Canada's Bomarc Missiles

Nuclear Warheads in North Bay

Initial Warhead Delivery

Once it had been announced that the 16 August 1963 agreement had been signed, people naturally thought that warheads would be soon forthcoming. The MND was asked in late November if there were any nuclear weapons on Canadian soil, and he replied "Not that I am aware of." The vaguely amused Member went on to ask whether the MND would be aware of it if they were indeed stored on Canadian soil. Hellyer replied "I would hope so". However, there is evidence to suggest that as early as 1950 the USAF was storing nuclear weapons in Canada without the MND being appraised of such.

Two weeks later the Prime Minister was asked if there were US nuclear weapons at La Macaza, North Bay, or any other bases in Canada. The fact that it is possible for there to have been SAC weapons at Goose Bay without the express knowledge of the PM is probably what lead Pearson not to answer, even though there were no such weapons at the five RCAF ADC stations. Again the Member pressed the PM for an answer, but Pearson replied that he had still not be advised "to that effect". Perhaps the most interesting statement given by the Government concerning delivery was made by the Associate Minister of National Defence. He said that the delivery of nuclear weapons is subject to the authorization of the US President personally, and that "President Kennedy's untimely death has caused some delay." Perhaps if it had not been for the assassination of Kennedy, the first Bomarc warheads would have arrived a month earlier.

On 30 December 1963, US President Lyndon B Johnson signed a one page top secret memo for US Secretary of Defense Robert S McNamara. This memo, still unavailable, authorized the shipment of US nuclear weapons to Canada for the arming of Canadian military systems. Just over 24 hours later, the first warheads were in Canada.

The first warheads for the Bomarc arrived not in secret, as is usual for nuclear weapons shipments, but to a great fanfare of press coverage. Reporters from the North Bay Nugget were present as the convoy of warhead carriers moved down the highway from the airfield to the Bomarc launcher site north of town. Newspapers across the country carried the story, along with photographs, of the warheads arriving in Canada on New Years' Eve, 1963.

At approximately 10:00 pm, 31 December 1963, with only two hours left in the year, a USAF Military Air Transport Command C-124C Globemaster transport aircraft, serial number 0-20975, of the 19 LSS, touched down at RCAF Station North Bay. The seven warheads were removed from the aircraft, and "convoyed to the Bomarc Site immediately on off-loading." Three trucks marked "Explosives" went from the airfield to the Bomarc site, and one stopped at the ordnance building for unloading. The remaining two trucks moved to the shelter area to deliver the warheads directly to the launchers. The next day MND Paul Hellyer would announce that the warheads delivered that night had been installed on the Bomarcs upon arrival.

Although the warheads had been expected, it is clear now that the Canadian Government and military were caught slightly off guard by their arrival. A week after the initial shipment, not only was Paul Martin talking to Pearson about the "unexpected arrival of warheads", but even the military was referring to the "recent sudden arrival of warheads".

The other problem evident from the initial delivery was that the customs service intended to inspect each imported shipment, and insisted on normal customs procedures, such as clearly marked crates, and perhaps even import duties. In the end this was waived, but customs was still present at each delivery. The Trade and Commerce Department eventually got their way, and External Affairs applied for permits for the import and export of US nuclear weapons on behalf of the United States.

The second of what came to be four initial shipments arrived at the airfield on 5 January 1964, and from the RCAF Station, a three-truck convoy proceeded north on #11 highway.

The third shipment of warheads provoked the greatest concern. Like the first two deliveries, the USAF Globemaster arrived under cover of darkness on 8 January at 3:00 AM, and immediately off-loaded seven or eight W40 warheads. The problem then began when a freak geological occurrence caused an earthquake in the North Bay area only two hours later. Residents feared that a Bomarc warhead had exploded, and that the shaking of the ground was a sign of the nuclear detonation. Many calls to the police and to Station North Bay revealed to residents that the apocalypse was not beginning.

With the arrival of the fourth shipment of warheads three days later on 11 January 1963, 446 SAM Squadron was fully and completely armed.

Questionable Detail - Gerry Gerow of 446 Squadron

The New Years Eve timing occurred because the Prime Minister had promised there would be nuclear weapons in Canada before the end of the year (1963). No one knew it was going to happen. The pilot of the US plane did not know where he was going until he was airborne. About 3:00pm the USAF custodial personnel working with 446 Squadron were contacted, told to sober up and report to work. They weren't told why. Only one war head was brought in. The rest followed later. The truck was inside the base compund before the press found out, thus there were no protests. A beautiful operation. The story about three trucks with two going direct to the missile shelters is pure hockum. The missiles were not armed until a couple of weeks later.

