Web Site Comment: - Trying to obtain detail pertaining to the RCAF radar station which once existed on Table Mountain has been more difficult than finding a white jelly bean on your front lawn after a six foot snowfall. It would appear that somebody up there cares for our web sites as we were able to communicate with someone who actually worked at the radar station in 1944-1945.
I would like to sort out a few things before we get into specifics. We know that the US Army constructed a communications complex on Table Mountain in the winter of 1942 - but I can categorically say that there were no American military personnel on Table Mountain in the 1944-1945 time frame. I allow for the possibility that there might have been an American communications complex on Table Mountain - but if this is the case, it would have been an unmanned complex because there were no other buildings on Table Mountain other than those manned by the RCAF. I can also categorically state that there was no American air strip on Table Mountain. The RCAF were the only tennants on Table Mountain in 1944-1945.
Like so many others, I served in the RCAF during World War II. I had been trained as a Radar Operator and I managed to spend some time at other RCAF radar stations in Canada such as Tusket NS, Cape Scott BC and Amphritrite Point BC before I was transferred to Cape Ray. I eventually arrived at the Cape Ray radar station, located on Table Mountain, in May of 1944.
It appeared as if the buildings had just been recently constructed because while they looked finished on the outside, there was considerable work remaining to be completed in the interior. The radar was not operational at that time, so a bunch of us were sent to Port aux Basques to purchase tools and materials. We were then used as general carpenters, trying to finish the interior of the buildings so they would be acceptable for occupancy by the RCAF. The site was accessible by a summer road (less than desirable at the best of times). Most of the trips off the mountain involved a strenuous journey, lasting about 30 minutes mostly in "bull-low" while on the slopes. The squadron had a jeep and a truck as I recall, but we made use of the jeep for the trips to and from the radar station.
There were a total of about 35 RCAF personnel on Table Mountain during the year that I was stationed there. Twenty of these were Radar Operators, Radar Technicians and Communications Technicians. The remaining personnel were in support positions such as cooks, drivers, administration, supply etc. I recall that we had nothing to speak of in the line of recreational facilities. We were visited by the local Salvation Army and they provided us with a number of items such as a pool table, books for our library, and games - all of which managed to make our lives a little easier to deal with. Supplies were stockpiled in the summer for winter use. There were no fresh supplies - just powdered milk and eggs, canned meat etc.
The RCAF had a dual purpose on Table Mountain. There was a radar station and there was an RCAF manned communications complex which operated a radio-relephone link to North Sydnet in Nova Scotia. The 1947 photo which you have on your web site is indeed, the same facility that was used by the RCAF radar station in 1944-1945. The long quonset hut was used as our main housing area, along with our mess hall, and a games room. If you look carefully at the long quonset hut, you will see wood planking (skirting) along the base of the building. Rocks were placed against these wooden planks - all in an effort to ensure the buildings were not blown away by the winds. What you do not see in this photo are the wooden poles that were strategically placed here and there between the buildings. These poles had long pieces of rope attached to them. In this manner, if a person was outside and he suddenly got caught in the wind, he would grab a rope, and "hang on for dear life". The quarters were more or less nestled in a hollow, so you can imagine what the winds would be like in an open area.
The Canadian micro-wave early warning, anti-submarine warfare (MEW/ASW) chain was installed to counter the German submarine activity, in and on the approaches to the Gulf of St Lawrence. An example of this activity was the sinking of the North Sydney - Port Aux Basques ferry - the Caribou. This was the link from Canada to Newfoundland - a British colony at the time. One of the MEW/ASW equipments was installed on Table Mountain, near Cape Ray.
The radar became operational in late June or early July of 1944. It was operational 24 hours a day and the personnel worked in three 8 hour shifts to ensure 24 hour a day coverage. The shifts were designed so as to ensure we got a day off every three or four days. The actual radar antenna and the communications antenna were located about a mile from the housing site and we walked to and from the Operations site. There were no supplies or emergency equipment located at the Operations site since the radar was closed down in November of 1944 - just four months after it had become operational. Two radar technicians were retained to periodically inspect the operations site after it had been closed down. As I recall, there was only one probable submarine contact made and reported to the Filter Room during the summer of operation, but the turning-away of a ship from the contact area perhaps made the whole exercise worthwhile.
The radar was shut down in November 1944 as the winter conditions had more or less shut down the shipping season. As expected, there was reduced submarine activity when the channel was iced up. By the spring of 1945, it had become apparent that the European part of the war was winding down, so the radar station at Cape Ray was never re-opened. I was transferred out of Cape Ray in May 1945.
Epilpogue - I returned to Table Mountain on 2 July 1999 for a nostalgic visit. We travelled with a motor home and towed a jeep. I recall that it took us 15-20 minutes to drive from the base of the mountain to the area where we had lived and worked. There were no buildings remaining but we were able to identify concrete foundations for the quonset huts which had existed so many years ago. The concrete foundations for the radar antenna and the communications tower were also located.
Web Site Comments: - It was a real treat talking with Jim. Aside from getting the detail for this article, he has also made 80+ photos available to our web site. The photos are a mixture from his tour at Cape Ray during the war as well as his return trip in 1999.
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Updated: November 22, 2004