In the early 1950s, the Sioux Lookout area was chosen by the USAF for the establishment of a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) radar site, one of the many that would make up the Pinetree line. The Air Force formed the 915th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Grenier AFB in New Hampshire in 1952 and in April of the following year, operations began at the unit's permanent home, Sioux Lookout Air Station.
As a GCI base, the 915th's role was to guide interceptor aircraft towards unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. These interceptors were based at Duluth International Airport in Minnesota. Air Defence operations for the area were included in a veritable encyclopedia of organizations, first in the USAF's Central Air Defense Force, the 30th Air Division, the Duluth Air Defense Sector, the 29th NORAD Division, the 23rd NORAD Region and by the 1980s, the 21st Region. Headquarters for these formations were also at DIA. Some of the 915th's equipment initially included an FPS-3 Search, a TPS-502 Height-Finder and an FPS-501 Back-Up Search radar.
Most military stations are dynamic entities. In that respect, Sioux Lookout was no different. In the early 60's, a few major changes occurred at the station. First, the USAF relinquished control of the station to the RCAF as a part of a larger deal which consisted of giving Canada a number of Voodoo interceptors in exchange for replacing US personnel with Canadian personnel at Pinetree and DEW Line sites. Upon hand-over, on 1 October 1962, the operating unit was re-designated 39 Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron and the base, RCAF Station Sioux Lookout. Second, approximately one year later, radar operations at 39 Squadron were automated and the station became a long-range radar site. It would no longer guide interceptors but only look for enemy aircraft. As a consequence of the change, the operating unit was once again re-named, this time as 39 Radar Squadron. Yet another change that decade was the upgrading of search and height-finder equipment.
During war-time, radar sites make attractive targets for saboteurs and pre-strike units. While there never was any real such threat to RCAF Station Sioux Lookout, the station was almost destroyed by an enemy sometimes even harder to control; fire. In June 1967, both the town and the station were close to extinction as fire raged in the area. Flames literally hugged 39 Squadron's operations site. As a result, one of the radomes was charred. But thanks to fire fighters, water bombers and a shift in the winds, the fire was abated and all except two trailers were saved. This wasn't exactly how station personnel wanted to celebrate Canada's Centennial.
In October of that same year, Sioux Lookout was once again re-designated. This time, the change was due to the creation of the Canadian Armed Forces, the new tri-service organization that absorbed the RCAF, RCN and the Canadian Army. 39 Radar Squadron, RCAF Station Sioux Lookout, became simply Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Sioux Lookout. A few years later, the light green RCAF uniforms were replaced by dark green tunics and trousers. The new CFS was first included in the Canadian Forces' new Air Defence Command, later replaced by Air Command's Air Defence Group. Support interceptors were still based at Duluth but these now belonged to the USAF's Air National Guard instead of its Aerospace Defense Command.
Early in 1983, the station once again fell under attack. This time, airborne troops battled against the station's Base Defence Force. Exercise "Polar Gloom" was designed to give the two parties experience in base defence and assault. A detachment of the Canadian Airborne Regiment was para-dropped several miles away and, after a long trek and careful reconnaissance, the signal to attack was sent. Artillery simulators exploded, thunderflashes flared and blank ammunition was fired in all directions. One enterprising trooper stole a snowmobile and crashed his way to the operations site with an "explosive" charge. But station personnel were waiting. He didn't make it. Others tried to sneak up on the remote radio site. Microphones around the site revealed their presence and they too were neutralized. Neither side won or lost in this war though and both learned valuable lessons.
The nest major change at Sioux Lookout came in the 1980s. After a lengthy review by both the Canadian and American defence ministries, it was decided to modernize the North American air defence infrastructure. DEW Line equipment was upgraded and the Line was renamed the North Warning System. With this newer equipment up north, it was decided to close most Pinetree stations. CFS Sioux Lookout was thus disbanded in July 1987 and the large white globes, the radar domes, became a thing of the past.
After disbandonment, the station was sold to the town of Sioux Lookout for 35,000. The Armed Forces' trailer park, established in the north-east corner of the town, was also sold to the town but for a much larger sum, $120,000. When visited by the author in 1988, all of the buildings still stood and much of the electronic equipment lay as a pile of junk in a fenced enclosure. Since then, the station has been sold to the Wawatay Native Communications Society for $1. The site can be reached by turning westwards on Highway 664, driving five kilometers and then turning right on the Pelican Falls Road. Keep to the right.
-- Paul Ozorak