Additional Detail - Pete Pederson of 446 Squadron

I was an AFP at 446 SAM from October 1963 until my purchased release in August 1964. During my time we usually rotated amongst the various guard tasks: Front Gate, SAT Team, Inner Gate, Shelter Area Foot and Mobile Patrol. We also washed and waxed the floors on midnight shifts. I did all of it, of course. Sometime before New Year's Eve, I was the one person on my crew regularly assigned to the intrusion alarm room. I did not rotate on the other crew tasks for quite some time, and only came out of the alarm room to eat and go to the washroom. When I did come out I was relieved by one of the two Corporals on the crew. (It was a "treat" on the midnight shift to come out of the locked room, leave the door open and play hearts with Cpl Neil Mercer, Sgt. John ???? and whoever was on the front gate).

I seem to recall that the practice of assigning one person to operate the intrusion alarm systems and to control access to secure areas arose because procedures had become sloppy and not treated seriously. They wanted to "tighten up," especially on day shift when there was a lot of access activity (and bigwigs floating around).

Access control was as follows:

A control number greater than one was chosen for the shift and given to the "dispatchers" who sent out technical crews to work on the missiles and other equipment. The alarm operator would receive calls from a dispatcher who would provide team names and work order numbers. A minimum of two persons could be granted access to a secure area. On arrival they "buzzed" the intrusion alarm operator and give their names and work order number. He would give them a number. They had to respond with a number that would sum to the control number for the shift. If the responding number did not sum to the control number, they were deemed under duress and the SAT Team was dispatched. There was also communication with the USAF Police, who controlled access to the weapons storage area. Extended maintenance would require warheads to be removed from the missiles and taken to the USAF storage compound. Log sheets were used to record access, by whom, when in and when out.

On New Year's Eve 1963, the AFP normally assigned to the intrusion alarm room on the duty shift that evening had been given the shift off.

I may be off on this, but I seem to recall that Wayne Evers was the one given the time off. Wayne was a good friend originally from Commanda, just west of Trout Creek and was going with a girl (Gail?) from Powassan at the time. I've heard that Wayne is deceased.

On short notice "they" needed a knowledgeable alarm operator. I was single, lived in barracks and was the only one fully trained and available. I was called back to duty and was told there would be one single warhead brought in before midnight. There may have been some additional men recalled to fill out what would have been a skeleton crew (we worked 12 hour shifts over the holidays to allow the maximum number to go on leave).

It is my recollection that the one warhead was taken directly to the USAF Weapons Storage compound. It may have subsequently been taken to one of the missile shelters and installed in a missile, but I am not really sure. I remember nervously going through the security access procedures. I also recall there was some confusion and that I was going to deny access but was told by the Sergeant to back off and let them in. But in fairness, that last bit may be a flight of fancy imagination on my part.

I do clearly recall being told at the time that one missile was being brought in to meet Prime Minister Pearson's election promise that nuclear warheads would be on Canadian soil before the end of the year (1963). One of the major election issues was that Diefenbaker had killed the Arrow, established missile bases as an alternative, but had failed to arm them.

While only 20 at the time, it has always been my recollection that I played a very very minor role in a significant event in RCAF history.

My recollection may prompt someone else to comment.

I don't know how much it adds to the story, but: I wanted to go back to school, and asked for permission to enrol in the local high school, and to work steady evenings in the intrusion alarm room. I figured I could study and do homework during what was normally a quiet period.

When permission was denied I decided I was not going to get ahead in the RCAF and found a position as a municipal police officer (Deep River). When I applied to F/O Pete Simpson for release he offered me a promotion to Corporal and a transfer to Europe. I always figured I would end up walking a fence with a dog and chose to buy my release. I had to borrow the $100 minimum release fee from my parents. Simpson looked at the AFP org chart in his office and said he could identify every one of the AFP who would leave the Air Force out of dissatisfaction with the security duties we were tasking.

My daughter went to Canadore College and Nipissing University so I visited the base. It was both nostalgic and eyrie to see the general disrepair and rusted shelters that had figured so prominently in our military history. It is difficult to convey to my wife, let alone my children, the significance of this remnant of the Cold War.

All of which supports Gerry's comments, above: