Lowther, ON

It appears on official Department of Highways road maps, but to people outside the Kapuskasing District, the place named Lowther has little significance.

But Lowther is home and work to about 200 American airmen, members of the 639^th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron. These men operate about $6,000,000 worth of radar equipment that keeps watch in the sky over more than 18,000 square miles of Ontario’s northland. This radar scans the sky from Sudbury to James Bay and beyond.

Lowther is one link in a chain of radar sites making up the Pinetree Line. Further north is the Distant Early Warning Line.

Actually the air base at Lowther is not at Lowther proper, but lies about two miles east of the hamlet, adjacent to Highway 11. Lowther itself is a railway siding and a few houses 27 miles west of here.

The base is only a few yards from the highway. The high white domes that house the radar antennae, almost 60 feet in diameter, are visible for several miles over tree-top level. A group of slate-gray buildings forms the base community beneath the domes.

Lowther radar base is part of the Sault Ste. Marie sector, 30^th Air Division, Strategic Air Command. The base keeps watch over a portion of Ontario that is roughly 100 miles wide and 200 miles in length. The radar limits can be extended even further if necessary. Each bade overlaps the other to a small extent.

Like most radar sites, the base at Lowther is either over-rated, under-rated, or completely misunderstood by the public. Few people have only the slightest idea of the function of the site.

A visit to the base is as simple as picking up the telephone and arranging a suitable date with the Commanding Officer, Major Arthur A Fox. Groups and individuals have been visiting the base as often as once a week and are always welcome. In addition to watching the skies above, personnel at the base are as interested in explaining the base’s operation to visitors.

There are no secrets at Lowther. The technical side of its operation is so complex the average layman can barely understand a fifth of what is being told him. He may or may not realize it, but about the only thing not divulged is the frequency at which the radar apparatus operates.

The base is surrounded by fencing, and there is a guard on duty at the main gate. But the fence is not to keep people out, but rather to ensure no one gets in who has no idea where he may be heading. Radar equipment consumes vast amounts of electricity and even the radiation from the radar scanning antennae can be dangerous.

Isolated sites are chosen for radar bases simply because they are isolated to some degree. Radar can pick up ground buildings and farms and other installations which can only make scanning harder.

Major Fox is the third Commanding Officer at Lowther, since the base became operational about three years ago. He is a native of northern Wisconsin, with 20 years in the Air Force. Amiable and pleasant to meet, he has become so attached to this part of the province he is extending his tour of duty beyond the required two years. He lives comfortably with his family in a trailer on base.

A firm believer in air defence, the major has little difficulty convincing his visitors of the role being played by his own and other similar sites. Until present world tension has been eased, and there is a guarantee of no future wars, it will always be necessary to be prepared.

It is like insurance, he explains "You hope you never need it; you may never need it; but it is still nice to have".

The radar base serves a two-fold purpose, defence and offence. As a defensive unit, it tracks and locates aircraft that may be potentially hostile. Offensively, it guides into position fighter and retaliatory aircraft ordered to engage hostile aircraft.

A tour of the base usually begins with the complicated set-up that is the radar tracking unit itself. One dome holds the ordinary sweeping radar that turns 360 degrees, constantly searching the horizon. The second dome houses radar that rocks back and forth, serving as a height finder. There is nothing in the balloon structure but the antenna and rotating gear. The balloon itself is of thin rubber fabric kept inflated by air.

Nerve centre of the entire base is a darkened room at the base of the radar domes that houses the electronic equipment translating the radar echo into a picture on a round scope, much similar to the glass face of a television picture tube. Here, there may be as few as two officers manning receiving scopes or as many as a dozen.

The room is kept darkened to permit easy reading of the scopes, which glow with a phosphorescent greenness. Pictures of aircraft are translated as small dots of light that show up as each sweep of the antenna is made.

A large, illuminated, transparent map is mounted in front of the scope operators. As they read information from the radar, it is translated into lines and numbers on the map. The map is a duplicate of the area served by the base radar. Here, men who are proficient in writing backwards, from the rear of the map, translate radar readings into a pattern and plot the course of the aircraft.

There may be one aircraft or as many as 20 moving across the sector map. Major Fox can receive instant information about any one or all of the aircraft being tracked at a moments notice.

At times, practice interceptions are held and the base personnel skilfully guide a fighter plane on an interception course, constantly watching the progress plotting map.

Of the 200 airmen at Lowther, about 120 are actually involved in radar operations. About two hours time is all one man can spend at a stretch in front of a radar set in a darkened room. During an alert, a dozen officers may be seated before as many sets in the control room.

The remaining 80 men are known as "housekeeping" personnel. These are the men who maintain the base, mechanics, cooks, clerks and transport drivers.

As a semi-isolated base, Lowther is almost self-contained. Living quarters are provided for all single men and officers and those airmen who have not brought their families north. Married airmen live either in the trailer park adjacent to the base or in Kapuskasing, Hearst or one of the smaller communities nearby.

Unless on alert, the base is usually operated in eight hour shifts around the clock.

Barracks quarters are clean and spacious. Rooms are furnished but the men may provide any additional furnishing they desire, including wall to wall carpeting, if they can afford it. Airmen and most non-commissioned officers bunk two to a room, but officers have single quarters. Laundry facilities are provided in each of the airmen’s, NCO’s and officers barracks. There is also a lounge in each building.

The base also houses a small gymnasium, which doubles as a movie theatre, post exchange and even a close-circuit radio station. Squadron members also have easy access to entertainment in Kapuskasing off duty.

The base is served by a dentist who also visits Pagwa and Ramore, and has a dispensary where medical aid may be obtained. The airmen eat in a large, spacious dining room, airmen’s section and officer’s area divided only by a low counter. The kitchen is kept in immaculate condition.

Electricity is obtained from Ontario Hydro, but standby generators are kept in readiness in case of emergency. Water is obtained from a well, and heating and air conditioning is done from a central plant.

Squadron members constantly undergo training. Three civilians are at the base full time to instruct in equipment repair and maintenance. Parts for the complex gear can run as high as almost $2,000 for a mammoth tube.

Major Fox is Base Commander, and in charge of operations is Major Walter Falk. Both have been in the Air Force since World War II days.

Lowther is linked by instant communication with other centres of air defence. These "hot" lines are always open and an officer at Lowther, simply by a flip of a switch, or switches, can talk to places as far away as Colorado, centre of the North American Air Defense.

Radar at Lowther is designed to detect manned aircraft. More complex radar is being developed to spot missile launchings, as missiles give considerably less warning to impending arrival than manned aircraft.

The entire radar defence surrounding North America ensures that one or more manned bombers, carrying destructive nuclear armament greater than the total firepower delivered by all bombers in World War II, will not get through undetected.

This article was printed in the Kapuskasing newspaper during 1961, when the USAF was still manning the Pinetree Line radar station at Lowther. We thank Terry for making it available on our web site.