Circa 1970s?
Photographer --unknown.
Henry & Eleanor Shumay Collection, City of Yorkton Archives.
In the 1960s, fear of nuclear attacks from the USSR led to radar base installations at various spots in Canada and the USA. The high white domes of the Radar Squadron Yorkton base could be seen for miles around. Opened in 1963, the station kept watch, scanning skies for hostile aircraft and missiles. A dome held sweeping, longrange radar equipment which turned 360 degrees constantly searching the horizon. A dark room at the base of the dome used electronic equipment translating the radar echo unto a screen. The base’s role was to detect and identify hostile objects, then transmit the information to bases in North Dakota and Montana. It also could guide into position a fighter aircraft mobilized for a recognizance and defence mission. On August 1, 1986, the Minister of National Defence authorized the disbanding of a number of radar stations, including Yorkton’s.
This History Corner ran in the Sept. 16, 2009 edition of Yorkton This Week.
Terri Lefebvre Prince
