF Station Cranberry Portage) was a military installation located in Cranberry Portage, Manitoba.
Located on Athapapuskow Lake, RCAF Cranberry Portage was one of eight Sector Control Stations (SCS 700) on the Mid-Canada Line system of early warning radar stations. Each SCS received signals from a series of unmanned doppler transmitters located approximately 50 km apart. In Cranberry Portage, radio wave signals were transmitted along the chain of stations to the SCS, then to RCAF Station North Bay by land line. The radar station achieved full strength in April 1957 and was supported by RCAF Station Winnipeg.
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 less-advanced Pinetree Line, which was located further 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 more capable DEW Line further north.
The Mid-Canada Line operations ceased in January 1964 [1] and RCAF Station Cranberry Portage was turned over by the Department of National Defence to the Government of Manitoba for civilian use.
The Department of National Defence, commonly abbreviated as DND, is a Canadian government department responsible for defending Canada's interests and values at home and abroad.
The residential and other facilities were used by the Frontier School Division and by the late 1960s, the Frontier Collegiate Institute was established, using one of the barracks as the Frontier Collegiate Residence, as well as the Area Four Administrative Office.
Frontier School Division is the largest geographical school division in Manitoba, Canada, covering most schools in northern Manitoba. With 41 schools operating across Manitoba, the Frontier School Division provides educational services to a larger geographical area than any other school division in Canada. A unique organization, the Frontier School Division operates schools in small Manitoba communities that are often only accessible by boat, air, rail, or winter ice road.
Today, the former mess hall provides all dietary services to high school students who reside on campus. The former Officers Mess is utilized primarily as a meeting room and location for large group presentations, and though the bar is still present, it has not been used for its intended purpose since the change of ownership. The helicopter hangar is now the home to the Area Four school buses. Officers houses are now homes provided to teachers at subsidized rents, while the three barracks are used only for storage. The facility-wide mechanical systems are also still operational including an underground freshwater storage tank.
Royal Air Force Digby otherwise known as RAF Digby is Royal Air Force station located near Scopwick and 11.6 mi (18.7 km) south east of Lincoln, in Lincolnshire, England. The station is home to the tri-service Joint Service Signals Organisation, part of Joint Forces Intelligence Group of Joint Forces Command. Other units include the RAF Aerial Erector School, No. 54 Signals Unit and No. 591 Signals Unit.
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.
Cranberry Portage is an unincorporated community recognized as a local urban district located in the Rural Municipality of Kelsey, Manitoba. It was an important part of the pre-European contact trade routes of the Cree and Assiniboine peoples. Long before the fur trade with the Bay and during the Fur Trade, this location was used as a campsite and portage between Grassy River, at the head of a number of well-used routes from Hudson Bay, and Lake Athapapuskow, which connected to the Saskatchewan River system. Once on the Saskatchewan routes were open through the prairies to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
Canadian Forces Station Alert, also CFS Alert, is a Canadian Armed Forces signals intelligence intercept facility located in Alert, Nunavut, Canada, on the northeastern tip of Ellesmere Island.
RCAF Station Beaver Bank was a long-range Pinetree Line early warning radar station operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force, located in central Nova Scotia near the community of Beaver Bank. The site is now known as Beaver Bank Villa.
Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg, is a Royal Canadian Air Force base located within the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Co-located at the Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, CFB Winnipeg is home to many flight operations support divisions, as well as several training schools. Its primary RCAF lodger unit is 17 Wing, commonly referred to as 17 Wing Winnipeg.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Winisk was a military installation located in Winisk, Ontario.
Canadian Forces Station Falconbridge was a military radar station in the Canadian province of Ontario, active from 1952 to 1985.
Canadian Forces Station Sydney, also known as CFS Sydney, is a former Canadian Forces Station located in the community of Lingan Road, Nova Scotia.
RCAF Station St. Margarets is a former Royal Canadian Air Force station and later a Canadian Forces detachment located in the community of St. Margarets, New Brunswick.
RCAF Station Macdonald was a RCAF air training station located 16 km (10 mi) northwest of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.
Canadian Forces Base Portage la Prairie is a former military airport located adjacent to Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada. Today the airport is operated as Portage la Prairie/Southport Airport.
Rochester Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 7.3 miles (11.7 km) east-northeast of Rochester, Minnesota. It was closed in 1957.
Canadian Forces Station Ramore is a closed General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Ramore, Ontario. It was closed in 1974. It was operated as part of the Pinetree Line network controlled by NORAD. It has since been sold and is now private property.
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.
Cranberry Portage station is a station located in Cranberry Portage in Manitoba, Canada which is west of Grass river Provincial park in North central Manitoba. The station is served by Via Rail's "The Pas-Pukatawagan" line for the Keewatin Railway twice per week in each direction.
Canadian Forces Station Beausejour is a closed General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 45.1 miles (72.6 km) east-northeast of Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was closed in 1986.
RCAF Station Parent was a Canadian early warning radar station and formed part of the Pinetree Line air defence network. Ground was broken in 1951, and by 1954 the station was operational. 14 Aircraft Control & Warning (AC&W) Squadron was the lodger unit operating the facility. In 1963 the station was moved to Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) operation; in 1964 it closed, as it was deemed redundant with more powerful radar stations coming online in the sector.
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.