Canada's Bomarc Squadrons

The RCAF operated two Surface-to-Air Missile Squadrons. The first to form was No. 446 (Surface/Air Missile) Squadron located at RCAF Station North Bay, Ontario, on 28 December 1961. The unit acquired the nickname of "Griffon" from the central device of their official badge which was a Griffon holding two swords. The designation was later changed to 446 (Suface-to-Air Missile) Squadron.

The Griffons were to have been named as No. 1 (Surface-to-Air Missile) Squadron but this was amended prior to stand up and the unit was designated as 446 to remain within the RCAF 400 series block.

Construction for the site, located just outside of the city of North Bay on Highway 11 north, began in May 1960. Within the site perimeter were two major areas. The first was a support area which was fenced off and manned by security personnel on a 24-hour basis. Within the support area was a second fenced compound which was the launch area. As the actual site was away from the physical location of RCAF Station North Bay, 446 Squadron was a lodger unit of the Station. Operational control of the squadron was exercised the the Northern NORAD Region through the 41st NORAD Region.

446 (Bomarc) Squadron received their first warheads on 31 December 1963. Immediately upon arrival at the station, the devices were convoyed directly to the squadron location. While in Canada the weapons were actually in the custody od Detachment 1 of the USAF's 425th Munitions Maintenance Squadron.

The launch area was the heart of the squadron and this was where the squadron's complement of 28 missiles were located. The missile shelters were 60 feet long and 36 feet wide. The shelters were fully enclosed with a hydraulically operated roof. Each shelter held a single Boeing CIM-10B Bomarc missile. The missiles were built in Seattle except for the wings which were manufacrured at Canadair of Montreal.

The squadron members maintained their missiles and remained on stand-by on a 24 hour basis. As the missiles could not be test fired from North Bay, an elaborate system was set up whereby the missiles were constantly checked and serviced. The missiles were also connected into the SAGE system so that controllers could maintain a selected firing vigilance. When the missile was fied, it first followed a programmed vertical path and then levelled out on a general heading towards the target. Through the SAGE, controllers would guide the missile on the correct heading until the missile was close enough for its internal guidance system to take over and lock onto the target.

To ensure proper qualifications and procedures were maintained, periodic Combat Evaluation Launch exercises were held at the Eglin Gulf Test Range at Eglin AFB, Florida: all in all, a rather nice period of temporary duty for the unit personnel as the exertcises were normally held in the dead of the Canadian winter. These exercises used not only the training rounds held at Eglin but also Combat Ready Missiles. When these were used, at least one would be removed from the squadron and transported to Eglin. There, the missile was fired on a live intercept, using non-special weapons, to ensure that the Combat Ready Missiles were fully operational.

By the late Sixties, the Bomarcs were rapidly beginning to show their 1950's technology. Even with upgrades they were no longer seen as a viable defence weapon. At the same time, the repeated budget cuts to the military saw the need for some cut-back and readjustments. All of these factors combined, resulted in 446 (SAM) Squadron disbanding on 1 September 1972.

While the squadron has long since departed, the shelters have remained. They are in surprisingly good shape and the whole area is still being used as part of Canadore College's helicopter flight operations.