St. Anthony, NF

The period marked a sharp decline in air support. Water landings had to be terminated with the advent of cold weather, and it became necessary to use helicopters as the primary type of aircraft for air support. The helicopters soon proved to be undependable with maintenance difficulties being the main cause of their infrequent visits. Vital supplies were received by para drop, but the transportation of personnel and outgoing mail suffered severely.

The mail situation was a threat to the morale of the Squadron throughout the period. This was especially true during the Christmas holidays, when mail became such an important factor. Fortunately, Canadian postal facilities are close at hand in St. Anthony and personnel were advised to take advantage of these facilities.

Logistical support continues to be a source of problems. The lack of spare parts hampered the maintenance program in bot the Electronics and Installations sections throughout the period. The situation reached such a point as to substantiate a request for Command assistance to obtain parts for the Installations section.

The quarter witnessed the development of acute personnel shortages in several sections. Hardest hit was the Operations section which was forced to draft men from other sections just at the close of the quarter.

On the brighter side, the period was one during which attention to recreational areas was increased. A major activity along these lines was the voluntary redecorating of the Officer’s, NCO’s and Airmen’s lounges. Changes were aimed at creating a more relaxing atmosphere and increasing off-duty social activity. Other changes in recreational areas are described in the Personnel Services section of this history. Needless to say, the activity just mentioned has been a great contributing factor to preserving, to some degree, the morale of the squadron.

This quarter marks the beginning of the third year in the history of this organization. We are looking ahead with the hope and desire to continue to add to the progress and achievement recorded in the past.

The most significant event of this period was the implementation of Air Defense Exercise "Cracker Jack". The first news of the exercise was received from Major Smith, Operations Officer for the 640^th AC&W Squadron, on the 29^th of November. The operations order pertaining to this exercise was delayed in arriving at this station because of poor mail service and it therefore became necessary for the parent Air Defence Direction Center to forward a copy of the order to this unit by electrical means. Exercise Cracker Jack became a reality to the 921^st on 5 December at 2235Z, when simulated alert condition "Cracker Jack Cocked Pistol" was received from the parent ADCC. Upon notification that the exercise had commenced it was determined that the operations section was manned in accordance with the existing emergency SOP and that our unit would maintain full GCI capabilities on a 24 hour basis. The squadron was prepared to comply with all phases of its assigned mission as outlined in the exercise operations order. Exercise Cracker Jack terminated at 1230Z on 6 December at which time the operations section returned to normal operation.

The operations section was forced to face an unfavorable personnel situation during the quarter. The period began quite favorable with the arrival of a new Director, Lt. Jimmy L Tallant, on 2 October. The picture changed quite suddenly however, for it was during the month of October that operations was finally forced to a three crew schedule. Five operations men scheduled for rotation during August and September were released on 15 October without replacement. Two of the five were S/Sgts. Who were recently awarded supervisor level AFSC’s. Another S/Sgt. was released 25 October because his term of enlistment was due to expire. On 5 December six more radar operators were released for rotation to the ZI and again on 22 December another five were released. This reduced the manning of the section to four NCO’s and seven airmen. To fill the void created by the rotation of the latter five airmen and continue to operate with the required minimum manning of three four man crews, it was necessary to temporarily assign the I&E NCO, one radar and two teletype maintenance men to duty in the operations section. However dark the personnel picture appeared, we were very fortunate in having four excellent 27370’s assigned who could shoulder the additional responsibility of continuing operation with such short crews. Late in the quarter one new radar operator, A/2C Mack H Russell, was assigned to operations. Official word was received from the personnel section at Division that he was the fore-runner of some thirteen operators who would shortly be assigned to this unit.

Captain Earl M Tigner, the Operations Officer, and Lt. John H Davis, a Director, rotated to the ZI on 15 November. Captain Earl A Leger, the Communications Officer, who possessed past experience in the 1644 career field was assigned the position of Operations Officer as an additional duty.

Lt. Robert Ewald of the 59^th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Goose Air Base arrived on 22 December to complete a 3 month period of operational cross training. It was determined that Lt. Ewald would be prepared to take over a shift as Duty Director sometime during his sixth or seventh week of training.

A/1C Thompson, the operations clerk typist, rotated on 22 December. S/Sgt. Gerald L McBride, a Communications Center Supervisor who arrived on 22 December has been temporarily assigned to fill this position.

The On-The-Job Training program for the quarter ending 31 December progressed very satisfactorily. Two AC&W Operators were upgraded to the supervisor level, and five radar maintenance men and two cooks were upgraded to the senior skill level. There are 26 Airmen currently participating in the OJT program and several of these men are scheduled to complete their training within the next thirty days. Six airmen rotated during the quarter prior to completing their OJT. Results of Airmen Proficiency Tests administered to members of the squadron bears out the effectiveness of the units training program. Test grades returned from the 2200^th Test Squadron are, on average, above the score of 100.

