The Ground Observer Corps (GObC) was a civilian organization within the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

formed in October 1950 to help identify intruder aircraft in the era before 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 ...

radar network was fully operational. Members were required to report any sighting of an aircraft with four or more engines via Forces-supplied radios. Its formation prompted the USAF to introduce its own

Ground Observer Corps The Ground Observer Corps (GOC), sometimes erroneously referred to as the Ground ''Observation'' Corps, was the name of two American civil defense organizations during the middle 20th century. World War II organization The first Ground Observer ...

the next year, and the two organizations operated in concert until both were deactivated in the late 1950s. The force's motto was "The eyes and ears of the RCAF". While

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

systems and computerized control systems were introduced through the 1950s to replace the Corps, on many occasions they demonstrated themselves far superior to the new systems. In one 1955 test, USAF

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...

bombers conducted a mock attack on North America to test the defensive network. The GObC's reports beat the radar systems by three hours. At its height, the GObC contained 50,000 members.

References

* * * Royal Canadian Air Force 1950 establishments in Canada {{mil-stub