Canadian Forces Station Alsask (CFS Alsask) was a military radar station in the

Rural Municipality of Milton No. 292 The Rural Municipality of Milton No. 292 ( 2016 population: ) is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Census Division No. 13 and Division No. 6. Located in the west-central portion of the province, it is ...

, just north of the hamlet of

Alsask, Saskatchewan Alsask is a List of communities in Saskatchewan#Special service areas, special service area in the List of rural municipalities in Saskatchewan, Rural Municipality of Rural Municipality of Milton No. 292, Milton No. 292, in the Provinces and te ...

, Canada, a village on the

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

border. It is within the

. RCAF Station Station Alsask was opened in 1963 as part of the

Pinetree Line 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 Comm ...

NORAD North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ; , CDAAN), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and pr ...

radar stations. The station was later renamed CFS Alsask when the military branches were merged. The station was part of

44 Radar Squadron 44 may refer to: * 44 (number) * one of the years 44 BC, AD 44, 1944, 2044 Military *44M Tas, a Hungarian medium/heavy tank design of World War II *44M Tas Rohamlöveg, a Hungarian tank destroyer design of World War II, derived from the 44M Tas ta ...

and had a call sign of ''November, Jade Ring''. The station was disbanded in 1987 and has been taken over by the village. The station property became part of the Rural Municipality of Milton when the village of Alsask was dissolved in 2009. The station consisted of three radar domes, housing, a school, swimming pool, with a staff complement of 125 (military) and 60 civilian workers.

Alsask Radar Dome

The last remaining radar dome (), built in 1961, was designated a heritage property in 2002. CFD Alsask Sign

The structure situated on the 7 acres of land houses a fiberglass dome used to protect the radar equipment from the weather on a four-story tower, with the lower stories consisting of a computer level and command/control level. It was jointly utilized by the Canadian and American governments for monitoring Soviet activity in the North American airspace. The first floor contained the receiving equipment and the second floor housed the transmitting equipment. It was disbanded in 1987 and was designated a heritage property in 2002. The site is currently managed by the Canadian Civil Defence Museum and Archives and is open periodically for tours.

Construction

Construction of the dome began in 1961 and the dome was completed two years later. The dome, which protects the radar equipment, is made of fibreglass. The tower itself is made of steel with metal cladding.

References

External links

Pinetreeline.org - Description of Alsask

Site

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Canadian Forces bases in Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Air Force stations Milton No. 292, Saskatchewan

Alsask Alsask is a special service area in the Rural Municipality of Milton No. 292, in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Alsask is located west of the town of Kindersley. Highway 44 runs to the east of Alsask, and Highway 7 lies a few kilomet ...

Division No. 13, Saskatchewan {{SKDivision13-geo-stub