Our requirements for General Military Training were satisfactorily met during the period. However, some difficulty was experienced in securing and scheduling training films. This was due primarily to the extended lengths between visits by our support aircraft. Marksmanship training was retarded with the advent of cold weather and will resume again during the forthcoming summer months. The average attendance at the weekly scheduled OMT sessions has been approximately 90%.

Captain Harold J Stocks arrived on 12 October to assume duties as OIC of the radar maintenance section. He replaced Lt. Schlager who departed for the ZI on 26 October. Unfortunately, Captain Stock’s stay at this organization was brief. Word was received on 15 December that Captain Stocks was being reassigned to the 641^st AC&W Squadron. Captain Leger, the Communications Officer, was appointed as interim OIC of Radar Maintenance pending the arrival of a new Electronics Officer.

Mr. Hugh Sangster, an Emerson Technical Representative also arrived on 12 October. He was here for approximately 30 days TDY installing the UPA-37 Jamming Simulator on the AN/UPS-T4 training device. During the latter part of his stay, Mr. Stranger conducted several briefings with radar maintenance and operations personnel on the operation and maintenance of the simulator.

Prior to the installation of the jamming simulator by Mr. Sangster, it was decided that the AN/UPS-T4 should be relocated to the upper left dias in the operations room. A work order was submitted to the AIO requesting enclosure of the selected dias space, and upon completion of the work by AIO, the equipment was moved to the new location. A PPI scope previously installed on the upper left dias was left in the newly constructed room to assist in aligning and operating the equipment. Complete installation of the training device was accomplished by 1 November. A problem arose, however, when it was discovered that the height finding attachment to the AN/UPS-T4 was not designed to permit simultaneous operation with the surveillance part of the equipment. A letter was forwarded to Division by Captain Stocks outlining the technical problems involved. Reply to this letter by Division stated that the training device should be used five days out of each week for search and control training, and two days out of each week for height finder training.

During the month of October, the Radar Maintenance section extended considerable effort in improving the appearance of tower number three. This was primarily accomplished by painting the lower and upper floors and the stairwell with a dark orange paint. Upon completion of the painting, a handball court was constructed on the ground floor of the tower.

On 6 October our supply of wind and pressure recording charts for the pressurizing system was exhausted. Charts had previously been ordered on 10 January 1955, and have since been re-ordered. A procedure for using the reverse side of old charts was established, and will continue until a supply of new charts is received. During the latter part of this quarter a directive was received from the Staff weather Officer, 64^th Air Division (Defense), requesting we forward all of our old wind reporting charts to that office. The directive established this as a monthly procedure and a reports control symbol (64-R4) was assigned.

On 19 November, installation of a refrigerator door latch was completed on pressure chamber doors in towers 2 and 3. The purpose of the installation is to provide a better air seal, and is only a temporary measure to suffice until a complete rubber seal can be installed which should make the air chambers leak proof.

The Marconi radome painting team arrived on 2 December to paint the interior of the three radomes. Weather problems which plagued the exterior painting were not involved and painting was completed by 6 December.

On 24 December a total of eighteen modifications for the RW-105 and RW-106 pressurizing systems were received from the Sheldon Engineering Company. Six modifications were accomplished on the RW-105 and the remaining modifications on the two RW-106 systems will be accomplished on an as-soon-as time permits basis.

During the latter half of the quarter a great amount of difficulty was encountered in attempting to procure ATR and thyratron tubes. Both items were previously requested on routine requisitions and several follow-up actions were initiated. ATR tubes finally arrived by para-drop on 15 December and thyratron tubes were received in the same manner on 30 December.

The sections personnel situation changed very little during the quarter/ S/Sgt. Rowe rotated in October; two new men, A/2C Stout and A/2C Lutinski, were assigned late in December. A/2C Allen was placed on temporary duty in operations on 22 December to help that section maintain minimum manning requirements.

During the early part of December, Mr. Alex Miller, Marconi Contractor Technician, departed for Scotland on his annual leave. Mr. George Hemming has taken over the position during Mr. Miller’s absence.

HF radio silence remained in effect throughout the last quarter of 1955. However, intentions are to maintain the HF system, as a back-up facility, in the highest possible state of readiness, and it is expected that the first quarter of 1956 will see a break in the silence with regularly scheduled operational tests being conducted on all HF sets.

