31 AC&W Squadron acted as both an Early Warning (EW) and a manual Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) unit. It not only warned of intruder aircraft but also guided interceptors towards it. The movement of all aircraft in a station's vicinity would be manually displayed on a large plotting board and the station's parent Air Defence Control Centre (in this case, also located at Edgar) would be kept in constant contact. 31 Squadron began these operations in June 1953 with an FPS-3 Search radar and an ISG-98 Height-Finder, the latter having an 80 mile range. Later on, Edgar acquired a more powerful Height-Finder in an FPS-6. The "6" had an 180-200 mile and 40,000 ft. detection capability.
The No. 3 Air Defence Control Centre at Edgar co-ordinated operations of not only 31 AC&W Squadron but also 32 Squadron at Foymount, 33 at Falconbridge, 34 at Senneterre and the USAF's 912th Squadron at Ramore. This ADCC was re-named the Ottawa NORAD sector in the late 1950's after the new bi-lateral organization was created. Its responsibility was increased in September 1962 when the Montreal NORAD Sector disbanded and stations in that sector were incorporated into Ottawa's.
Besides the change in sector geography, interceptor-control methodology also changed in the early 1960s. The above manual system was replaced by an automatic one where intruder flight characteristics (e.g. speed, direction, height) were now determined by computer and channeled directly to sector headquarters. This was the basis of the new Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system. 31 Squadron converted to the SAGE method in October 1961 and was put under operational control of Syracuse NORAD Sector Headquarters. In spite of the fact that operations at Edgar were now supervised by another SAGE Centre, Ottawa NORAD Sector Headquarters remained there until May 1963 when it moved to its new home in North Bay. 31 Radar Squadron was later put under Detroit Sector's purview. When radar equipment was upgraded at nearby stations however, Edgar became redundant. Operations at 31 Squadron ceased on March 20 1964 and the station disbanded eleven days later.
RCAF Station Edgar was sold to the Province of Ontario in November 1964 for $218,225. The provincial government transformed it into an Adult Occupational Centre, a school for handicapped individuals. It is very well maintained and still has all of the original buildings except for the operations centre and radar towers. Its location can be seen from afar since there is a high antenna where the operations site used to be. One can get there by driving north of Barrie on Highway 11 and then taking Simcoe County Road 57 westwards. This road leads right to the former station.
-- Paul Ozorak