While I don't remember the exact date, I arrived at Tofino in the early spring of 1957, possibly Aprril or May. It was was pouring rain the day I arrived and it was pouring the day I left. My previous posting was at RCAF Station Foymount and I traveled via CNR (the preferred way of travel by the RCAF in those days) to Vancouver and then by CPR ferry to Nanimo and then bus to Port Alberni. Assuming the next day was a Monday and after a good nights sleep in a local hotel I would have caught the MV Uchuck II at 0800 hours for the trip up the Alberni canal to Ucluelet. A bus from Station Tofino met the boat and picked up all traffic going to the Station.
My RCAF rank was AC1, my trade was FCO and I was single when I arrived at Tofino.
As my home town was Duncan, I had requested a posting to Tofino and was very happy when I received it. There were lots of rooms in the barracks and you could have a room to yourself or bunk with another airman. I chose to have a room by myself.
I would guess there was between 50 and 60 airmen, NCOs and officers working at the Operations Site. There was about 10 to 12 FCOs per shift. We worked 6 on and 3 off. (3 days, 3 evening shifts and 3 days off - followed by 3 days, 3 graveyard shifts and 3 days off). There was a small bus available for transportation to the Operations site on the day shift and usually a van type vehicle for the evening and graveyard shifts. I recall that there was a guardhouse at the bottom of Radar Hill, just off the Tofino road which was manned by a Commissionaire 24 hrs a day.
I seem to remember that the search radar was a CPS-5D and I think that the only height finder radar during my tour was the TPS-502. I know there was one height finder radar to the east of the search radar because I was instrumental in removing the radome when we dismantled the equipment. I do have an old photograph taken from a long distance of the towers and it seems to show the square search tower and possibly two other towers. One on each side of the search.
I got out of Tofino on R&R on several occasions. Being from Duncan, I tried to get out as often as possible. We usually caught the Uchuck II from Ucluelet or the Beaver aircraft that flew out of the same place.
Tofino was primarily an early warning radar station and most of our traffic was regular scheduled flights along the west coast of northern Washington state and British Columbia. We received our share of unknowns on aircraft coming to North America from all points west across the Pacific. The west coast of Washington state and British Columbia were the first navagational aids available to correct their position prior to entering a CADIZ. We did have a controller on each shift and could run an intercept if required using CF-100 aircraft out of Comox.
As previously mentioned, it was pouring rain the day I arrived and again on the day that I left Tofino, but we did have lots of nice sunny hot weather in the summer months and lots of wind too. I would guess that there were about 100 to 150 RCAF personnel at Tofino and we also employed about 50 Civilians. The food was great. We had hot meals delivered to the Operations Site for the day and evening shifts. Sandwiches were available for the graveyard shift. Alcohol was not a problem. I don't remember any Troupes from Vancouver while I was there. We did have movies and of course there was TV. On days off if I was on the station we would walk the beach and look for glass balls and whatever else we could find. Long Beach at that time was covered with logs and other debris off the Pacific and one could find all species of wood in the logs that came to rest there. We used to take the boardwalk to the pump house and walk across the mud flats to the river on the far side and fish for trout. There were plenty of ducks and geese around in the fall and a few of us used to hunt them on the flats. We also went to Tofino and did a little salmon fishing.
The closure of the station was uneventful. The weather was typical west coast weather. Rain and wind. I remember we had the crypto equipment in the big hanger (under guard) and were waiting for the RCAF sked to pick it up but as the weather was right down on the deck and that the pilots did not have a ticket to land in such weather conditions it was quite a wait before the crypto was flown out. There was lots of parties and beer drinking in the Mess, you would drink your beer and then throw the empty glass into the fireplace. Beer glasses where C class. When I was posted to Tofino, Long Beach was an untouched wild place. You could walk for miles and never see a human track in the sand. There were many wooden piles erected in the sand at about high tide and as told to me by a soldier who was posted there during the second world war the piles were erected by conscientious objectors. The piles were not there to prevent the landing of enemy aircraft, but to prevent the Japanese from a shore invasion.
Glen Lindstrom