The Air-ground communications system improved greatly during the period. This was attributed mainly to the receipt of the 6J4 electron tubes mentioned in the historical report for the previous quarter. All Air-Ground equipment, with the exception of one T-217/GR UHF transmitter, remained operational throughout the period. The transmitter mentioned requires depot level maintenance and is presently awaiting shipment to the Marconi Depot.

The reconstruction of the low frequency antenna tower was completed on 20 October. The installation was not complete, however, since no window or feed-through insulator were installed on the ATU hut. These items were listed as deficiencies on the Interim Installation Inspection Certificate.

The Interim Installation Inspection Certificate for the low frequency homing beacon installation was signed on 8 November. The beacon was assigned the code designation "SR", and was first published as a flight facility in the October edition of the Radio Facilities chart. On 28 November a directive from headquarters, NEAC, called for a change in identification from "SR" to "AY" to conform with the Published ICAO place name abbreviation for the location. This change was accomplished 30 November.

On 22 November telephone communications were established between the local International Grenfell Association Hospital and the main site. The telephone line had been considered a necessity since this organization was granted authority to use the IGA facility for medical purposes.

During the period, rotation of personnel to the ZI without replacement reduced manning of the communications section to two-thirds of the authorized strength. A/2C Lomas and A/3C Frazzini, both teletype maintenance men, were temporarily transferred to the operations section on 22 December.

On 22 December, an outside telephone plant rehabilitation team from the 1^st Communications Construction Squadron, Pepperrell Air Force Base, arrived at this site. The team accomplished routine checkouts of the installed plant and performed minor maintenance where required.

The final quarter of 1955 was one of particular activity as regards changes in personnel policy and action. The determining force has been the rotation and replacement problem. This problem arises from the fact that scheduled replacements have been more than three months late in arriving whereas there is a limit of three months that we can prolong involuntary retentions. Because of the resulting personnel shortages, all additional duties (detail and guard) have had to be cut to a point below acceptable minimum. It has also been necessary to revamp our crews in the operations and food services sections both by numbers and length of duty. This has caused an increased individual workload and undue strain on morale. During the three month period we have rotated fifty men and received twenty-three replacements - not a very healthy or proportionate situation. On 22 December, the last of the extended September and October rotatees departed with some November and December returnees. The situation took on a brighter hue when it was announced that some eighteen PCS men were back-logged in traffic at Goose Air Base awaiting transportation to this site. To date, they are still waiting.

A novelty during this period was the rotation of seven men via the "Air Force Navy". On 7 December, seven thoroughly chilled and dubious individuals boarded the Air Force owned vessel "AFFG" which is used primarily by the Canadian Marconi Company in providing maintenance support for Pinetree Sites. The ship had put into port five days earlier with a radome painting crew. W/O LW Shumacker, the Squadron’s Adjutant and Personnel Officer since early 1954, was among those who departed that day. Mister Shumacker’s deft mind and wealth of experience will be missed by this squadron.

Another loss for the Orderly Room during this period was the chief clerk, S/Sgt. Shaw who departed in November. His replacement, S/Sgt. Schaap, arrived on 22 December.

Several minor efficiency changes in orderly room procedures occurred during this period and a complete review of all personnel files was initiated. In retrospect, it has been a three months of consistently hard work for each member of the orderly room staff. Projects undertaken during the period included the cleaning up and disposition of all files, the rewriting of all Squadron Memorandum’s, the review of all forms and establishment of reorder points, and a complete clean-up of mail room procedures.

A great number of administrative problems are the direct result of the poor aerial support that we receive. This affects both our ability to carry out our mission and the overall morale of assigned personnel. Time intervals between aircraft arrivals have often exceeded the fifteen day mark. Rotatees have been stranded awaiting transportation; incoming mail has been sporadic and outgoing mail even more sporadic. This situation is not a recent development; it has been prominent throughout the history of this organization.

A major event during this period, primarily because of its uniqueness, was the promotion of T/Sgt. Govern to Master Sergeant. This was the first promotion to Master Sergeant received by this squadron.

The International Grenfell Association Hospital treated two military personnel as in-patients for a period of 29 days during this quarter. One of the patients, A/3C Cates was treated for simple fractures of the mandible and bilateral for a 23 day period. He was evacuated to the Goose Bay Hospital on 22 December for further treatment and observation. The IGA hospital also treated 3 out-patients and 6 dental patients during the period.

A total of 369 military personnel and 21 civilians were seen and given limited treatment by the Medical Technician. One man was isolated in the dispensary for a two week period because he had contracted chickenpox.

There were eight one-pint blood donations from military personnel of this squadron to the IGA hospital.

S/Sgt. Busby, a medical technician, arrived on 22 December for approximately 45 days TDY to replace T/Sgt. Elam while the latter returns to the States on morale leave.

