St. John's, NF
1959 - Pepperrell AFB - Wally N Leeper
Pepperrell AFB was located on the outskirts of St. John's on the east side of the city. St. John's is as far east as you can get on the North American continent. If you had a map, the main gate to the base faced Quidi Vidi Lake, which is where the local population held their annual "Regatta" (rowing/sculling) competition. Well beyond the Quidi Vidi Lake was Signal Hill, where Marconi sent the first trans-Atlantic radio message. The base property ran east to the ocean, and then north along the coast.
The base was the Headquarters of 64th Air Division and contained the "Blockhouse" or ultra security facility where the movement of Russian aircraft was plotted. (Wally is describing the special AC&W Control Centre which was constructed on the White Hills at Pepperrell in the early 1950s. Built entirely of 8 to 10 inch concrete, the building, number 1050, was named the "Air War Room". The structure remained in 1990, with some renovations and outside vinyl siding, as the Department of Culture, Recreation and Youth of the Newfoundland Government).
As you traveled deeper into the base (from the main gate), the topography inclined quickly into the area which was known as the "White Hills" (estimated 2.44 acres). In my day, the White Hills contained the mortuary, where corpses were staged for transfer to the States after being received from such places as Iceland and Greenland. Near the morgue were the massive radar dishes. (Wally is now referring to the tropospheric antennas which provided the communication within the northeast area). Beyond these radar dishes in White Hills was the salvage and storage area, and beyond that, the firing range and what looked like Army maneuvering areas. The Canadian government maintained the "Ionosphere Station" where some really dedicated scientific types monitored the ionosphere and Lord knows what else.
Pepperrell AFB was eventually handed over to the Canadians in July 1960.
--Wally N Leeper, USAF, ret. (May 1959 - July 1960, Pepperrell AFB) - (submitted in March 1998).