On 15 November, Lt. John H Davis, the Personnel Services Officer, rotated to the ZI. He was replaced by Lt. Jimmy L Tallant, a Director in our operations section.

The Personnel Services areas have undergone an extensive face lifting during this period. The library, which was previously located in the Information Services Office, could accommodate only a few individuals and lacked the necessary storage space for the number of books on hand. A new and larger library was constructed adjacent to the old room and the problems mentioned above have been solved.

Other completed projects include the enlargement of the athletic equipment storage room and the construction of a projection booth in the theatre.

Delay in the accomplishment of some projects incurred by the temporary assignment of the Personnel Services NCOIC to the Operations section.

A big event of the holiday season was the Squadron’s Christmas party for the orphans from the Grenfell Mission and some thirty odd children from St. Anthony. A total of sixty-five children had the time of their lives here on 24 December. The party was the result of the effort and voluntary contributions of the men of this squadron.

Captain William E Olivieri arrived on 15 October 1955 to replace Captain Guydell Ward as Unit Supply Officer. The supply account was formally transferred on 23 November.

Section activity since 23 November has been centered around a general clean-up and reorganization of operating procedures. All Property Record Cards (AF Form 1120) have been reviewed, filed in stock number sequence, and relocated to the Supply Officer’s Office. Originally the 1120’s were located in the organizational Property Office and much time and effort was expended in properly maintaining files.

The last quarter of 1955 found the Food Services section being hard hit personnel-wise. Two cooks and a baker rotated during this period without replacement. The section was therefore compelled to cut its two shifts to two men each with the fifth cook doubling as night cook and baker. This scheduling has resulted in an unusually heavy workload for all personnel of this section. Though this situation exists, the Dining Hall has been turning out its usual high quality meals. The Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts were works of art.

With the departure of Captain James E Alexander who had served as Installations Officer for the past 18 months a series of personnel and operational changes occurred within the section. 1^st Lt. John R McDougall on loan from operations assumed the numerous jobs that fell under installations. In order to aid the installations section in their job until a permanently assigned installation officer could arrive, supposedly in late October, 2^nd Lt. Russell Machol of the Goose Installations office arrived for 30 days TDY on 14 October 1955. He was assigned as assistant installations officer and his first official act was to perform an acceptance inspection for Goose on the roofing job done by the Drake-Merritt Company during the summer. To no one’s surprise the permanent installations officer failed to arrive during October, and Lt. Machol’s TDY extended into December. Lt. Machol finally departed on 6 December. He was also able to perform an inspection on the new barrack wings constructed by TDK Rooney Limited under contract to Canadian Bell Telephone Company, and aided greatly to a rejuvenation of our installations preventative maintenance program. A good deal of time has been spent by this section during this period in composing operating charts and diagrams for the various utilities located at this site.

A general reorganization of the section placing S/Sgt. Ocie J Bigford, formerly in charge of the Power Plant operations, in the installation NCOIC slot has been accomplished. The section has been divided into three areas; transportation, fire fighting and installations. A complete preventative maintenance card file and an intensive supply re-order program have been organized within the installation section by S/Sgt. Jethro, a newly assigned 56170. This new program has made good progress and the effectiveness of the section has been definitely improved.

A considerable amount of outside work has been accomplished by the installations section to prepare the squadron buildings for the oncoming winter. Included were storm doors and a renovation of the guard house.

Along the same line, the transportation section has been kept active preparing for the winter weather. However, this section has experienced extreme difficulty where the subject of logistics support is concerned. The vehicle maintenance section is to be commended for the job they have done in keeping the VDP status down to the number of vehicles presently in that status. Ingenuity has been the key word during this period due to the non-receipt of requested parts. The "new" jeeps and fuel trailer which arrived by surface transportation were found to be in rather poor shape. At this time neither of the two jeeps are in operation; one needs an engine and the other a transmission. The fuel trailer arrived minus several vital parts, but the Motor Vehicle Section was able to put it in operation by clever utilization of the equipment on hand. The parts situation became so bad that on 29 November 1955 Command assistance was requested.

On 6 December, 2^nd Lt. William F Donovan, our long awaited for Installations Officer, arrived, and as of 15 December, assumed the duties of Installation Officer from Lt. McDougall.

In general this period has been one of reorganization, changing personnel, and shortage of needed supplies; but, the feeling within the section is definitely one of accomplishment and hope that the work we have done will be shown in continued improvement in the months to come.

Our unit Fire Chief S/Sgt. Hudgen has recently returned from Fire Fighters School at Pepperrell AFB prepared to indoctrinate the rest of the Squadron in the new materials gained there. Mr. Boland of Goose Fire Department conducted a fire inspection during this period, and he found our fire prevention program to be in "very good" shape.